Abstract
Twelve years after the facts, the French Court of Cassation ( France's highest Court) issued a decision ruling on the consequences of the sinking of the oil tanker Erika, which put an end to the legal proceedings. With respect to the interests of the civil parties, the French Supreme Court applied the "International Convention on Civil Liability for Oil Pollution Damage'' (CLC) of November 27, 1992. However, the solutions adopted by the Court of Cassation based on this Convention, more specifically the decision to hold the Total oil company liable and the manner in which environmental harm was recognized and remedied, are surprising from a strictly legal point of view. Such solutions demonstrate the need to reform the CLC whose current provisions do not meet the legitimate expectations of populations exposed to the risk of oil spills.