Vienna Convention on Civil Liability for Nuclear Damage


[CENTER]1. The Vienna Convention on Civil Liability for Nuclear Damage was adopted
on 21 May 1963 and was opened for signature on the same day. It entered into
force on 12 November 1977, i.e. three months after the date of deposit with
the Director General of the fifth instrument of ratification, in accordance with
Article XXIII.
2. In view of the demand for copies of the Convention, its text is being issued as
an INFCIRC document in all authentic languages, i.e. English, French,
Russian and Spanish.
On 22 September 2000 an addendum was issued to this document
(INFCIRC/500/Add.4).

Vienna Convention on Civil Liability for Nuclear Damage
THE CONTRACTING PARTIES,
HAVING RECOGNIZED the desirability of establishing some minimum standards to
provide financial protection against damage resulting from certain peaceful uses of
nuclear energy,
BELIEVING that a convention on civil liability for nuclear damage would also
contribute to the development of friendly relations among nations, irrespective of their
differing constitutional and social systems,
HAVE DECIDED to conclude a convention for such purposes, and thereto have
agreed as follows -
Article I
1. For the purposes of this Convention -
a. "Person" means any individual, partnership, any private or public body
whether corporate or not, any international organization enjoying legal personality
under the law of the Installation State, and any State or any of its constituent subdivisions.
b. "National of a Contracting Party" includes a Contracting Party or any of its
constituent sub-divisions, a partnership, or any private or public body whether
corporate or not established within the territory of a Contracting Party.
c. "Operator", in relation to a nuclear installation, means the person designated
or recognized by the Installation State as the operator of that installation.
d. "Installation State", in relation to a nuclear installation, means the Contracting
Party within whose territory that installation is situated or, if it is not situated within
the territory of any State, the Contracting Party by which or under the authority of
which the nuclear installation is operated.
e. "Law of the competent court" means the law of the court having jurisdiction
under this Convention, including any rules of such law relating to conflict of laws.
f. "Nuclear fuel" means any material which is capable of producing energy by a
self-sustaining chain process of nuclear fission.
g. "Radioactive products or waste" means any radioactive material produced in,
or any material made radioactive by exposure to the radiation incidental to, the
production or utilization of nuclear fuel, but does not include radioisotopes which
have reached the final stage of fabrication so as to be usable for any scientific,
medical, agricultural, commercial or industrial purpose.
h. "Nuclear material" means -
i. nuclear fuel, other than natural uranium and depleted uranium, capable of
producing energy by a self-sustaining chain process of nuclear fission outside a
nuclear reactor, either alone or in combination with some other material; and
ii. radioactive products or waste.
i. "Nuclear reactor" means any structure containing nuclear fuel in such an
arrangement that a self-sustaining chain process of nuclear fission can occur therein
without an additional source of neutrons.
j. "Nuclear installation" means -
. any nuclear reactor other than one with which a means of sea or air transport is
equipped for use as a source of power, whether for propulsion thereof or for any other
purpose;
i. any factory using nuclear fuel for the production of nuclear material, or any
factory for the processing of nuclear material, including any factory for the reprocessing
of irradiated nuclear fuel; and
ii. any facility where nuclear material is stored,
other than storage incidental to the carriage of such material; provided
that the Installation State may determine that several nuclear
installations of one operator which are located at the same site shall be
considered as a single nuclear installation.
k. "Nuclear damage" means -
. loss of life, any personal injury or any loss of, or damage to, property which
arises out of or results from the radioactive properties or a combination of radioactive
properties with toxic, explosive or other hazardous properties of nuclear fuel or
radioactive products or waste in, or of nuclear material coming from, originating in, or
sent to, a nuclear installation;
i. any other loss or damage so arising or resulting if and to the extent that the law
of the competent court so provides; and
ii. if the law of the Installation State so provides, loss of life, any personal injury
or any loss of, or damage to, property which arises out of or results from other
ionizing radiation emitted by any other source of radiation inside a nuclear
installation.
l. "Nuclear incident" means any occurrence or series of occurrences having the
same origin which causes nuclear damage.
