This chapter covers the establishment, contents and implementation of international environmental liability of the contractor. It argues that the polluter-pays principle applies, the contractor shall assume primary liability for environmental damage caused by DSM activities. However, unlike the existing civil liability treaties which endorse a standard of ‘strict liability’ of the operator, liability in DSM requires an element of ‘internationally wrongful act’ on the part of the contractor. As to the contents of liability, it argues that ecological restoration shall be the primary objective of liability. However, owing to the big unknowns of the deep sea, the practicability of restoration is very uncertain. Other forms of remediation, complementary restoration and compensation, are available. As to the implementation of liability, this chapter argues that the ‘traditional civil liability approach’ of a transnational nature is not suitable to the DSM context, and the parallel existence of implementation methods at both international and national levels weakens the international mechanism and places unnecessary burden on the sponsoring State. Incidentally, it argues that the Enterprise can assume liability independently and a State contractor cannot claim State immunity.

This chapter provides an overview of the application of competition law to workers in New Zealand. The chapter starts with a brief historical background to the relevant legislation regulating labour and competition, and then summarises the key provisions of the Commerce Act that apply to workers. It then specifically explores the application of competition law to collective action by independent contractors, focusing on the unusual legal position of film workers. New Zealand law in this area is currently in a state of transition. While the literature and case law is less developed than in other jurisdictions, there is draft legislation and a number of law reform proposals currently being considered by the Government. The chapter provides a brief survey of the proposed Screen Industry Workers Bill and the relevant law reform proposals being considered.