CYIL Vol. 5, 2014

JAKUB HANDRLICA CYIL 5 ȍ2014Ȏ vessels had been commissioned by the United States Navy, 27 nuclear submarines were under construction and 13 had been approved by the Congress. Concerning nuclear merchant ships, the nuclear ship “Savannah” was scheduled to begin operation very soon and, indeed, the “NSS Savannah” made its first voyages at the time of the closing meeting of the Conference. Additionally, it was known that the Soviet Union had commissioned a number of nuclear warships and the icebreaker “Lenin”, which was already in operation in the Arctic Sea. A United Kingdom nuclear powered submarine was expected to be operational by 1963. Plans for a European nuclear vessel were being studied under the auspices of the European Nuclear Energy Agency of the OECD. 11 Furthermore, at the time the Conference met in Brussels it was reported that construction of a nuclear oceanographic ship was being considered by Japan. Nevertheless, the virtual certainty that the number of nuclear-powered vessels would increase, under governmental or international sponsorship, “together with a hope that a spectacular scientific breakthrough would yet be achieved, or fear that some national competitor may gain the lead” , 12 resulted in a relatively high level of interest in addressing legal challenges arising from nuclear- powered marine propulsion. However, at the end of the session, major disagreements had come to light, mainly concerning provisions relating to jurisdiction and the establishment of a limitation fund. Therefore, submitting all prepared documents to participating governments for further refinement was recommended. In October 1962 a Standing Committee met in Vienna and reached agreement on all articles that were left incomplete by the Session held in Brussels. These were included in a Report, also containing a paragraph- by-paragraph discussion of the most controversial articles, as well as the text of several amendments submitted by participating governments. 13 The Resumed Conference was re-opened in Brussels on 14 May 1962. The sole purpose of this Session was to complete work on the international treaty regulating nuclear liability arising from the operation of nuclear-powered vessels. 14 It is a matter of fact that the results of the final vote were already very unpromising. The Convention was adopted by a relatively close vote of twenty eight in favor from the fifty participants. Ten participating countries, including the only two states operating nuclear-powered vessels at the time, the United States and the Soviet Union, opposed the text of the Convention. The Scandinavian countries abstained, mainly on the ground of high limits of liability. Eight of the fifty delegations were absent at the time of the final vote. Subsequently, the NS Convention was opened for signature by those states represented at the Brussels Diplomatic Conference on 25 May 1962.

11 Könz, P . The 1963 Brussels Convention on the Liability of Operators of Nuclear Ships, American Journal of International Law, 1960, at p. 101.

12 Op. cit. sub note 10, at p. 778. 13 Op. cit. sub note 4, at p. 550. 14 Op. cit. sub note 11, at p. 153.

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