Programme summary

The NEA Division of Nuclear Law (DNL) helps create sound national and international legal regimes required for the peaceful uses of nuclear energy, including as regards nuclear safety, international trade in nuclear materials and equipment, public engagement, issues of liability and compensation for nuclear damage, and to serve as a leading centre for nuclear law information and education.

To achieve this goal, the DNL:

• assists member countries in the development, strengthening and harmonisation of nuclear legislation and regulation in areas such as nuclear safety, radioactive waste management and environmental law (as applied to nuclear activities) based upon internationally accepted principles and in line with international binding instruments for the safe and peaceful use of nuclear energy;
• contributes to the modernisation of the international nuclear liability regimes and encourages the strengthening of treaty relations between interested countries to address liability and compensation for nuclear damage; and
• collects, analyses and disseminates information on nuclear law generally and on topical nuclear legal issues in particular.

Developing, strengthening, and harmonising nuclear legislation

The DNL supports the Nuclear Law Committee (NLC) in working to help ensure sound national and international legal regimes required for the peaceful uses of nuclear energy, including in the field of liability and compensation for nuclear damage, nuclear safety, international trade in nuclear materials and equipment, as well as public engagement. It also facilitates the integration of non-members in NLC work, as approved in the NEA Participation Plan for co-operation with non-members; and assisting members in implementing nuclear law assistance programmes in non-member countries. The DNL supports the NLC working parties, i.e. the Working Party on the Legal Aspects of Nuclear Safety (WPLANS), the Working Party on Nuclear Liability and Transport (WPNLT), as well as the Working Party on Deep Geological Repositories and Nuclear Liability (WPDGR), which has been established in co-ordination with the Committee on Radiological Protection and Public Health (CRPPH) and the Radioactive Waste Management Committee (RWMC).

Application, interpretation and modernisation of the international nuclear liability regimes

The DNL works with the NLC and the Contracting Parties to the Paris Convention to help member countries to interpret, apply and modernise the international nuclear liability conventions and foster progress towards a global liability and compensation regime.

It encourages ratification and implementation of the 2004 Protocols to Amend the Paris Convention on Third Party Liability in the Field of Nuclear Energy and the Brussels Convention Supplementary to the Paris Convention, as well as ratification of other nuclear liability international instruments, i.e. the 1963 Vienna Convention on Civil Liability for Nuclear Damage, the 1997 Protocol to amend the Vienna Convention, the 1988 Joint Protocol relating to the application of the Vienna Convention and the Paris Convention and the 1997 Convention on Supplementary Compensation for Nuclear Damage (CSC).

Nuclear law information

The DNL provides current, online information on national legislation, regulatory and institutional frameworks and international protocols and conventions on nuclear activity and liability issues.

The Nuclear Law Bulletin (NLB) is published twice a year and includes the following:

• expert articles on contemporary nuclear law issues;
• developments in nuclear legislation and regulation worldwide, as well as in nuclear-energy related international instruments;
• reports on relevant case law;
• updates on intergovernmental agency activity;
• texts of significant new laws and other legal documents.

Education programmes

The DNL is responsible for two educational programmes:

• The International School of Nuclear Law (ISNL) is a two-week programme run annually by the NEA and the University of Montpellier and supported by the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA). Covering essential aspects of international nuclear law, it is designed for students and professionals.
• The International Nuclear Law Essentials (INLE) is a one-week programme run by the NEA covering practical issues in international nuclear law.

In addition, the DNL participates in, upon invitation, other nuclear law education programmes, particularly in countries of strategic importance to the NEA.