United States Deposits its Instrument of Ratification for the Convention on Supplementary Compensation for Nuclear Damage

Today the United States deposited its instrument of ratification for the Convention on Supplementary Compensation for Nuclear Damage (‘CSC’) with the International Atomic Energy Agency in Vienna, Austria. The CSC lays the foundation for a global legal regime governing civil nuclear liability – a regime that does not currently exist.

The CSC is an instrument designed to ensure that several basic principles of nuclear liability law are incorporated into participating countries’ domestic law and to adopt a common approach on compensation, a definition of nuclear damage and the jurisdiction of courts. The CSC provides legal certainty necessary for undertaking civil nuclear projects and in the unlikely event of a nuclear incident, prompt and meaningful compensation with a minimum of litigation. This will be important as the U.S. works with countries around the world on developing safe and secure peaceful nuclear energy programs to meet vital energy needs.

To date, thirteen countries have signed the CSC ( Argentina, Australia, the Czech Republic, Indonesia, Italy, Lebanon, Lithuania, Morocco, Peru, the Philippines, Romania, Ukraine and the United States of America); and four (the U.S., Argentina, Morocco and Romania), have ratified it. The CSC will enter into force on the ninetieth day following the date on which at least five states with a minimum of 400,000 units (400,000 Megawatts thermal (MWth)) of installed nuclear capacity have deposited their instruments of ratification, acceptance or approval. While U.S. ratification will not by itself result in the CSC entering into force, U.S. ratification will greatly advance entry into force due to the large amount of installed nuclear capacity resident in the U.S.

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