This project builds on Dr Sroyon Mukherjee’s PhD research about the role of courts in natural resource valuation. Using the framework of ‘valuation choices’ developed in his thesis, Sroyon investigates how the Polluter Pays Principle has been interpreted and applied by courts – India being the first case study – in order to clarify some of the long-standing ambiguities surrounding the principle: Who is the polluter? How much should they pay? And how should the funds be used? Additionally, tracing the Polluter Pays Principle’s theoretical foundations in Economics, his research compares legal and economic justifications of the principle, for instance, whether its interpretations track traditional efficiency-based rationale, or whether the courts are pursuing other (equally valid) goals such as deterrence or distributive justice.

Publication

• S Mukherjee, ‘How Much Should the Polluter Pay? Indian Courts and the Valuation of Environmental Damage’ (2023) 35 (3) Journal of Environmental Law 331