Civil Liability for Nuclear Incidents in China: The State Council's 1986 Reply and Beyond

July 02, 2005 | BY

clpstaff &clp articles

Despite its status as one of the world's fastest growing nuclear energy providers, China lacks a comprehensive body of law dealing with civil liability for nuclear incidents. Such liability is currently dealt with under what may be considered a normative document issued by the State Council in 1986. Though this document is in-line with international conventions on nuclear civil liability, questions remain as to whether its legal basis can be relied on through future development in the industry.

By Qin Yu, Junyi Law Office, Beijing

The development of a civil liability system for nuclear incidents is of vital importance in the advancement of China's nuclear power industry. Two major international conventions have been ratified to address civil liability in nuclear incidents, namely, the Paris Convention on Third Party Liability in the Field of Nuclear Energy (1960), supplemented by the Brussels Convention Supplementary to the Paris Convention (1963), effective from 1968, and the Vienna Convention of Civil Liability for Nuclear Damage (1963), effective from 1977.

The Paris Convention is limited to the OECD countries, whereas the Vienna Convention, under the auspices of the International Atomic Energy Agency, is open for signature worldwide. These Conventions are linked by the Joint Protocol Relating to the Application of the Vienna Convention and the Paris Convention, effective 1992. Essentially, a party to one convention is deemed to be a party to the other in addressing nuclear liabilities of a nuclear incident.

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