2. An Installation State may, if the small extent of the risks involved so warrants,
exclude any small quantities of nuclear material from the application of this
Convention, provided that -
. maximum limits for the exclusion of such quantities have been established by
the Board of Governors of the International Atomic Energy Agency; and
a. any exclusion by an Installation State is within such established limits.
The maximum limits shall be reviewed periodically by the Board of
Governors.
Article II
1. The operator of a nuclear installation shall be liable for nuclear damage upon
proof that such damage has been caused by a nuclear incident -
a. in his nuclear installation; or
b. involving nuclear material coming from or originating in his nuclear
installation, and occurring -
i. before liability with regard to nuclear incidents involving the nuclear material
has been assumed, pursuant to the express terms of a contract in writing, by the
operator of another nuclear installation;
ii. in the absence of such express terms, before the operator of another nuclear
installation has taken charge of the nuclear material; or
iii. where the nuclear material is intended to be used in a nuclear reactor with
which a means of transport is equipped for use as a source of power, whether for
propulsion thereof or for any other purpose, before the person duly authorized to
operate such reactor has taken charge of the nuclear material; but
iv. where the nuclear material has been sent to a person within the territory of a
non-Contracting State, before it has been unloaded from the means of transport by
which it has arrived in the territory of that non-Contracting State;
c. involving nuclear material sent to his nuclear installation, and occurring -
. after liability with regard to nuclear incidents involving the nuclear material
has been assumed by him, pursuant to the express terms of a contract in writing, from
the operator of another nuclear installation;
i. in the absence of such express terms, after he has taken charge of the nuclear
material; or
ii. after he has taken charge of the nuclear material from a person operating a
nuclear reactor with which a means of transport is equipped for use as a source of
power, whether for propulsion thereof or for any other purpose; but
iii. where the nuclear material has, with the written consent of the operator, been
sent from a person within the territory of a non-Contracting State, only after it has
been loaded on the means of transport by which it is to be carried from the territory of
that State;
provided that, if nuclear damage is caused by a nuclear incident occurring in a
nuclear installation and involving nuclear material stored therein incidentally
to the carriage of such material, the provisions of sub-paragraph (a) of this
paragraph shall not apply where another operator or person is solely liable
pursuant to the provisions of sub-paragraph (b) or © of this paragraph.
2. The Installation State may provide by legislation that, in accordance with such
terms as may be specified therein, a carrier of nuclear material or a person
handling radioactive waste may, at his request and with the consent of the
operator concerned, be designated or recognized as operator in the place of
that operator in respect of such nuclear material or radioactive waste
respectively. In this case such carrier or such person shall be considered, for
all the purposes of this Convention, as an operator of a nuclear installation
situated within the territory of that State.
3.
. Where nuclear damage engages the liability of more than one operator, the
operators involved shall, in so far as the damage attributable to each operator
is not reasonably separable, be jointly and severally liable.
a. Where a nuclear incident occurs in the course of carriage of nuclear material,
either in one and the same means of transport, or, in the case of storage incidental to
the carriage, in one and the same nuclear installation, and causes nuclear damage
which engages the liability of more than one operator, the total liability shall not
exceed the highest amount applicable with respect to any one of them pursuant
toArticle V.
b. In neither of the cases referred to in sub-paragraphs (a) and (b) of this
paragraph shall the liability of any one operator exceed the amount applicable with
respect to him pursuant toArticle V.
4. Subject to the provisions of paragraph 3 of this Article, where several nuclear
installations of one and the same operator are involved in one nuclear incident,
such operator shall be liable in respect of each nuclear installation involved up
to the amount applicable with respect to him pursuant toArticle V.
