Civil liability for ship -source oil pollution damage: should Vietnam join FUND 1992?

Currently, international civil liability law has three tiers of compensation for damage caused by ship-source oil pollution, based on The International Convention on Civil Liability for Oil Pollution Damage 1992 (CLC 1992), The International Convention on the Establishment of an International Fund for Compensation for Oil Pollution Damage 1992 Fund 1992 (FUND 1992) and The Supplementary Fund Protocol. Currently, Vietnam only participated in CLC 1992, so the Vietnamese legal framework for civil liability for harm caused by ships-source oil pollution has been significantly strengthened. However, the compensation for damages is not really consistent with the actual damage that occurred. Besides, the oil spill in Vietnam’s waters is fairly large, for many reasons. Thus, the question arises whether or not Vietnam should join FUND 1992. Based on the analysis of the additions of FUND 1992 compared to CLC 1992, as well as the actual situation, the legal system, the economy of Vietnam, the author will point out the advantages and disadvantages when Vietnam joined FUND 1992. © 2020 Informa UK Limited, trading as Taylor & Francis Group.