The Contracting Parties and Signatories to the Convention on Supplementary Compensation for Nuclear Damage (CSC) convened for their Third Meeting from 6 to 8 June 2023, at the Japanese Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology (MEXT), in Tokyo, Japan.
Some 70 representatives from 10 Contracting Parties and Signatories (Argentina, Canada, India, Japan, Lithuania, Indonesia, Philippines, Romania, United Arab Emirates, United States of America) and eight invited observer countries (Brazil, China, Cambodia, Malaysia, Thailand, Uruguay, United Kingdom and Viet Nam) participated in the Third Meeting. Several representatives of intergovernmental organizations, the nuclear industry and academia gave presentations. The IAEA Office of Legal Affairs acted as the Secretariat to the Meeting.
The event provided an opportunity for the Contracting Parties and Signatories to build on the momentum created by their inaugural Meeting in Ottawa, Canada, 2019 and the Second Meeting in Vienna, Austria, 2022, especially with respect to achieving a global regime based on the CSC. During the Meeting, representatives of the invited observer and signatory countries shared their perspectives on the factors that have influenced their consideration of the CSC. Several of these countries indicated they have decided to join or are giving serious consideration to joining the CSC. Further to a report and recommendations from the Working Group "CSC Membership Expansion", the Meeting agreed on actions to strengthen engagement opportunities and achieve broad participation in the CSC.
"The nuclear liability regime is an essential framework for enabling the civil use of nuclear energy, which is internationally expected to play a significant role in addressing climate change," Taro Hokugo, Chair of the Third CSC Meeting and advisor to Ministry of Education Culture, Sports, Science and Technology (MEXT) of Japan, said. "Japan's experience of compensation proved that the nuclear liability regime consistent with the international nuclear liability principles is necessary and effective for relieving victims in case of an accident and is beneficial in streamlining the compensation process in foreign courts and in securing the supply chain for nuclear energy even after an accident."
In his opening remarks, Jonathan Herbach, Legal Officer, Nuclear and Treaty Law Section, IAEA Office of Legal Affairs noted that the CSC "provides a mechanism to achieve treaty relations with as many States as practical, with the goal of universal participation in the global nuclear liability regime. In addition, the CSC contains features to promote increased compensation, including an international fund to supplement the amount of compensation available for nuclear damage."
The Third Meeting considered several Issues related to the implementation of the CSC, including operationalising the CSC's International Fund through development of guidance on collection and distribution mechanisms. The Meeting also considered the relationship of the CSC with the Paris Convention on Third Party Liability in the Field of Nuclear Energy and the Brussels Convention Supplementary to the Paris Convention. This topic is particularly relevant given the UK government's actions to join the CSC which would make it the first member of the Paris Convention to do so. An industry roundtable provided an opportunity for industry representatives to highlight the legal certainty provided by treaty relations on the basis of the CSC.
The Third Meeting elected the new Bureau of the Fourth Meeting which is planned to be held in an in-person format in Vienna in the second fiscal quarter of 2024.
The CSC was adopted under IAEA auspices in 1997 and currently has 11 Contracting Parties (Argentina, Benin, Canada, Ghana, India, Japan, Montenegro, Morocco, Romania, United Arab Emirates and United States of America) and 11 Signatories (Australia, Czech Republic, Indonesia, Italy, Lebanon, Lithuania, Mauritius, Peru, Philippines, Senegal, Ukraine). The Convention functions as an "umbrella" for all countries that are party to one of the existing international conventions on civil liability for nuclear damage or have national legislation in place conforming to the principles underlying those conventions. An online CSC Calculator is available to countries to run scenarios of contributions to the international fund.
The nuclear liability regime is an essential framework for enabling the civil use of nuclear energy, which is internationally expected to play a significant role in addressing climate change.
10 Contracting Parties and Signatories and eight invited observer countries participated in the Third Meeting. (Photo: MEXT)
