Introduction to the Webinar Series and Update on Nuclear Law

Date and time

Thursday, 28 October 2021
14:00
Europe Summer Time (Berlin, GMT+02:00)

Deadline for registration: 10 October 2021

Register here →

Description

The COVID-19 pandemic has impacted the whole world. The IAEA is no exception. What impact has the pandemic had on the development of nuclear law? Addressing the ongoing needs of Member States in nuclear law during the pandemic poses challenges. What has the Agency been doing in this regard, and what are the plans for the future?

In the field of nuclear safety, March 2021 marked 10 years since the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant accident. What progress and improvements have been made since then to strengthen the effectiveness of the international legal framework for nuclear safety and related safety standards and peer review services? What is the status of the eighth Review Meeting of the Contracting Parties to the Convention on Nuclear Safety and the seventh Review Meeting of the Joint Convention on the Safety of Spent Fuel Management and on the Safety of Radioactive Waste Management? Further, what developments have occurred regarding the Code of Conduct on the Safety and Security of Radioactive Sources and its supplementary Guidance, such as on the management of disused radioactive sources?

In the nuclear security field, where do we stand with the conference to review the implementation of the Convention on the Physical Protection of Nuclear Material as amended. A decade after the adoption of the Action Plan on Nuclear Safety, efforts continue to pursue the establishment of a global nuclear liability regime. With the entry into force in April 2015 of the 1997 Convention on Supplementary Compensation for Nuclear Damage, we were a step closer to achieve a global regime based on the principles of nuclear liability. Six years later, where do we stand? What are some of the challenges in the pursuit of such a regime? Also, are there any new developments in this field of nuclear law, notably in relation to the 2012 Recommendations of the IAEA International Expert Group on Nuclear Liability (INLEX), as well as the discussions of INLEX?

In addition, what are some of the key issues that may shape nuclear law in the future? As promising new technologies emerge, nuclear law needs to accommodate new developments, including small modular reactors (SMRs) and allow for nuclear science and technology to address imminent challenges, including climate change. What is the needed legal framework for fusion technology?

These and other questions and developments will be covered during the first webinar, which will introduce the new webinar series and provide an update on nuclear law, as well as an interactive Q&A session.

The other webinars comprising the series will address topical issues, ranging from the legal framework for decommissioning and radioactive waste and spent fuel management, to openness and transparency in international and national nuclear law, to the potential impact on nuclear law from nuclear technologies such as SMRs, among other issues.  

Language

The Webinar will be held in English.

Presenters

Peri Lynne Johnson, Legal Adviser and Director of the IAEA Office of Legal Affairs, IAEA

Wolfram Tonhauser, Head, Nuclear and Treaty Law Section, Office of Legal Affairs, IAEA