ANZSIL Zoom Lecture: Tim Stephens, University of Sydney, Transboundary harm and the Pandemic – Lessons from state responsibility and international environmental law

Transboundary harm and the Pandemic - Lessons from state responsibility and international environmental law

Professor Tim Stephens, University of Sydney

Abstract

Although the precise circumstances surrounding the origins of the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic remain unclear, we do know that it originated in the territory of China and thereafter was rapidly spread to other states. There is growing speculation as to whether this situation may give rise to an international claim by affected states. Do norms of state responsibility, especially as elaborated in international environmental law, provide any basis for such a claim? 

Bio

Tim Stephens is Professor of International Law at the University of Sydney Law School and a Fellow of the Australian Academy of Law. He is the immediate past President of ANZSIL.