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source of neutrons” (emphasis added), the liability regime of the Convention will be

not applicable on any installations using the processes of

nuclear fusion.

Consequently,

in the case of future positive developments in this field, liability issues in this regard

must be regulated by either multilateral or bilateral legal instruments.

35,36

Last but not least, there are nuclear reactors operated for

defence purposes

. In

this respect, the Preamble of the Vienna Convention states that one of the reasons

for concluding the Convention was “the desirability of establishing some minimum

standards to provide financial protection against damage resulting from

certain peaceful

uses of nuclear energy

” (emphasis added). However, there is no further indication

in the Convention

as to whether or not it also applies to military facilities,

nor

was the question discussed during the diplomatic conference which adopted the

Convention.

However, the Amended Vienna Convention clarifies the situation

with respect to these installations, stating that this convention does not apply to any

installations operated for non-peaceful purposes.

Radioactive waste disposal facilities

The Vienna Convention did not specifically include radioactive waste disposal

facilities under “nuclear installations”. When the Convention was drafted, the

question of hazards arising from radioactive waste disposal was not yet fully

understood. The lack of provisions on radioactive waste disposal in the Convention

is due to the fact that, when the Convention was drafted, the development of nuclear

See IOIRYSH, A. I., SUPATAEVA, O. A., CHOPORNIAK, A.B.

Otvetstvennosti za iadernyi ushcherb

Moskva: Nauka, 1993, at pp. 126-127.

It may be interesting to mention that, during the drafting of the Amended Vienna Convention, the

issue of potential radiological risks that might be posed by fusion reactors was discussed. However,

in the end, the delegations decided that it was “premature to consider coverage of future fusion

installations by the third party liability regime.” IAEA (ed.):

The 1997 Vienna Convention on Civil

Liability for Nuclear Damage and 1997 Convention on Supplementary Compensation for Nuclear Damage

– Explanatory Texts,

Vienna: IAEA, 2007, at p. 26.

Also the Paris Convention restricts its applicability to fission reactors, when defining (in Art. 1 Par. A/

letter /iii/) „nuclear fuel“ as „f

issionable material

(emphasis added) in the form of uranium metal, alloy,

or chemical compound (including natural uranium), plutonium metal, alloy, or chemical compound,

and such other fissionable material as the Steering Committee shall from time to time determine.“

In this respect the situation is very similar to the framework established by the Paris Convention.

The Preamble of this Convention states that one of the reasons for its being concluded was “ensuring

adequate and equitable compensation for persons who suffer damage caused by nuclear incidents whilst

taking the necessary steps to ensure that the development of the production and uses of nuclear energy

for peaceful purposes is not thereby hindered.”

See WOLFF, K. The Vienna International Convention on Civil Liability for Nuclear Damage, In

WEINSTEIN, J. (ed.):

Nuclear liability, progress in nuclear energy

, Series X, Vol. 4, Oxford: Pergamon

Press, 1966, p. 18.

See IAEA (ed.):

The 1997 Vienna Convention on Civil Liability for Nuclear Damage and 1997 Convention

on Supplementary Compensation for Nuclear Damage – Explanatory Texts,

Vienna: IAEA, 2007, at p. 27.

Art. I B.