Nuclear Energy For Peaceful Purposes Research Articles

Evolution of Legislation Regarding the Use of Nuclear Energy for Peaceful Purposes

The development and use of atomic energy represent one of the greatest achievements of the 20th century, opening new possibilities for global evolution. The United Nations (UN) has formulated the «Millennium Development Goals» and the «Sustainable Development Goals by 2030» to address comprehensive solutions to the social, economic, and environmental challenges facing the planet. In this context, nuclear energy offers unparalleled advantages, but it is essential to consider the risks and challenges associated with its future use and development. Nuclear law serves as a valuable tool for regulating the development of nuclear energy and overcoming these risks and challenges. All countries must strictly fulfill their international obligations, responsibly implement international legal instructions at the national level, and collectively support the international regime and legal framework organized around the United Nations. This, in turn, contributes to the achievement of the shared goal of «atoms for peace and development».
 The international legal framework on nuclear issues emerged alongside the development of nuclear energy worldwide. It evolves as social, economic, scientific, and technical challenges associated with this development are addressed, thereby contributing to the safe, secure, and sustainable development of peaceful nuclear energy use.
 The IAEA and the international community have established an almost universal regime of safeguards aimed at detecting and preventing the diversion of nuclear materials from peaceful nuclear activities to the production of nuclear weapons.
 Based on the results of the conducted research, it has been established that each country not only has the right to use nuclear energy for peaceful purposes but also bears the responsibility and obligation to prevent the proliferation of nuclear weapons and to support nuclear safety and security. All countries should conscientiously fulfill their obligations in accordance with the international legal framework on nuclear safety, fully implement relevant resolutions of the United Nations Security Council, strengthen and expand the existing international legal framework on nuclear safety, and provide institutional guarantees, adhering to universally defined guiding principles for managing international nuclear safety.

Accommodating Nutopia: The nuclear ban treaty and the developmental interests of Global South countries

Abstract This article argues that the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons (TPNW) would not have been possible without protecting the inalienable rights of states to pursue nuclear energy for peaceful purposes. While some Western states and NGOs have pushed to ban all applications of nuclear technology, this was unacceptable to a large number of disarmament-supporting states from the Global South and the Non-Aligned Movement. Without support from states across the Global South, the TPNW would not have achieved the required number of signatories to be adopted. Thus, we argue that to properly understand the TPNW, an appreciation of states’ interests and motivations beyond their more widely discussed frustrations with the pace of nuclear disarmament is essential. We also argue that nuclear weapons scholarship must pay more attention to perspectives from the Global South and the concept of Nutopia – a belief in both the dystopian potential of nuclear weapons and the utopian possibilities of nuclear energy – in its understanding of nuclear politics, past and present. Global South perspectives are often overlooked, and as such, current regimes of nuclear arms control and disarmament remain only partially understood in Western literature.

From Mendeleev’s system of chemical elements to nuclear projects: scientists’ perspective

The article is devoted to the history of the creation of nuclear weapons in Germany, the USA, and the USSR, as well as the use of nuclear energy for peaceful purposes. In this regard, the moral position of the scientists dealing with these issues is considered.

The Future of the Iran Deal from the International Law Perspective

The Iranian nuclear program was launched before the Islamic Revolution in the 1950s with the help of the United States, under the agreement known as the Cooperation Concerning Civil Uses of Atoms. In 1958, immediately after the establishment of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), Iran gained its membership and signed the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons (NPT) on its adoption date, July 1, 1968. Two years after, the NPT was approved by the Iranian Parliament and since then, Iran remains a party to this treaty. In Article IV, the NPT endorses the inalienable right of all the Parties to the Treaty to develop research, production, and use of nuclear energy for peaceful purposes without discrimination.

