Brussels Supplementary Convention to the Paris Convention (Brussels Supplementary Convention or BSC)

Ongoing

The 1963 Convention Supplementary to the Paris Convention of 29 July 1960 (the "Brussels Supplementary Convention" or BSC) was adopted to provide additional funds to compensate damage as a result of a nuclear incident where Paris Convention funds proved to be insufficient. The Brussels Supplementary Convention stipulates that public funds are to be provided for this purpose, not only by the state where the liable operator's nuclear installation is located, but also by contributions from all the parties to the Brussels Supplementary Convention. The Convention is thus based on a strong bond of financial solidarity between its parties.

The Brussels Supplementary Convention is subject to the provisions contained in the Paris Convention including those which define the concepts of "nuclear incident", "nuclear installation", "nuclear substances" and "nuclear damage". Its geographical scope of application is limited to damage suffered on the territory of a contracting party to the Brussels Supplementary Convention or on or over the high seas, caused by nuclear incidents other than those occurring entirely in the territory of a non-contracting state.

The combined Paris/Brussels regime provides for compensation to a maximum amount of SDR 300 million*, in three tiers:

a first tier corresponding to the liability amount imposed under the Paris Convention, meaning that each Party to the Brussels Supplementary Convention is required to establish by legislation an operator liability amount of at least SDR 5 million, to be provided by insurance or other financial security;
a second tier consisting of the difference between SDR 175 million and the amount required under the first tier, which is to be provided from public funds to be made available by the party in whose territory the nuclear installation of the liable operator is situated;
a third tier comprising SDR 125 million to be made available from public funds contributed jointly by all the parties to the Brussels Supplementary Convention according to a pre-determined formula.

No state may become or remain a contracting party to the Brussels Supplementary Convention unless it is already a contracting party to the Paris Convention. The Brussels Supplementary Convention will only remain in place for as long as the Paris Convention also remains in force.

The Belgian Government is the depositary for the Brussels Supplementary Convention, which has been amended by protocols adopted in 1964, 1982 and 2004.

The 2004 Protocol to Amend the Brussels Supplementary Convention has not yet entered into force.

Notes:

*The unit of account used in the Brussels Supplementary Convention is the Special Drawing Right, a unit of account defined by the International Monetary Fund (IMF) based upon a basket of key international currencies. The currency value of the SDR is calculated daily and the valuation basket is reviewed and adjusted every five years.

Resources

Full text of the Brussels Supplementary Convention
English | French
Latest status of the Brussels Supplementary Convention
English | French

Related Decisions, Recommendations and Interpretations

OECD Council recommendation on the application of the Brussels Supplementary Convention [C(92)166/FINAL]
English (16 KB) | French (11 KB)

Read more on the Brussels Supplementary Convention on our Multilateral agreements website.

Related topics

International conventions and agreements

Contact

NEA Office of Legal Counsel

Activities

results

2004 Protocol to Amend the Brussels Supplementary Convention

Improves the existing regime by requiring that significantly more compensation be made available to supplement that which is to be provided for under the Paris Convention.

2004 Protocol to Amend the Paris Convention

Improves the existing regime by requiring that more money be made available to compensate more victims for a broader range of damages.

European Nuclear Energy Tribunal

The Convention on the Establishment of a Security Control in the Field of Nuclear Energy ("Security Control Convention") and the Protocol on the Tribunal established by the Security Control Convention ("Protocol on the Tribunal") were adopted on 20 December 1957. The Convention came into force on 22 July 1959 and the first judges were appointed on 1 January 1960. The implementation of the security control system (designed to prevent the proliferation of nuclear weapons) has been suspended since the 1970s in order to avoid duplication with similar systems established by Euratom and the International Atomic Energy Agency. For the time being, the jurisdiction of the Tribunal has been limited to resolving differences concerning the interpretation or application of the above-mentioned Paris and Brussels Conventions.

Joint Protocol relating to the Application of the Vienna Convention and Paris Convention

Acts as a bridge between the Paris and Vienna Conventions, effectively extending the benefits provided by one convention to victims in countries that have joined the other convention.

Paris Convention on Third Party Liability in the Field of Nuclear Energy (Paris Convention or PC)

The Paris Convention establishes a nuclear liability and compensation regime to compensate victims of a nuclear accident. The PC is open to OECD member countries as of right and non-member countries with the consent of all the contracting parties to the Paris Convention.