Applicant 1

I. THE SINKING OF MV JOY TO THE WORLD THAT CAUSED MARINE

POLLUTION OVER THE MARINE PROTECTED AREA (MPA) OF ALDABRA
IS AN INTERNATIONALLY-WRONGFUL ACT ATTRIBUTABLE TO RIDLEY.

Article 1 of the Articles on the Responsibility of States for Internationally Wrongful Acts
(“ARSIWA”) provides that every internationally wrongful act of the state entails responsibility.
Internationally wrongful acts of States arise when there is an act or omission attributable to said
State, which constitutes a breach of an international obligation of the state. 1 The act of exporting
debris to Aldabra without its consent is a violation under relevant international environmental
treaty. Such is attributable to Ridley for it exercises control and its failure to prevent the same.

a. Ridley sanctioned and controlled MV Joy to the World’s act.

In Nicaragua case2, the ‘effective control test’ was adopted by the ICJ in determining

whether the United States was responsible for the acts of the Nicaragua’s contras. The requisites

for effective control test are: (a) existence of de facto link by virtue of factors such as financing,

organizing, among others, and (b) existence of control such that it is clear that the acts had been

ordered or imposed on the relevant individuals and entities by the state.

Essentially, MV Joy to the World cannot act on its own if the government of Ridley did

not impose or order the sending of its debris to a sovereign nation. It is very clear that Ridley had

a plastic problem for which they found no solution except to ship some debris to the

southernmost island of Aldabra which was allotted as a landfill. 3 Clearly, it was the government

of Ridley who ordered the shipment which necessarily entails the funding and logistics thereof.

1 Draft Articles on Responsibility of States for Internationally Wrongful Acts art. 2, International Law Commission,
U.N. GAOR, 56th Sess., Supp.No.10, U.N.Doc.A/56/10(2001).
2 Military and Paramilitary Activities in and against Nicaragua (Nicaragua v. United States of America),
Jurisdiction and Admissibility, 1984 ICJ REP. 392 June 27, 1986.
3 Compromis, ¶14
 b. MV Joy to the World, even if a private corporation, was under the instruction and
direction of Ridley.

The ARSIWA provides that the “The conduct of a person or group of persons shall be
considered an act of a State under international law if the person or group of persons is in fact
acting on the instructions of, or under the direction or control of, that State in carrying out the
conduct.”4 In the instant case, Ridley cannot escape liability by mere assertion that MV Joy to the
World is a private corporation. The sending of the garbage debris by MV Joy to the World to
Aldabra without its consent would not be made possible without the command or instruction of
Ridley. The government of Ridley was the one who specifically instructed the amount of debris
to be sent and the state the debris would be dumped.

c. Ridley failed to prevent the export of its own trash to Aldabra.

In Zafiro case5, the Court held that although private individuals are not regarded as state
officials that would warrant liability, the state may still be responsible for failing to exercise the
control necessary to prevent such acts. Similarly, Ridley failed to recognize that when it ordered
the shipment of the wastes into Aldabra, it caused environmental damage and violated the
sovereignty of Aldabra. As neighbor to Aldabra, Ridley should have exercised utmost respect
and diligence in preventing the shipment of the wastes. Instead of preventing it, Ridley
commanded such wrongful act.

d. Even if the MV Joy to the World is registered under the laws of Aldabra, the
foremost cause of the cause of oil spill and plastics in the WPS was Ridley’s
wrongful act.

It is of no moment that the vessel is registered in Aldabra and owned by Chi Ng, a citizen
of Aldabra for what precipitated the cause of the oil spill and presence of large volume of
plastics in the WPS was Ridley’s act of ordering the shipment of the debris to Aldabra. Had
Ridley prevented or not order the shipment, there would be no ship sinking in the WPS that
would have caused enormous damage to the marine resources.

4 supra note 1, art. 8

5 See Zafiro case (Great Birtain v. The United States), R.I.A.A. 60 (1925)
 But even then, MV Joy to the World is actually owned by Joys Are Us, a company
located in Ridley. Moreover, such cargo ship was primarily used by Joys Are Us for exporting
toys and parts of toys from Ridley to other states including Aldabra.6

II. ALDABRA’S ACT OF SENDING BACK THE GARBAGE DEBRIS TO ITS POINT
OF ORIGIN, RIDLEY, IS A VALID COUNTERMEASURE.

Under international law, a countermeasure is a unilateral act that can be taken only under
certain conditions. A countermeasure must be in response to a prior act contrary to international
law; there must be a prior request for redress; and the measure taken by the aggrieved state must
not be out of proportion to the gravity of the original wrongful act.

6 Compromis, ¶15