Environmental Law and Nuclear Law

Abstract

International nuclear law has developed over the last 50 years and during most of its history its main focus has been on protecting people and property. Protection of the environment has only made an occasional appearance, and the international conventions on nuclear third party liability amply illustrate this point. Under the Paris Convention on Third Party Liability in the Field of Nuclear Energy (1960) and the Vienna Convention on Civil Liability for Nuclear Damage (1963) the notion of nuclear damage is understood to cover personal injury and property damage causally related to a nuclear incident. The conventions do not refer to environmental damage at all.