Nuclear Liability and Insurance

Early in the development of nuclear power, the need for developing an international framework for the compensation of potential victims of nuclear incidents in the event of a nuclear accident according at nuclear installations or during transport has led to the adoption of international instruments addressing third party nuclear liability. The result was the Paris and Vienna conventions dating from the 1960s, and the Protocol to amend the Vienna Convention and the Convention on Supplementary Compensation which were adopted after the Chernobyl accident in 1997. Over the years, countries have been joining one or several of these conventions and transposed them into national laws.

All these conventions provide for the same internationally accepted nuclear liability principles. Most countries that have developed nuclear energy programs but have not adhered to any of these conventions have also provided int their national legislation the same principles.

The transport of nuclear material forms an integral part of the nuclear fuel cycle and as such are covered by the nuclear liability conventions and national framework. The basic principles of the nuclear liability regime also apply to transport of radioactive material.

The workshop brought together nuclear transport practitioners with lawyers and insurers expert in this field. Its goal was to promote a better understanding of the liabilities relating to nuclear transport and how these can be managed through sound insurance and contracting.