Nuclear Liability: A Key Component of the Public Policy Decision to Deploy Nuclear Energy in Southeast Asia

Appendix A: Summary of Provisions of International Nuclear Liability Conventions

Authors

Mohit Abraham

Project

Global Nuclear Future

S No.	Particulars	Paris Convention (PC) (as Amended by 1964 Additional Protocol and 1982 Protocol)*	Vienna Convention (VC) (as Amended by 1997 Protocol “RVC”)	Convention on Supplementary Compensation for Nuclear Damage (CSC)**
1.	Geographical Scope	PC not applicable to incidents or damage occurring in territory of non-contracting state unless legislation of contracting state (where nuclear installation is located) provides for it	No Provision under VC RVC Amendment: Convention shall apply to nuclear damage wherever suffered Legislation of Installation State may exclude application of convention if damage suffered in the territory or maritime zone of a non-contracting state	CSC applicable to damage in contracting party or beyond territory of contracting party on ship or aircraft registered or artificial installation/island under the jurisdiction or in exclusive economic zone or continental shelf of contracting party
2.	Nondiscrimination	Convention and national law applied without discrimination on nationality, domicile, or residence	Same as under PC RVC Amendment: Installation state may derogate from the convention if compensation for nuclear damage is in excess of 150 million special drawing rights	Same as under PC Additionally, installation state may exclude damage suffered by non-contracting state if it is obligated under any other convention
3.	Nuclear Damage	Liability of operator under PC for: Damage/loss of life Damage/loss of property other than (a) nuclear installation itself or (b) any property on same site	Nuclear damage means: Loss of life/personal injury/damage to property arising from radioactive properties or combination of radioactive property and toxic, explosive, or other hazardous properties If law of competent court provides, loss/damage to life or damage to property resulting from ionizing radiation RVC Amendment: Nuclear damage means: Loss of life/personal injury Damage to property Subject to extent determined by competent court: Economic loss arising from loss of life/personal injury/damage to property Cost for reinstatement of impaired environment Loss of income due to impairment of environment Costs of preventive measures Any other economic loss caused by impairment of environment if permitted by law on civil liability To extent that loss/damage arises from ionizing radiation or combination of radioactive property and toxic, explosive, or other hazardous properties	Same as under RVC Amendment
Operators Liability
4.	Exclusive Liability	Same as under CSC Additionally, except under convention, no other person is liable if nuclear incident occurs during transportation	Only operator liable for nuclear damage Insurer may be liable to pay compensation subject to laws of competent court No liability of operator for non-nuclear damage	Right to compensation exercised only against operator. Subject to national law, direct right of action may lie against insurer or financial guarantor furnishing security
5.	Exclusion of Liability of Operator	No liability of operator for damage due to armed conflict, hostilities, civil war or insurrection, or due to grave natural disaster of exceptional character	Same as under PC Additionally, if operator proves nuclear damage resulted wholly/partly from gross negligence or act/omission with intent to cause damage by any person, operator may be relieved to pay damages to such person	Same as under VC
6.	Right of Recourse	Operator shall have right to recourse only if (a) such right is provided in a written contract or (b) the incident occurs from an act or omission done with intent to cause damage	Same as under PC	Same as under PC Additionally, contracting parties to enact legislation to enable other contracting parties who paid contribution to benefit from right of recourse of operator
Compensation Amounts
7.	Liability Limits of Operator	Maximum liability of operator is 15 million special drawing rights Contracting party may, if provision for insurance provided in accordance with convention, increase or decrease amount of liability. However, a decreased amount of liability of operator shall not be less than 5 million special drawing rights	Minimum liability of operator is US $5 million, excluding interests and costs RVC Amendment: Minimum liability of operator not less than 300 million special drawing rights Liability of operator not less than 150 million special drawing rights, and if public funds made available, up to 300 million special drawing rights For transitional period of fifteen years, liability of operator to be not less than 100 million special drawing rights, and if minimum is fixed below 100 million special drawing rights, public funds to be made available for compensation Installation state may in its discretion set lower limit of operator’s liability to not less than 5 million special drawing rights, and make public funds available up to such amount specified for compensation	Liability of operator not less than 300 million special drawing rights or not less than 150 million special drawing rights, if public funds made available up to 300 million special drawing rights Installation state may in its discretion set lower limit of liability of operator not less than 5 million special drawing rights and make public funds available up to such amount specified for compensation Contracting party may limit liability of operator for ten years to an amount not less than 150 million special drawing rights Maximum amount of operator’s liability payable for nuclear incident during carriage is governed by national law
