The IAEA hosted the 23rd meeting of the International Expert Group on Nuclear Liability (INLEX), at its headquarters in Vienna, Austria, last month. Established in 2003, INLEX currently consists of 19 members serving in their individual capacity and serves as a forum of expertise to explore and advise on issues related to civil liability for nuclear damage.
IAEA Legal Adviser and Director of the Office of Legal Affairs, Peri Lynne Johnson, welcomed the experts, including three new members, and highlighted the importance of recognised expertise in the field of nuclear liability.
During the meeting, held from 18 to 20 July, members reported on the most recent developments in the field of nuclear liability, including national aspects and the implementation of the international legal instruments.
The expert group discussed the geographical scope of the 2004 Paris Convention, the 1997 Vienna Convention and the Convention on Supplementary Compensation for Nuclear Damage (CSC). In addition, the group also discussed the understanding of the term “for use” provided in the 2014 IAEA Board of Governors resolution (GOV/2014/63, derestricted 2017-06-09) on the exclusion of small quantities of nuclear material from the scope of the 1963 and 1997 Vienna Conventions and the CSC, and the related 2016 OECD/NEA Steering Committee decision. Finally, the experts discussed the operator’s right of recourse under the conventions and liability issues during the transport of nuclear material and those related to outer space activities, small modular reactors and nuclear fusion.
During the meeting, the IAEA demonstrated a new visualized tool as part of the online calculator for the CSC. The tool produces a detailed spreadsheet, a pie chart and a bar chart as part of the statistical information on the amounts to be contributed to the CSC international fund.
