[JURIST] Host country Sweden says it intends to push for strict new rules on polluters at the 28th Antarctic Treaty Consultative Meeting [official website] convening in Stockholm June 6-17. A draft proposal that has been under neogotiation for some 20 years would require companies and organizations to take appropriate precautionary measures and would hold them liable for any local environmental disasters they cause, such as oil spills. The 45 nations who have signed the Antarctic Treaty [summary] would be required to enforce the liability rules. Though governments are already required to assess the possible environmental impact of their activities in Antarctica, this would be the first measure to set legal responsibility and appropriate compensation for a disaster. Reuters has more.