This book provides a comprehensive analysis of the international legal dimension of the management of the risk of accidents associated with offshore oil and gas activities. The editors cover the prevention and minimization of harm as well as the post-accident management of loss through liability and compensation arrangements and the processing of mass claims for compensation. While postulating a public international law framework for offshore oil and gas operations globally and exploring critical elements thereof, this book draws heavily on comparative assessments of domestic concepts and approaches, especially as regards offshore safety, liability for and compensation of harm, and mass tort claims procedures. With a team of experts from all over world as contributing authors, the book offers a unique perspective on what remains a pressing international concern: The safety of offshore operations globally and the proper allocation of loss should a major accident occur. Government officials, international civil servants and academics in related fields will find the book a valuable resource.

This book examines contractual limitation, principles and practice through the use of knock-for-knock indemnity clauses. In using such clauses, the parties agree that for certain forms of potential liability - typically property damage, personal injury to employees, and sometimes other heads of claim such as consequential loss - any loss arising will be absorbed by the party who suffers it: "you look after your losses, I'll look after mine." It is an apparently simple, pragmatic and neat solution to the question of who bears liability: a risk allocation model so straightforward that it was described by one experienced English judge, Honorable Mr. Justice Morison, as "crude". A specialist contributor team of international experts, examine the origin, application and effect of these clauses in important jurisdictions, their impact in different industries such as oil & gas, shipping, construction and insurance, through the lenses of both economic and legal analyses. The book is of use for lawyers, economists and businesspeople who draft, negotiates or manage contracts in all industries where liability is dealt with in this way. It is also of interest to students, academics, and policy makers.