5. Except as otherwise provided in this Convention, no person other than the
operator shall be liable for nuclear damage. This, however, shall not affect the
application of any international convention in the field of transport in force or
open for signature, ratification or accession at the date on which this
Convention is opened for signature.
6. No person shall be liable for any loss or damage which is not nuclear damage
pursuant to sub-paragraph (k) of paragraph 1 of Article I but which could have
been included as such pursuant to sub-paragraph (k) (ii) of that paragraph.
7. Direct action shall lie against the person furnishing financial security pursuant
toArticle VII, if the law of the competent court so provides.
Article III
The operator liable in accordance with this Convention shall provide the carrier with a
certificate issued by or on behalf of the insurer or other financial guarantor furnishing
the financial security required pursuant toArticle VII. The certificate shall state the
name and address of that operator and the amount, type and duration of the security,
and these statements may not be disputed by the person by whom or on whose behalf
the certificate was issued. The certificate shall also indicate the nuclear material in
respect of which the security applies and shall include a statement by the competent
public authority of the Installation State that the person named is an operator within
the meaning of this Convention.
Article IV
1. The liability of the operator for nuclear damage under this Convention shall be
absolute.
2. If the operator proves that the nuclear damage resulted wholly or partly either
from the gross negligence of the person suffering the damage or from an act or
omission of such person done with intent to cause damage, the competent
court may, if its law so provides, relieve the operator wholly or partly from his
obligation to pay compensation in respect of the damage suffered by such
person.
3.
a. No liability under this Convention shall attach to an operator for
nuclear damage caused by a nuclear incident directly due to an act of
armed conflict, hostilities, civil war or insurrection.
b. Except in so far as the law of the Installation State may provide to the
contrary, the operator shall not be liable for nuclear damage caused by a nuclear
incident directly due to a grave natural disaster of an exceptional character.
4. Whenever both nuclear damage and damage other than nuclear damage have
been caused by a nuclear incident or jointly by a nuclear incident and one or
more other occurrences, such other damage shall, to the extent that it is not
reasonably separable from the nuclear damage, be deemed, for the purposes of
this Convention, to be nuclear damage caused by that nuclear incident.
Where, however, damage is caused jointly by a nuclear incident covered by
this Convention and by an emission of ionizing radiation not covered by it,
nothing in this Convention shall limit or otherwise affect the liability, either as
regards any person suffering nuclear damage or by way of recourse or
contribution, of any person who may be held liable in connection with that
emission of ionizing radiation.
5. The operator shall not be liable under this Convention for nuclear damage -
. to the nuclear installation itself or to any property on the site of that
installation which is used or to be used in connection with that installation; or
a. to the means of transport upon which the nuclear material involved was at the
time of the nuclear incident.
6. Any Installation State may provide by legislation that sub-paragraph (b) of
paragraph 5 of thisArticle shall not apply, provided that in no case shall the
liability of the operator in respect of nuclear damage, other than nuclear
damage to the means of transport, be reduced to less than US $5 million for
any one nuclear incident.
7. Nothing in this Convention shall affect -
. the liability of any individual for nuclear damage for which the operator, by
virtue of paragraph 3 or 5 of this Article, is not liable under this Convention and
which that individual caused by an act or omission done with intent to cause damage;
or
a. the liability outside this Convention of the operator for nuclear damage for
which, by virtue of sub-paragraph (b) of paragraph 5 of this Article, he is not liable
under this Convention.
Article V
1. The liability of the operator may be limited by the Installation State to not less
than US $5 million for any one nuclear incident.
2. Any limits of liability which may be established pursuant to thisArticle shall
not include any interest or costs awarded by a court in actions for
compensation of nuclear damage.
3. The United States dollar referred to in this Convention is a unit of account
equivalent to the value of the United States dollar in terms of gold on 29 April
1963, that is to say US $35 per one troy ounce of fine gold.
4. The sum mentioned in paragraph 6 ofArticle IV and in paragraph 1 of
thisArticle may be converted into national currency in round figures.
