CONVENTION ON THE LIABILITY OF OPERATORS OF NUCLEAR SHIPS, 1962
CONVENTION ON THE LIABILITY OF OPERATORS OF NUCLEAR SHIPS, 1962
Whole document
THE CONTRACTING PARTIES,
HAVING RECOGNIZED the desirability of determining by agreement certain
uniform rules concerning the liability of operators of nuclear ships,
HAVE DECIDED decided to conclude a Convention for this purpose, and
thereto have agreed as follows:
Article I
For the purposes of this Convention:
1. "Nuclear ship" means any ship equipped with a nuclear power plant.
2. "Licensing State" means the Contracting State which operates or
which has authorized the operation of a nuclear ship under its flag.
3. "Person" means any individual or partnership, or any public or
private body whether corporate or not, including a State or any of its
constituent subdivisions.
4. "Operator" means the person authorized by the licensing State to
operate a nuclear ship, or where a Contracting State operates a nuclear
ship, that State.
5. "Nuclear fuel" means any material which is capable of producing
energy by a self-sustaining process of nuclear fission and which is used
or intended for use in a nuclear ship.
6. "Radioactive products or waste" means any material, including
nuclear fuel, made radioactive by neutron irradiation incidental to the
utilization of nuclear fuel in a nuclear ship.
7. "Nuclear damage" means loss of life or personal injury and loss or
damage to property which arises out of or results from the radioactive
properties or a combination of radioactive properties with toxic,
explosive or other hazardous properties of nuclear fuel or of radioactive
products or waste; any other loss, damage or expense so arising or
resulting shall be included only if and to the extent that the applicable
national law so provides.
8. "Nuclear incident" means any occurrence or series of occurrences
having the same origin which causes nuclear damage.
9. "Nuclear power plant" means any power plant in which a nuclear
reactor is, or is to be used as, the source of power, whether for
propulsion of the ship or for any other purpose.
10. "Nuclear reactor" means any installation containing nuclear fuel
in such an arrangement that a self-sustained chain process of nuclear
fission can occur therein without an additional source of neutrons.
11. "Warship" means any ship belonging to the naval force of a State
and bearing the external marks distinguishing warships of its nationality,
under the command of an officer duly commissioned by the Government of
such State and whose name appears in the Navy List, and manned by a crew
who are under regular naval discipline.
12. "Applicable national law" means the national law of the court
having jurisdiction under the Convention including any rules of such
national law relating to conflict of laws.
Article II
1. The operator of a nuclear ship shall be absolutely liable for any
nuclear damage upon proof that such damage has been caused by a nuclear
incident involving the nuclear fuel of, or radioactive products or waste
produced in, such ship.
2. Except as otherwise provided in this Convention no person other
than the operator shall be liable for such nuclear damage.
3. Nuclear damage suffered by the nuclear ship itself, its equipment,
fuel or stores shall not be covered by the operator's liability as defined
in this Convention.
4. The operator shall not be liable with respect to nuclear incidents
occurring before the nuclear fuel has been taken in charge by him or after
the nuclear fuel or radioactive products or waste have been taken in
charge by another person duly authorized by law and liable for any nuclear
damage that may be caused by them.
5. If the operator proves that the nuclear damage resulted wholly or
partially from an act or omission done with intent to cause damage by the
individual who suffered the damage, the competent courts may exonerate the
operator wholly or partially from his liability to such individual.
6. Notwithstanding the provisions of paragraph 1 of this Article, the
operator shall have a right of recourse;
(a) If the nuclear incident results from a personal act or
omission done with intent to cause damage, in which even recourse shall
lie against the individual who has acted, or omitted to act, with such
intent;
(b) If the nuclear incident occurred as a consequence of any
wreck-raising operation, against the person or persons who carried out
such operation without the authority of the operator or persons who
carried out such operation without the authority of the operator or of the
State having licensed the sunken ship or of the State in whose waters the
wreck is situated;
(c) If recourse is expressly provided for by contract.
Article III
1. The liability of the operator as regards one nuclear ship shall be
limited to 1,500 million francs in respect of any one nuclear incident
notwithstanding that the nuclear incident may have resulted from any fault
or privity of that operator; such limit shall include neither any interest
nor costs awarded by a court in actions for compensation under this
Convention.
2. The operator shall be required to maintain insurance, or other
financial security covering his liability for nuclear damage, in such
amount, of such type and in such terms as the licensing State shall
specify. The licensing State shall ensure the payment of claims for
compensation for nuclear damage established against the operator by
providing the necessary funds up to the limit laid down in paragraph 1 of
this Article to the extent that the yield of the insurance or the
financial security is inadequate to satisfy such claims.
