هاشم قاسمی

Safe extraction from oil and gas reservoirs in the seas and its transfer to the consumption market is among the most important concerns of energy-rich countries to secure their financial interests along with preserving the environment to increase the duration of extraction. The employer's requirement for the contractor to compile a report on the environmental effects of the work is one of the most significant initial steps in concluding the contract to estimate the risk, evaluate and manage the work. Apart from the legal obligations of the oil and gas contractor to comply with principles such as prevention and precautionary measures to prevent environmental damage, the contractor should take essential measures to prevent environmental damage through meeting the highest environmental standards in the field of exploration, drilling, extraction, maintenance and transportation, provision and usage of new methodologies, preservation of protected areas, non-interruption of others' access to water resources and preservation of mineral resources, dismantling facilities after the completion of the contract, and obligation to comply with the principles of the host country. Although contractors usually try to include a stability condition in their contracts in order to avoid more environmental obligations in the future, it seems that the principle of government ownership of natural resources can ignore this right at any time. The condition keeps environmental rules and principles as a priority. The present article has been compiled in a descriptive analytical way and in a library way.

The seabed chamber of the International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea is an authority for dispute settlement in seabed area cases. This chamber, in nature, is a specific judiciary for dispute resolution of this marine area in the tribunal. First, the governments must settle their disputes based on one of the peaceful resolution methods, and then should refer to the tribunal in case of agreement. Compared to the International Court of Justice in referring to dispute settlement, the most important feature of the tribunal and its chamber is the creation of a specific chamber and dispute settlement through arbitration and the presence of a special judge for dispute parties. Moreover, the seabed chamber can issue an advisory opinion, if required. Therefore, the jurisdiction of the chamber depends on two kinds of optional and compulsory jurisdictions of the tribunal, so that contractors and their guaranteeing states have joint liability for international seabed authority. It should be noted that states are responsible for an action and omission of the act causing harm in the seabed and under the seabed only in case of failure to apply their regulatory advice for contractors. The first and most important compensation for harm to the seabed is prevention from more hazards against seabed and under the seabed. Furthermore, immediate notification to coastal authorities and states, postliminium (restoration of the status formerly possessed), and complete compensation are forms of respective actions.