“ATOMIC LAW” OR “NUCLEAR LAW”? AN ACADEMIC DISCUSSION REVISITED

The terms “atomic law” and “nuclear law” are regularly being (to a certain part as synonyms) used in both scientific and popular literature to refer to a body of legal norms, governing peaceful uses of nuclear energy and ionizing radiation, as provided by sources of international law (“international atomic law,” or “international nuclear law”), national legislation and a complex body of unbinding norms (soft law). Further, several other variations of these terms are also regularly used (such as “atomic energy law,” “nuclear energy law,” “international nuclear law,” “law of the atomic/nuclear energy,” etc.). This contribution aims to identify the origins of this terminological labyrinth and to deal with the perception of these terms in the legal scholarship. Further, this contribution deals with the recent perception of these terms in the legal science of major States, using nuclear energy for peaceful purposes. This article aims to clarify the existing terminology, which is to large extent being used in the literature without an appropriate explanation. The author pleads for a consequent use of the term “nuclear law” (droit nucléaire, yadernoe pravo, Nuklearrecht, derecho nuclear, diritto nucleare) and presents arguments for such conclusion.

The Making of Indian Diplomacy: A Critique of Eurocentrism by Deep K. Datta-Ray

Reviewed by: The Making of Indian Diplomacy: A Critique of Eurocentrism by Deep K. Datta-Ray Ananta Kumar Giri (bio) The Making of Indian Diplomacy: A Critique of Eurocentrism. By Deep K. Datta-Ray. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2015. ISBN 978-0-19-020667-3. In this book, Deep K. Datta-Ray strives to explore some of the deep foundations of Indian diplomacy with and beyond the discourse of modernity, especially its preoccupation with power, control, and violence. [End Page 1020] Datta-Ray argues that modern diplomacy is rooted in a model of violence and control, and Indian diplomacy is striving to move beyond this. Indian diplomacy draws inspiration from the civilizational ethos of and preoccupation of India with dharma, right conduct, and a non-violent way of being with the world. For Datta-Ray, the Indian approach to diplomacy, as it draws from the civilizational steams of the Ramayana and Mahabharata as well as Indo-Mughal experiments in creative diplomacy and Gandhian and Nehruvian approaches, is that "politics may be possible without violence" (p. 3). Datta-Ray shows how Indian diplomacy avoids an either-or approach. He discusses at great length the civil Indo-U.S. nuclear agreement in which India negotiated with the United States in a subtle manner. While negotiating with and acceding to the United States, Indian diplomats and negotiators stuck to India's right to do further tests without violating the terms of agreement. India also did not have to choose between the United States and Iran and creatively negotiated with both. Datta-Ray studies the making of Indian diplomacy by speaking with some of the practicing diplomats as well as some of the key makers of Indian foreign policy such as Shiv Shankar Menon and K. Natwar Singh. Menon argues that we need to "develop our own strategic concepts and vocabulary" (p. 86). Menon emphasizes the need for both credibility and empathy, especially empathizing with the problems and the predicament of one's adversary. For Datta-Ray, this approach is different from the anarchical binarism of modernity. Menon suggests that he draws this from the dharma-centric approach of Mahabharata, Ramayana, and Gandhian experiment with this. Datta-Ray adopts a hermeneutic approach to understanding the making of Indian diplomacy, which "[…] maintains the possibility of Indian diplomacy being not the 'indigenization of modernity', but maintained by a metaphysic external to modernity" (p. 23). Datta-Ray writes the following about Menon: "Menon's virtues were drawn from Mahabharat (Mb)." Mahabharat is an aspect of Indian cultural identity. About Gandhi he writes: "At least three centuries of modern thought from Hobbes onwards—and a much longer intellectual tradition—were short-circuited by Gandhi's innovations within a tradition of dharma." Datta-Ray argues that in offering military resistance to aggression on Kashmir by Pakistan-supported Pathan forces, India did not deviate from the principle of dharma and non-violence. Gandhi also supported this military response. For Datta-Ray by doing so Gandhi did not deviate from the principle of non-violence. As he writes: "Kashmir demonstrated that it was possible for the state to perform Gandhian policy" (p. 223). But Datta-Ray is writing his book in 2015 and he should have looked into the violence in which Indian security forces are involved in Kashmir. Datta-Ray also argues how Nehru continued the Gandhian approach to foreign policy and international diplomacy. The Non-Aligned Movement [End Page 1021] that Nehru co-created with Nasser of Egypt and Tito of former Yugoslavia was a continuation of Gandhian policy. This is synchronized with his friendly policy of Panchasheel with China. But, as Datta-Ray writes, "[… ] the China war sensitized Nehru about the cost of applying principled Gandhism in the international [realm]" (p. 238). Despite this, Nehru did not cross the "laxman rekha in terms of weaponization" (p. 239). Nehru did not want to build nuclear weapons and wanted to use nuclear energy for peaceful purposes. This was an aspect of his commitment to the Gandhian way of being with self and the world. Despite their differences, for Datta-Ray, Nehru followed Gandhian principles in his politics and policy. Datta-Ray strives to understand the making of Indian foreign policy...