Article VI
1. Rights of compensation under this Convention shall be extinguished if an
action is not brought within ten years from the date of the nuclear incident. If,
however, under the law of the Installation State the liability of the operator is
covered by insurance or other financial security or by State funds for a period
longer than ten years, the law of the competent court may provide that rights
of compensation against the operator shall only be extinguished after a period
which may be longer than ten years, but shall not be longer than the period for
which his liability is so covered under the law of the Installation State. Such
extension of the extinction period shall in no case affect rights of
compensation under this Convention of any person who has brought an action
for loss of life or personal injury against the operator before the expiry of the
aforesaid period of ten years.
2. Where nuclear damage is caused by a nuclear incident involving nuclear
material which at the time of the nuclear incident was stolen, lost, jettisoned or
abandoned, the period established pursuant to paragraph 1 of thisArticle shall
be computed from the date of that nuclear incident, but the period shall in no
case exceed a period of twenty years from the date of the theft, loss, jettison or
abandonment.
3. The law of the competent court may establish a period of extinction or
prescription of not less than three years from the date on which the person
suffering nuclear damage had knowledge or should have had knowledge of the
damage and of the operator liable for the damage, provided that the period
established pursuant to paragraphs 1 and 2 of this Article shall not be
exceeded.
4. Unless the law of the competent court otherwise provides, any person who
claims to have suffered nuclear damage and who has brought an action for
compensation within the period applicable pursuant to thisArticle may amend
his claim to take into account any aggravation of the damage, even after the
expiry of that period, provided that final judgment has not been entered.
5. Where jurisdiction is to be determined pursuant to sub-paragraph (b) of
paragraph 3 ofArticle XI and a request has been made within the period
applicable pursuant to this Article to any one of the Contracting Parties
empowered so to determine, but the time remaining after such determination is
less than six months, the period within which an action may be brought shall
be six months, reckoned from the date of such determination.
Article VII
1. The operator shall be required to maintain insurance or other financial security
covering his liability for nuclear damage in such amount, of such type and in
such terms as the Installation State shall specify. The Installation State shall
ensure the payment of claims for compensation for nuclear damage which
have been established against the operator by providing the necessary funds to
the extent that the yield of insurance or other financial security is inadequate
to satisfy such claims, but not in excess of the limit, if any, established
pursuant toArticle V.
2. Nothing in paragraph 1 of thisArticle shall require a Contracting Party or any
of its constituent sub-divisions, such as States or Republics, to maintain
insurance or other financial security to cover their liability as operators.
3. The funds provided by insurance, by other financial security or by the
Installation State pursuant to paragraph 1 of this Article shall be exclusively
available for compensation due under this Convention.
4. No insurer or other financial guarantor shall suspend or cancel the insurance or
other financial security provided pursuant to paragraph 1 of thisArticle without
giving notice in writing of at least two months to the competent public
authority or, in so far as such insurance or other financial security relates to
the carriage of nuclear material, during the period of the carriage in question.
Article VIII
Subject to the provisions of this Convention, the nature, form and extent of the
compensation, as well as the equitable distribution thereof, shall be governed by the
law of the competent court.
Article IX
1. Where provisions of national or public health insurance, social insurance,
social security, workmen's compensation or occupational disease
compensation systems include compensation for nuclear damage, rights of
beneficiaries of such systems to obtain compensation under this Convention
and rights of recourse by virtue of such systems against the operator liable
shall be determined, subject to the provisions of this Convention, by the law of
the Contracting Party in which such systems have been established, or by the
regulations of the intergovernmental organization which has established such
systems.
