The NEA Nuclear Law Committee (NLC) met remotely on 18-20 November 2020 to review the ongoing activities of the NEA Office of Legal Counsel and the NLC working parties on nuclear liability and transport, deep geological repositories and nuclear liability, and the legal aspects of nuclear safety. The meeting was attended by more than 80 participants representing 26 NEA member countries, five partner countries, the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), the European Commission (EC) and the insurance industry.
The NLC is a highly focused group of specialists designated by the NEA member countries, comprising lawyers, policy makers, academics and from time to time, technical experts. Its terms of reference centre upon the interpretation, implementation, improvement and modernisation of the international nuclear liability regimes. It also provides a forum for discussions concerning the development and harmonisation of legislation on other aspects of nuclear law.
Participants discussed the forthcoming reports of the Third and Fourth International Workshops on the Indemnification of Damage in the Event of a Nuclear Accident, the 2019 report Legal Frameworks For The Long Term Operation Of Nuclear Power Reactors, and the implementation of international conventions with regard to public participation in nuclear related activities. Reports on the latest national developments in nuclear law were provided by Bulgaria, Canada, Japan, Luxembourg, Turkey and the United States. The Committee also addressed the ratification of the 2004 Protocols to amend the Paris Convention on Third Party Liability in the Field of Nuclear Energy and the Brussels Supplementary Convention.