HR: 09:40h
AN: S21D-06 [Abstracts]
TI: Early Warning System: a juridical notion to be built
AU: * Lucarelli, A
EM: alberto.lucarelli@unina.it
AF: University of Napoli "Federico II", Monte S.Angelo, Via Cinthia 25, Napoli, 80125, Italy
AU: * Lucarelli, A
EM: alberto.lucarelli@unina.it
AF: AMRA Scarl, Via Nuova Agnano, 11, Napoli, 80125, Italy
AB:
Early warning systems (EWS) are becoming effective tools for real time mitigation of the harmful effects arising
from widely different hazards, which range from famine to financial crisis, malicious attacks, industrial accidents,
natural catastrophes, etc.
Early warning of natural catastrophic events allows to implement both alert systems and real time prevention
actions for the safety of people and goods exposed to the risk
However the effective implementation of early warning methods is hindered by the lack of a specific juridical
frame.
Under a juridical point of view, in fact, EWS and in general all the activities of prevention need a careful regulation,
mainly with regards to responsibility and possible compensation for damage caused by the implemented
actions. A preventive alarm, in fact, has an active influence on infrastructures in control of public services which in
turn will suffer suspensions or interruptions because of the early warning actions. From here it is necessary to
possess accurate normative references related to the typology of structures or infrastructures upon which the
activity of readiness acts; the progressive order of suspension of public services; the duration of these
suspensions; the corporate bodies or administrations that are competent to assume such decisions; the actors
responsible for the consequences of false alarm, missed or delayed alarms; the mechanisms of compensation
for damage; the insurance systems; etc
In the European Union EWS are often quoted as preventive methods of mitigation of the risk. Nevertheless, a
juridical notion of EWS of general use is not available. In fact, EW is a concept that finds application in many
different circles, each of which require specific adaptations, and may concern subjects for which the European
Union doesn't have exclusive competence as may be the responsibility of the member states to assign the
necessary regulations. In so far as the juridical arrangement of the EWS, this must be brought back to the general
normative context predisposed by every state for the accomplishment of the service of civil protection.
In synthesis: EWS are one of the activities engaged in disaster mitigation. Apart from the situation of trans
national events, in which case the European Union has an important function in coordination, the activities of
prevention are developed in individual states by their own civil protection systems. They are based on the
principle of collaboration between the central government and the regional and local authorities, as these are the
forms administration organization that are closer to the people and to emergency territorial needs.
That being stated, the configuration of the EWS as typology having juridical importance is the result of an
reconstructing operation based on elements of positive law and on an interpretative and researching activity able
to furnish de iure condendo alternative solutions to the problems that the application of the typology can involve.
DE: 7212 Earthquake ground motions and engineering seismology
DE: 7299 General or miscellaneous
SC: Seismology [S]
MN: 2007 Fall Meeting