This paper analyzes legal remedies for marine ecological damage as provided in Article 90, Section 2 of the Marine Environment Protection Law of the People’s Republic of China. In doing so, the paper examines the Tasman Sea Oil Spills Case, the first civil case in China to claim marine ecological damage involving foreign interests. The paper finds that many issues arise in practice due to the simplicity of the relevant legal provisions. The existing international treaties on marine oil pollution damage caused by ships do not cover marine ecological damage. However, domestic courts of some countries have relevant judicial practice on the matter. Hence, it is urgent to establish a set of new rules on marine ecological damage compensation in China and to specify the claimants, the scope for compensation and the measure of indemnity with the aim of providing an effective legal remedy for marine ecological damage.

Legal Remedies for Marine Ecological Damage in China: As Illustrated by the Tasman Sea Oil Spills Case
  I. Introduction
  II. Definition of Marine Ecological Damage
  III. Practical Confusion caused by Excessive Simplicity of Legislation
  IV. Applicable Laws
  V. Specifying Claimants
  VI. The Scope of Compensation and the Standard of Indemnity
  VII. Conclusion

• Xiaoqin Zhu(Professor of international law at the School of Law of Xiamen University)
• Lin Dong(Ph.D. Candidate at the School of Oceanography and Environment, Xiamen Universtiy)