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