CYIL Vol. 5, 2014

THE BRUSSELS CONVENTION ON THE LIABILITY OF OPERATORS OF NUCLEAR SHIPS law to deny access to its waters and harbors to nuclear ships licensed by another Contracting State, even when it has formally complied with all the provisions of this Convention.” Consequently, the Convention expressly presumed that special bilateral agreements would be needed before nuclear-powered vessels would be able to enter foreign waters. The assessment of safety standards were presumed to be subject to bilateral negotiations between the licensing state and the state of the harbor. The participants at the Conference adopted the NS Convention inter alia with the hope that a uniform multilateral framework, created by this treaty, would make such negotiations easier. 22 The United States subsequently concluded a series of agreements related to the NS Savannah (the “Savannah agreements” ), which relied in matters of nuclear liability on domestic law and, where applicable, on the “general principles of international law”. 23 The Federal Republic of Germany concluded similar bilateral agreements in relation to the NS Otto Hahn. 24 Another aspect of the scope of the Convention deserves very special mention, because it has proven to be a major obstacle, preventing more than others the coming into force of the convention. This is the inclusion of nuclear-powered warships under the scope of the Convention. Being of a very special importance, this issue will be discussed below in more detail. Finally, the Convention (Article XIV) 25 provided that this treaty would supersede any international agreements between parties in conflict with it. Among concerns, international agreements touched by this provision at the time of adoption of the NS Convention, the following were of major importance: the Brussels International Convention for the Unification of Certain Rules of Law with Respect to Collision Between Vessels of 23 September, 1910, the Brussels International Convention for the Unification of Certain Rules Relating to the Limitation of the Liability of Owners of Sea-Going Vessels of 25 August 1924, the Brussels International Convention on Certain Rules Concerning Civil Jurisdiction in Matters of Collision of 10 May 1952 and the Brussels International Convention Relating to the Limitation of the Liability of Owners of Sea-Going Vessels of 10 October 1957. 26 22 Op. cit. sub note 10, at p. 778. 23 A list of all these agreements as of 1 January 1968 was published in Boulanger, W. International Conventions and Agreements on Nuclear Ships, In: Nuclear Law for Developing World , Vienna: IAEA Legal Series. 1969, at pp. 179 et seq. 24 Articles 13-21 of the Agreement between the Federal Republic of Germany and the Kingdom of the Netherlands on the Use of Dutch Waters and Harbours by the NS Otto Hahn of 28 October 1968 (Vertrag zwischen der Bundesrepublik Deutschland und den Königreich der Niederlande über die Benutzung niederländischen Hoheitsgewässer und Häfen durch N. S. Otto Hahn) refers to the Convention for its liability provisions. An English translation of the treaty appears in E.N.E.A. Nuclear Law Bulletin, No. 3, 1969. 25 “This Convention shall supersede any International Conventions in force or open for signature, ratification or accession at the date on which this Convention is opened for signature, but only to the extent that such Conventions would be in conflict with it; however, nothing in this Article shall affect the obligations of Contracting States to non-Contracting States arising under such International Conventions.” 26 Op. cit. sub note 10, at p. 778.

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