International liability and redress for genetically modified organisms and challenge for China's biosafety regulation

The UN Cartagena Protocol on Biosafety (Biosafety Protocol) is an international instrument addressing the potential environment and health issues of Genetically Modified Organisms (GMOs). Its article 27 on Liability and Redress, which finally has been explored as a new treaty "Nagoya-Kuala Lumpur Supplementary Protocol" (Supplementary Protocol) was recently adopted in October 2010. The new Protocol chose an administrative approach instead of an international civil liability regime, and left the implementation to the discretion of competent national authorities of the parties as rather a "national approach". As a party to the Biosafety Protocol, China might take the Supplementary Protocol into account for its own biosafety regime. The interplay between the Biosafety Protocol (and the Supplementary Protocol) with China's national biosafety regime will be briefly examined in this paper. It argues that a comprehensive biosafety law will be needed to oversee the import and export of GMOs, as well as efficiently manage cultivation of GM crops within China. The paper concludes that the inclusion of a liability clause into the biosafety law seems necessary for China's obligation to the Biosafety protocol to deal with the uncertainties of GMOs, thereby ensuring the sustainable development of biotechnology