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International Legal Framework for Nuclear Safety
Webinar Series on Nuclear Law
Description
Since the Three Mile Island accident in 1979 and the Chernobyl accident in 1986, the international community has taken major steps towards a global nuclear safety regime. Over the past four decades, several important international conventions have been adopted and progressively strengthened to achieve and maintain a high level of nuclear safety worldwide.International cooperation in relation to safety, in particular the safety of nuclear installations, radiation safety, the safety of radioactive waste management and safety transport of radioactive material, has contributed to the development of the international nuclear safety regime.
The features of this regime include, both binding and non-binding legal instruments, such as international conventions that establish obligations and mechanisms for ensuring nuclear safety and codes of conduct that promote the adoption of good practices in the relevant facilities and activities. Although nuclear safety remains the responsibility of each individual country, nuclear accidents can transcend national borders. In this context, the Fukushima Daiichi accident underlined the vital importance of effective international cooperation.
This webinar will identify the main international legal instruments in this field including recent developments.
By the end of this webinar, participants should be able to:
- Understand the different binding and non-binding legal instruments in the field of nuclear safety, including their objectives, scope and main obligations, in particular, the Convention on Nuclear Safety, the Joint Convention, the Convention on Early Notification of a Nuclear Accident and the Convention on Assistance in the Case of a Nuclear Accident or Radiological Emergency, as well as the relevant Codes of Conduct;
- Familiarize with the procedural aspect of review meetings of contracting parties to the Convention on Nuclear Safety and the Joint Convention;
- Grasp the challenges of the implementation of these conventions at national level that were raised by contracting parties during the past review meetings.
Presenters
Judit Silye, IAEA
Abdelmadjid Cherf, Former Senior Legal Officer, IAEA
Moderator
Wolfram Tonhauser, IAEA