Replacement Policy for Nuclear Energy for Peaceful Purposes: An Environmental Approach

Replacement Policy for Nuclear Energy for Peaceful Purposes: An Environmental Approach

Fuel for thought? South Africa's position on the multilateralisation of the nuclear fuel cycle

ABSTRACTThe proponents of international nuclear fuel banks maintain that these banks will contribute to nuclear non-proliferation, whereas those opposing it maintain that nuclear weapon states support these banks in order to control and multilateralise the nuclear fuel cycle, thus preventing developing states from developing nuclear energy for peaceful purposes. Global inequalities pertaining to nuclear energy continue to persist despite developing states’ efforts to reform the international nuclear energy regime. Moreover, some developing states maintain that these nuclear fuel banks perpetuate inequality in international relations. This is one of the reasons why some leading developing states, such as Brazil and South Africa, oppose these banks. South Africa, for example, intends to re-establish its nuclear fuel cycle and has declared uranium a strategic resource. Against the aforesaid, this article, following a constructivist approach, analyses the emergence and social construction of nuclear fuel banks as a practical expression of nuclear non-proliferation norms. The discussion also considers the inter-subjective understanding of these banks, as well as South Africa’s opposition to them. The article concludes with an analysis of the implications of these opposing views for global equity, equality, nuclear non-proliferation and the peaceful uses of nuclear energy.

Will Climate Change Alter the NPT Political Balance? New Challenges for the Non-proliferation Regime

This article focuses on the possibilities of implementing a valid multilateral system for uranium enrichment and nuclear fuel-recycling activities. The contribution to the literature is twofold. First, I identify the economic, political, and legal tensions which should be overcome in order to establish such a multilateral system: enterprises’ interests in keeping their economic advantages; mistrust among states as well as mistrust in the current non-proliferation verification system; the necessity of redefining the content of the states’ right to use nuclear energy for peaceful purposes. And, last but not least, the willingness to cooperate of the states currently developing those activities of enrichment and recycling. Based on that analysis, the second contribution is the definition of those formulae for cooperation which would be the most appropriate for tackling the problems detected, as they could pave the way to the transition towards a multilateral system of worldwide reach.

Rethinking the non-proliferation of nuclear weapons

The article aims to assess the effectiveness of the non-proliferation regime established more than 40 years ago with the adoption of the Treaty on the Non-proliferation of Nuclear Weapons (NPT). Since that time the international community had achieved considerable success in the prevention of nuclear weapons’ proliferation. Nevertheless, while noting the results of the NPT and the verification system established under that instrument, one cannot remain silent about the shortcomings of the system and the non-compliance with some of its provisions. By its structure and provisions the NPT has divided States into two groups, distinguishing those possessing and those not possessing nuclear weapons. In effect, the rights and obligations of the Contracting Parties to the NPT are tailored to the group to which they belong, and the gravest violation of the NPT is that when States seek to change their status as defined in the NPT, notably by trying to munfacture or control of nuclear weapons. Under the NPT, research in, production and application of nuclear energy for peaceful purposes are inalienable rights, but their exercise should be in keeping with the basic obligation of nonnuclear-weapon States under the Treaty not to acquire in any form nuclear weapons and not to carry out unauthorized nuclear activities under the guise of their peaceful nuclear programs. While emphasizing the need to strengthen the non-proliferation regime, the article describes in nutshell the nuclear program of two States (the Islamic Republic of Iran and the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea) which gave cause for serious international concern.

