The Nagoya-Kuala Lumpur Protocol [ 1 ] is an additional text to the Cartagena Protocol on Biosafety. It complements the latter with regard to liability and compensation for damage caused by living modified organisms (LMOs) at the international level.
The text was adopted in 2010 and will enter into force after the fortieth ratification. In June 2013 (last update date of the site), the text was signed by 54 States and ratified by 14 States [ 2 ] .
The objective of the text is “on the one hand to prevent damage, on the other to establish confidence in the development and application of modern biotechnology” .
Above all, the text of the protocol offers a general framework on liability and redress. Whether it concerns measures to be taken in the event of damage, financial security or a liability mechanism, the protocol invites States Parties to provide for all of these provisions in their domestic law. Article 6 of the protocol also provides for exceptional measures, in which liability and reparation would not apply: fortuitous event or force majeure, armed conflict or civil unrest, measures for which States may“provide in their domestic law for such other exemptions or mitigation measures as they deem appropriate” .
Like many international texts, this protocol has the merit of existing... but not sure that it will revolutionize much, unless it is implemented ambitiously by the States Parties.