CYIL vol. 13 (2022)

CYIL 13 ȍ2022Ȏ CHARTING A COURSE TOWARDS A UNIVERSAL REGIME OF LIABILITY FOR NUCLEAR… Article III § 2. This jurisdiction was extended to the federal district courts. 100 The state courts have concurrent jurisdiction. Admiralty jurisdiction applies to any vessel in navigable waters within the United States for interstate or foreign commerce. Price-Anderson preempts state law and provides exclusive jurisdiction regarding safety of nuclear reactors including liability of claims arising from nuclear damage to the federal courts. For nuclear ships then, it seems to follow that admiralty jurisdiction would be applicable. A nuclear ship is clearly a vessel, and the purpose of the ship is for long haul international commerce. It is likely that to presume that there may also be a substantial effect on interstate commerce. The navigable waters of America’s ports and territorial waters would be necessary routes for nuclear ships to travel with goods either leaving or entering the country. As highlighted, the federal district courts and state courts would have jurisdiction in the admiralty of these vessels but for the nuclear component. If a nuclear incident occurred in navigable waters of the United States arising from a nuclear ship, Price-Anderson would preempt the state jurisdiction providing for exclusive jurisdiction in the federal district courts. In the admiralty and consistent with the provisions of the Brussels Convention, the flag of the nation flown on the ship would determine the law to be applied. If there were an international treaty, like the Brussels Convention, in force governing nuclear ships, that law would be uniform among nations at least to the basic principles and allow for predictive application of the law. D. Follow SOLAS Precedent As we have previously established, SOLAS has enumerated broad requirements for vessels and people in the maritime for the international community. SOLAS also includes regulation governing hazardous material carriage and nuclear ship design, construction, and operation. SOLAS was ratified by the United States and implemented generally in Title 33 and Title 46 of the United States Code. 101 The statutes are enforced by regulations, generally, in Title 46 the Code of Federal Regulations. 102 The incorporation of SOLAS as an international maritime treaty into United States law provides good precedent for successful adoption of uniform international standard. This precedent should be followed if, as suggested by this note, the Brussels Convention is reintroduced and adopted by the global community to govern nuclear ships and the liability of a nuclear accident. SOLAS could be amended to implement the new treaty like was done in Chapter VIII for the Code of Safety for Nuclear Merchant Ships. SOLAS, as it stands, provides a regime for general vessel, environmental, and personal safety at sea including some facets of nuclear ships. The noticeable gap is with respect to liability, damages, financial securities, and insurance. SOLAS seemingly would be an appropriate and efficient vehicle for the implementation of a hypothetical Brussels Convention or another equivalent international treaty. This approach would largely consolidate and align a comprehensive international maritime law that includes nuclear ships. E. Legal Framework For General Pollution Harm Is Not A Replacement Existing regimes applicable to oil and pollution harm, such as radioactive material leakage, may provide a level of governance, but it is inadequate for nuclear ships. The harm from such types of incidents, like the oil spills from the EXXON VALDEZ tanker or the

100 28 U.S.C.A § 1333 (West). 101 See generally 33 U.S.C.A. § 1602; 46 U.S.C.A. § 3306. 102 See generally 46 C.F.R § 176.900.

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