CYIL Vol. 4, 2013

JAKUB HANDRLICA CYIL 4 ȍ2013Ȏ Accordingly, Austria, Ireland and Luxembourg will continue to base themselves on the Community rules contained in Regulation (EC) No 44/2001 and to apply them in the area covered by the Paris Convention and by the Protocol amending that Convention”. Considering this part of the decision, it is difficult to argue that after the 2004 Protocol’s entry into force, the Brussels Regulation would be directly applicable to all nuclear liability issues, including those previously governed by the Paris Convention. Article 1(1) of the Decision expressly provides that ratification or accession to the 2004 Protocol shall be “without prejudice to the position of Austria, Ireland and Luxembourg” . 29 Such a declaration is in strict contrast to decisions in relation to other international conventions and which contained a reservation stating that Member States will continue to apply the Brussels Regulation to the recognition and enforcement of judgments amongst themselves. 30 On the contrary, the wording of the Decision of 8 March 2004 contains no such reservation. Consequently, one can argue that the rules on exclusive jurisdiction as laid down in the Amended Paris Convention must to be applied as a “lex specialis” in relation to the provisions of the Brussels Regulation after the Protocol of 2004 will come into force. 31 3.2.2 Binding time framework for the ratification of the protocol of 2004 Further, the above mentioned decisions do contain a specific time framework for ratifying of the Protocol of 2004. The Member States were required to do so in a period of two years. More clearly, this is confirmed by the Decision of 8 March 2004. Article 2 of this decision provides: “Member States which are Contracting Parties to the Paris Convention shall take the necessary steps to deposit simultaneously their instruments of ratification of the Protocol, or accession to it, with the Secretary-General of the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development within a reasonable time and, if possible, before 31 December 2006.” “Member States which are Contracting Parties to the Paris Convention shall exchange information with the Commission within the Council before 29 These Member States are neither Contracting Parties to the Paris Convention, nor Signatories to the Amended Paris Convention. 30 See e.g. Council Decision authorising Member States, in the interest of the Community, to sign, ratify or accede to the International Convention on Civil Liability for Bunker Oil Pollution Damage, 2001 (the Bunkers Convention) (2002/762/EC). Article 2 of the Decision reads: “When signing, ratifying or acceding to the Bunkers Convention, Member States shall make the following declaration: ‘Judgments on matters covered by the Convention shall, when given by a court of (...), be recognized and enforced in (...) according to the relevant internal Community rules on the subject’. ” 31 Magnus, U.: Jurisdiction and enforcement of judgements under the current nuclear liability regimes within the EU member states, in Pelzer, N. (ed.): Europäisches Atomhaftungsrecht im Umbruch , Nomos Verlag, Baden Baden, 2010, at p. 118.