8.	Insurance Cover	Type and terms of insurance or financial security specified by competent public authority	Operator to maintain insurance as specified by installation state. If yield of insurance is inadequate, installation state to provide public funds RVC Amendment: Where liability of operator is unlimited insurance of at least 300 million special drawing rights Installation state may in its discretion set lower limit of insurance to not less than 5 million special drawing rights	Same as under VC and RVC Amendment
9.	Public Funds	Contracting party to take necessary measures to provide public funds if there is an increase in the amount of compensation	Public funds used under convention as discussed in liability limit and insurance cover above	Public funds used under convention as discussed in liability limit and insurance cover above For liability of operator beyond the amount of 300 million special drawing rights or beyond such greater amount as specified or beyond 150 million special drawing rights for first ten years, compensation for damage to be settled through public funds
10.	Enforcement of Rights of Compensation	Except in measures of execution of right, no invocation of any jurisdictional immunities before competent court	Same as under PC RVC Amendment: Persons suffering damage may enforce their right without bringing separate proceeding according to origin of source of fund provided Contracting parties to ensure any State may bring action for damages on behalf of its nationals, domiciles, and residents	Persons suffering damage may enforce their right without bringing separate proceeding according to origin of source of fund provided
11.	Nature Form and Extent of Compensation	Governed by national law	Governed by law of competent court subject to provisions of convention RVC Amendment: If compensation likely to exceed maximum prescribed, priority in distribution shall be given to claims in respect of loss of life or personal injury	Governed by law of competent court
12.	Time Limits	Right to compensation extinguishes after ten years from date of incident Under national legislation, if measures provided to cover liability of operator, such period of ten years may be extended by contracting party	Right to compensation extinguishes after ten years from date of incident Under insurance system of national law, period more than ten years may also be provided RVC Amendment: Right to compensation extinguishes in thirty years from date of incident for loss of life/personal property and ten years from date of incident for other damage	Same as under VC
13.	Jurisdiction	Courts in whose territory the incident occurred shall have jurisdiction If incident occurs beyond territory of contracting party or place of incident not determinable, then courts of contracting party where installation is situated will have jurisdiction If incident occurs partly outside any contracting party and partly within single contracting party, jurisdiction lies with the court of contracting party. In any other case, courts of contracting party determined at request of contracting party concerned	Courts in whose territory the incident occurred shall have jurisdiction If incident occurs beyond territory of contracting party or place of incident not determinable, then courts of installation state of operator will have jurisdiction RVC Amendment: If installation located in exclusive economic zone of contracting party, courts of that party shall have jurisdiction If jurisdiction lies within more than one contracting party it may be fixed by agreement Incident partly outside any contracting party and partly within single contracting party jurisdiction lies with the court of contracting party	Same as under VC Additionally: If installation located in exclusive economic zone of contracting party, courts of that party shall have jurisdiction If jurisdiction lies within more than one contracting party it may be fixed by agreement
14.	Applicable Law	National law or the national legislation (substantive and procedural) of the court having jurisdiction	Law of court having jurisdiction under convention	Either VC, PC, or annex to CSC shall apply to exclusion of other subject to the provisions PC/VC/CSC; the applicable law shall be the law of the competent court

*2004 Protocol to amend the Paris Convention on Nuclear Third Party Liability is not yet in force, http://www.oecd-nea.org/law/paris-convention-ratification.html.

**Convention on Supplementary Compensation for Nuclear Damage is not yet in force, http://www.iaea.org/Publications/Documents/Conventions/supcomp_status.pdf.