Fusion-related work at the OECD Nuclear Energy Agency

The Nuclear Energy Agency (NEA) is a specialised agency within the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) focusing on the use of nuclear energy for peaceful purposes. Through its activities in the reaction data field, the NEA participates in the preparation of data for the modelling of future nuclear facility concepts and the development of reactor installations. A Working Party at the NEA on International Nuclear Data Evaluation Co-operation is established to promote the exchange of nuclear data evaluations, measurements, nuclear model calculations and validation. Activities on evaluated data in the European Fusion and Activation File projects are monitored through the Joint Evaluated Fission and Fusion (JEFF) collaboration as they play an important role for new fusion applications. The NEA provides also data from integral experiments collected in benchmark databases. Materials research is a field of key relevance for innovative nuclear systems, such as Generation IV reactors, critical and sub-critical transmutation systems and fusion devices. Recently, a new Working Party on Multi-Scale Modelling of Fuels and Structural Materials for Nuclear Systems has been created within the NEA.

The knowledge of and attitude towards nuclear energy among students of medicine in the north of Iran

The use of nuclear energy globally seems to have become greater in recent decades. Today, society wants to have nuclear energy for peaceful purposes. This study was carried out to investigate the knowledge and attitude of students of medicine towards nuclear energy in the universities of medical sciences in Mazandaran Province in the northern part of Iran. All of the students of medicine in basic science courses (175 students) were asked to complete a questionnaire to determine their knowledge about the physical and technological bases of nuclear energy, and also for their attitude towards the use of nuclear energy. The results showed that 171 students (98.8%) believe that nuclear energy in Iran is a necessity for development, and therefore, nuclear technology should have a native setup in the country. The findings also showed that knowledge of 121 students (69.9%) about the physical and technical bases of nuclear energy was in an acceptable range. Two questionnaires were excluded because of the incomplete filling of items.

CHERNOBYL VIS-À-VIS THE NUCLEAR FUTURE: AN INTERNATIONAL PERSPECTIVE

The paper aims to provide an international perspective on the consequences of the Chernobyl accident vis-à-vis the future development of the use of nuclear energy for peaceful purposes. It describes the major international initiatives that were undertaken over the years in order to quantify the consequences of the Chernobyl accident, and also analyzes the impact of the accident on the development of nuclear energy taking account of the perception of its consequences. The paper revisits the historical saga flowing since the fateful explosion at the Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant in the Ukraine 20 y ago. It looks at some of the misunderstandings about the consequences of the accident and explores the worldwide nuclear stagnation that followed Chernobyl, surveying the negative public reaction and also the possibilities of a nuclear revival. It finally searches for a way forward, concluding that an effective international nuclear safety regime is urgently needed with the purpose of preventing catastrophes like Chernobyl from occurring and also that the Chernobyl consequences need to be readdressed properly. The paper concludes with an appeal to the radiation protection community to resolve once and for all the difficult issues of attributing health effects to low-level radiation exposure.

OECD/NEA activities relating to innovative nuclear energy systems

The mission of the OECD Nuclear Energy Agency (NEA) is to assist its member countries in maintaining and further developing, through international co-operation, the scientific, technological and legal bases required for the safe, environmentally friendly and economical use of nuclear energy for peaceful purposes. In fulfilling that mission, the NEA conducts technical, economic and policy studies in response to the needs and interests of its 28 member countries. In recent years, a number of these studies have addressed various aspects of the next generation of nuclear power plants. This paper will describe some of the major activities recently completed and currently underway that may be of particular interest to the COE-INES program.

Brazil and the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty

. . .We repudiate nuclear armament and are fully aware of the serious risks that its spread could bring to mankind. Nevertheless, it is imperative that no immediate or potential obstacles be created that might in any way present hindrance to the full utilisation of nuclear energy for peaceful purposes. Otherwise, it would mean our acceptance of a new form of dependence surely incompatible with our aspirations for development. The late Marshal Artur da Costa e Silva, President of Brazil 1967-69.1