The NEA Nuclear Law Committee (NLC) is a group of specialists from the NEA member countries that comprises lawyers, policymakers, academics and technical experts. The NLC met on 9-10 June 2026 with 68 participants representing 24 NEA member countries, representatives from Brazil, Ghana and the United Arab Emirates, the European Union and Euratom, the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) and participants from the nuclear insurance industry, to discuss the committee’s activities.
The first day of the meeting included an address by NEA Director-General William D. Magwood, IV, along with updates from the Secretariat on matters of special interest to the NLC, including the work of the NEA Division of Nuclear Law and relevant activities of other NEA divisions. The NLC also heard an update on the amendment to the Convention on Supplementary Compensation for Nuclear Damage.
The first day also included reports from the European Union and Euratom and the IAEA, as well as updates on national developments in nuclear law in Finland, France, Italy, the United Kingdom and the United States. The Secretariat reported on activities related to the Paris and Brussels Supplementary Conventions. Finally, the Japanese delegation reported on the status of lawsuits for compensation for nuclear damage in Japan regarding the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant accident.
During the second day, the NLC heard presentations from the delegations of Brazil and Ghana, as well as from an expert from India, on recent developments in nuclear law in their respective countries. Updates on the subsidiary bodies of the NLC, namely the NEA Working Party on the Legal Aspects of Nuclear Safety (WPLANS), the Working Party on Nuclear Liability and Transport (WPNLT) and the Expert Group on Nuclear Liability and Radioactive Waste Disposal Facilities (EGLDF) were shared with the NLC. The Secretariat also reported on the initiatives of the NEA Division of Nuclear Law such as the Working Group 5 on Re-establishing nuclear law education programmes, established under the NEA Global Forum on Nuclear Education, Science, Technology and Policy, as well as Women in Nuclear Law.
The NLC discussed the outcomes of Bridging Law and Technology: International Workshop for the Deployment of Small Modular Reactors held in Stockholm, Sweden, in December 2025 and received information on the Fifth International Workshop on the Indemnification of Damage in the Event of a Nuclear Accident, to be held in London, United Kingdom, in 2027. The NLC also discussed the application of nuclear liability conventions to nuclear incidents occurring or nuclear damage suffered on the high seas or in international airspace.
