CYIL vol. 11 (2020)

CYIL 11 (2020) WHITHER THE FUTURE OF INTERNATIONAL NUCLEAR LAW? … Further, the existing scholarship on legal futurism deals primarily with the future of the forms of the legal regulation. 10 Consequently, primary attention is paid to the tendencies to adopt hard law and soft law and to further the prospects of various types of these instruments in the researched field. And lastly, the existing scholarship on legal futurism pays attention in principle to the developments of law over the next decades, i.e. up to the 2050s. Some existing predictions 11 of the further development of nuclear industry extend beyond this timeline, In order to tackle the future of international nuclear law, this article will proceed as follows: Firstly, the issue will be analysed from the perspective of existing tendencies in this field of international public law. With respect to the hard law , tendencies toward universalism and to regionalism will be addressed. Also, a tendency to use the flexible mechanisms in existing international agreements will be a subject of attention. Further, a tendency to supersede the binding instruments by the instruments of soft-law, or by the instruments of a semi - binding nature will be addressed. In respect to this, perspectives of the further developments in the area of international nuclear law will be outlined. Secondly, after providing predictions of the further developments in international nuclear law, a special section will address certain determinants that to a certain extent limit any predictions of further developments in this field. 2. The future of international nuclear law From a legal perspective, the peaceful uses of nuclear energy and ionizing radiation are currently governed by a vigorous legal framework, established by binding instruments of international public law, adopted under the auspices of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA). These multilateral instruments of international public law cover the issues of early notification 12 and mutual assistance 13 in the case of a nuclear accident or radiological emergency, nuclear safety, 14 nuclear liability 15 and nuclear security, 16 as well as the issues of radioactive waste management. 17 These instruments of international public law are currently 10 See Smits (ft 8) 470. 11 See eg. GUILLEMIN, Claude “Les déchets radioactifs, pyramides des temps modernes: Prévoir à l’horizon de 200.000 ans” (1993) Futuribles 25. 12 The Convention on Early Notification of a Nuclear Accident (adopted 26 September 1986, entered into force 27 October 1985), INFCIRC/335. 13 The Convention on Assistance in the Case of a Nuclear Accident or Radiological Emergency (adopted 26 September 1986, entered into force 26 February 1987), INFCIRC/336. 14 The Convention on Nuclear Safety (adopted 17 June 1994, entered into force 24 October 1996), INFCIRC/449. 15 The Vienna Convention on Civil Liability for Nuclear Damage (adopted 21 May 1963, entered into force 12 November 1977), INFCIRC/500; the Joint Protocol Relating to the Application of the Vienna Convention and the Paris Convention (adopted 21 September 1988, entered into force 27 April 1992), INFCIRC/402; the Protocol to Amend the Vienna Convention on Civil Liability for Nuclear Damage (adopted 12 September 1997, entered into force 4 October 2003), INFCIRC/566 and the Convention of Supplementary Compensation of Nuclear Damage (adopted 12 September 1997, entered into force 15 April 2015), INFCIRC/567. 16 The Convention on the Physical Protection of Nuclear Material (adopted 26 October 1979, entered into force 8 February 1987), INFCIRC/274 and the Amendment to the Convention on the Physical Protection of Nuclear Material (adopted 8 July 2005, entered into force 8 May 2016), INFCIRC/274/Rev.1/Mod.1. 17 Joint Convention on the Safety of Spent Fuel Management and on the Safety of Radioactive Waste Management (adopted 5 September 1997, entered into force 18 June 2001), INFCIRC/546.

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