2.
a. If a person who is a national of a Contracting Party, other than the
operator, has paid compensation for nuclear damage under an
international convention or under the law of a non-Contracting State,
such person shall, up to the amount which he has paid, acquire by
subrogation the rights under this Convention of the person so
compensated. No rights shall be so acquired by any person to the
extent that the operator has a right of recourse against such person
under this Convention.
b. Nothing in this Convention shall preclude an operator who has paid
compensation for nuclear damage out of funds other than those provided pursuant to
paragraph 1 ofArticle VII from recovering from the person providing financial
security pursuant to that paragraph or from the Installation State, up to the amount he
has paid, the sum which the person so compensated would have obtained under this
Convention.
Article X
The operator shall have a right of recourse only -
a. if this is expressly provided for by a contract in writing; or
b. if the nuclear incident results from an act or omission done with intent to cause
damage, against the individual who has acted or omitted to act with such intent.
Article XI
1. Except as otherwise provided in this Article, jurisdiction over actions
underArticle II shall lie only with the courts of the Contracting Party within
whose territory the nuclear incident occurred.
2. Where the nuclear incident occurred outside the territory of any Contracting
Party, or where the place of the nuclear incident cannot be determined with
certainty, jurisdiction over such actions shall lie with the courts of the
Installation State of the operator liable.
3. Where under paragraph 1 or 2 of this Article, jurisdiction would lie with the
courts of more than one Contracting Party, jurisdiction shall lie -
a. if the nuclear incident occurred partly outside the territory of any Contracting
Party, and partly within the territory of a single Contracting Party, with the courts of
the latter; and
b. in any other case, with the courts of that Contracting Party which is
determined by agreement between the Contracting Parties whose courts would be
competent under paragraph 1 or 2 of this Article.
Article XII
1. A final judgment entered by a court having jurisdiction under Article XI shall
be recognized within the territory of any other Contracting Party, except -
a. where the judgment was obtained by fraud;
b. where the party against whom the judgment was pronounced was not given a
fair opportunity to present his case; or
c. where the judgment is contrary to the public policy of the Contracting Party
within the territory of which recognition is sought, or is not in accord with
fundamental standards of justice.
2. A final judgment which is recognized shall, upon being presented for
enforcement in accordance with the formalities required by the law of the
Contracting Party where enforcement is sought, be enforceable as if it were a
judgment of a court of that Contracting Party.
3. The merits of a claim on which the judgment has been given shall not be
subject to further proceedings.
Article XIII
This Convention and the national law applicable thereunder shall be applied without
any discrimination based upon nationality, domicile or residence.
Article XIV
Except in respect of measures of execution, jurisdictional immunities under rules of
national or international law shall not be invoked in actions under this Convention
before the courts competent pursuant toArticle XI.
Article XV
The Contracting Parties shall take appropriate measures to ensure that compensation
for nuclear damage, interest and costs awarded by a court in connection therewith,
insurance and reinsurance premiums and funds provided by insurance, reinsurance or
other financial security, or funds provided by the Installation State, pursuant to this
Convention, shall be freely transferable into the currency of the Contracting Party
within whose territory the damage is suffered, and of the Contracting Party within
whose territory the claimant is habitually resident, and, as regards insurance or
reinsurance premiums and payments, into the currencies specified in the insurance or
reinsurance contract.
Article XVI
No person shall be entitled to recover compensation under this Convention to the
extent that he has recovered compensation in respect of the same nuclear damage
under another international convention on civil liability in the field of nuclear energy.
Article XVII
This Convention shall not, as between the parties to them, affect the application of
any international agreements or international conventions on civil liability in the field
of nuclear energy in force, or open for signature, ratification or accession at the date
on which this Convention is opened for signature.
Article XVIII
This Convention shall not be construed as affecting the rights, if any, of a Contracting
Party under the general rules of public international law in respect of nuclear damage.
Article XIX
1. Any Contracting Party entering into an agreement pursuant to subparagraph
(b) of paragraph 3 ofArticle XI shall furnish without delay to the Director
General of the International Atomic Energy Agency for information and
dissemination to the other Contracting Parties a copy of such agreement.
