Civil Liability for Nuclear Incidents in China: The State Council's 1986 Reply and Beyond
July 02, 2005 | BY
clpstaff &clp articlesDespite 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.
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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.