33 USC 1479 – Federal liability for unreasonable damages
(a) Payment of compensation
The United States shall be obliged to pay compensation to the extent of the damage caused by measures which exceed those reasonably necessary to achieve the end mentioned in section 1472 of this title.
(b) Jurisdiction
Terms Used In 33 USC 1479
- protocol: means the Protocol Relating to Intervention on the High Seas in Cases of Marine Pollution by Substances Other Than Oil, 1973, including annexes thereto. See 33 USC 1471
- United States: means the States, the District of Columbia, the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, the Canal Zone, Guam, American Samoa, the United States Virgin Islands, the Trust Territory of the Pacific Islands, the Commonwealth of the Northern Marianas, and any other commonwealth, territory, or possession of the United States. See 33 USC 1471
Actions against the United States seeking compensation for any excessive measures may be brought in the United States Court of Federal Claims, in any district court of the United States, and in those courts enumerated in section 460 of title 28. For purposes of this chapter, American Samoa shall be included within the judicial district of the District Court of the United States for the District of Hawaii, and the Trust Territory of the Pacific Islands shall be included within the judicial districts of both the District Court of the United States for the District of Hawaii and the District Court of Guam.
(c) Burden of proof
With respect to intervention for a substance identified pursuant to section 1473(a) of this title, the United States has the burden of establishing that, under the circumstances present at the time of the intervention, the substance could reasonably pose a grave and imminent danger analogous to that posed by a substance enumerated in the protocol.