2. The Contracting Parties shall furnish to the Director General for information
and dissemination to the other Contracting Parties copies of their respective
laws and regulations relating to matters covered by this Convention.
Article XX
Notwithstanding the termination of the application of this Convention to any
Contracting Party, either by termination pursuant toArticle XXV or by denunciation
pursuant toArticle XXVI, the provisions of this Convention shall continue to apply to
any nuclear damage caused by a nuclear incident occurring before such termination.
Article XXI
This Convention shall be open for signature by the States represented at the
International Conference on Civil Liability for Nuclear Damage held in Vienna from
29 April to 19 May 1963.
Article XXII
This Convention shall be ratified, and the instruments of ratification shall be
deposited with the Director General of the International Atomic Energy Agency.
Article XXIII
This Convention shall come into force three months after the deposit of the fifth
instrument of ratification, and, in respect of each State ratifying it thereafter, three
months after the deposit of the instrument of ratification by that State.
Article XXIV
1. All States Members of the United Nations, or of any of the specialized
agencies or of the International Atomic Energy Agency not represented at the
International Conference on Civil Liability for Nuclear Damage held in
Vienna from 29 April to 19 May 1963, may accede to this Convention.
2. The instruments of accession shall be deposited with the Director General of
the International Atomic Energy Agency.
3. This Convention shall come into force in respect of the acceding State three
months after the date of deposit of the instrument of accession of that State but
not before the date of the entry into force of this Convention pursuant to
Article XXIII.
Article XXV
1. This Convention shall remain in force for a period of ten years from the date
of its entry into force. Any Contracting Party may, by giving before the end of
that period at least twelve months' notice to that effect to the Director General
of the International Atomic Energy Agency, terminate the application of this
Convention to itself at the end of that period of ten years.
2. This Convention shall, after that period of ten years, remain in force for a
further period of five years for such Contracting Parties as have not terminated
its application pursuant to paragraph 1 of this Article, and thereafter for
successive periods of five years each for those Contracting Parties which have
not terminated its application at the end of one of such periods, by giving,
before the end of one of such periods, at least twelve months' notice to that
effect to the Director General of the International Atomic Energy Agency.
Article XXVI
1. A conference shall be convened by the Director General of the International
Atomic Energy Agency at any time after the expiry of a period of five years
from the date of the entry into force of this Convention in order to consider the
revision thereof, if one-third of the Contracting Parties express a desire to that
effect.
2. Any Contracting Party may denounce this Convention by notification to the
Director General of the International Atomic Energy Agency within a period
of twelve months following the first revision conference held pursuant to
paragraph 1 of this Article.
3. Denunciation shall take effect one year after the date on which notification to
that effect has been received by the Director General of the International
Atomic Energy Agency.
Article XXVII
The Director General of the International Atomic Energy Agency shall notify the
States invited to the International Conference on Civil Liability for Nuclear Damage
held in Vienna from 29 April to 19 May 1963 and the States which have acceded to
this Convention of the following -
a. signatures and instruments of ratification and accession received pursuant to
Articles XXI, XXII and XXIV;
b. the date on which this Convention will come into force pursuant toArticle
XXIII;
c. notifications of termination and denunciation received pursuant to Articles
XXV and XXVI;
d. requests for the convening of a revision conference pursuant toArticle XXVI.
Article XXVIII
This Convention shall be registered by the Director General of the International
Atomic Energy Agency in accordance with Article 102 of the Charter of the United
Nations.
Article XXIX
The original of this Convention, of which the English, French, Russian and Spanish
texts are equally authentic, shall be deposited with the Director General of the
International Atomic Energy Agency, who shall issue certified copies.
IN WITNESS WHEREOF, the undersigned Plenipotentiaries, duly authorized thereto,
have signed this Convention.
DONE in Vienna, this twenty-first day of May, one thousand nine hundred and sixtythree.




[/CENTER]
انتهى القسم الثاني ويبقى القسم الاخير : الملف النووي الايراني

(f)