Decision ID: 000610

In March 1989, in a non-final judgement the Court of Appeal stated that the shipowner, the insurer and the 1971 Fund were liable for the claim for damage to the marine environment made by the Italian Government and that the definition of ‘pollution damage’ as laid down in Article I.6 of the Civil Liability Convention was wide enough to include such damage to the environment. The Court appointed three experts with the task of ascertaining the existence, if any, of damage to marine resources off the coast of Sicily and Calabria as a result of the oil pollution. In October 1989 the 1971 Fund Executive Committee endorsed the steps taken by the Director to reserve the 1971 Fund’s right to appeal before the Supreme Court against the non-final judgement in conjunction with an appeal against the Court of Appeal’s final judgement.