3. However, nothing in paragraph 2 of this Article shall require any
Contracting State or any of its constituent subdivisions, such as States,
Republics or Cantons, to maintain insurance or other financial security to
cover their liability as operators of nuclear ships.
4. The franc mentioned in paragraph 1 of this Article is a unit of
account constituted by sixty-five and one half milligrams of gold of
millesimal fineness nine hundred. The amount awarded may be converted into
each national currency in round figures. Conversion into national
currencies other than gold shall be effected on the basis of their gold
value at the date of payment.
Article IV
Whenever both nuclear damage and damage other than nuclear damage have
been caused by a nuclear incident or jointly by a nuclear incident and one
or more other occurrences and the nuclear damage and such other damage are
not reasonably separable, the entire damage shall, for the purposes of
this Convention, be deemed to be nuclear damage exclusively caused by the
nuclear incident. However, where damage is caused jointly by a nuclear
incident covered by this Convention and by an emission of ionizing
radiation or by an emission of ionizing radiation in combination with the
toxic, explosive or other hazardous properties of the source of radiation
not covered by it, nothing in this Convention shall limit or otherwise
affect the liability, either as regards the victims or by way of recourse
or contribution, of any person who may be held liable in connection with
the emission of ionizing radiation or by the toxic, explosive or other
hazardous properties of the source of radiation not covered by this
Convention.
Article V
1. Rights of compensation under this Convention shall be extinguished
if an action is not brought within ten years from the date of the nuclear
incident. If, however, under the law of the licensing State the liability
of the operator is covered by insurance or other financial security or
State indemnification for a period longer than ten years, the applicable
national law may provide that rights of compensation against the operator
shall only be extinguished after a period which may be longer than ten
years, but shall not be longer than the period for which his liability is
so covered under the law of the licensing State. However, such extension
of the extinction period shall in no case affect the right of compensation
under this Convention of any person who has brought an action for loss of
life or personal injury against the operator before the expiry of the
aforesaid period of ten years.
2. Where nuclear damage is caused by nuclear fuel, radioactive
products or waste which were stolen, lost, jettisoned, or abandoned, the
period established under paragraph 1 of this Article shall be computed
from the date of the nuclear incident causing the nuclear damage, but the
period shall in no case exceed a period of twenty years from the date of
the theft, loss, jettison or abandonment.
3. The applicable national law may establish a period of extinction or
prescription of not less than three years from the date on which the
person who claims to have suffered nuclear damage had knowledge or ought
reasonably to have had knowledge of the damage and of the person
responsible for the damage, provided that the period established under
paragraphs 1 and 2 of this Article shall not be exceeded.
4. Any person who claims to have suffered nuclear damage and who has
brought an action for compensation within the period applicable under this
Article may amend his claim to take into account any aggravation of the
damage, even after the expiry of that period, provided that final judgment
has not been entered.
Article VI
Where provisions of national health insurance, social insurance,
social security, workmen's compensation or occupational disease
compensation systems include compensation for nuclear damage, rights of
beneficiaries under such systems and rights of subrogation, or of recourse
against the operator, by virtue of such systems, shall be determined by
the law of the Contracting State having established such systems. However,
if the law of such Contracting State allows claims of beneficiaries of
such systems and such rights of subrogation and recourse to be brought
against the operator in conformity with the terms of this Convention, this
shall not result in the liability of the operator exceeding the amount
specified in paragraph 1 of Article III.
Article VII
1. Where nuclear damage engages the liability of more than one
operator and the damage attributable to each operator is not reasonably
separable, the operators involved shall be jointly and severally liable
for such damage. However, the liability of any one operator shall not
exceed the limit laid down in Article III.
2. In the case of a nuclear incident where the nuclear damage arises
out of or results from nuclear fuel or radioactive products or waste of
more than one nuclear ship of the same operator, that operator shall be
liable in respect of each ship up to the limit laid down in Article III.
3. In case of joint and several liability, and subject to the
provisions of paragraph 1 of this Article:
(a) Each operator shall have a right of contribution against the
others in proportion to the fault attaching to each of them:
(b) Where circumstances are such that the degree of fault cannot
be apportioned, the total liability shall be borne in equal parts.
Article VIII
No liability under this Convention shall attach to an operator in
respect to nuclear damage caused by a nuclear incident directly due to an
act of war, hostilities, civil war or insurrection.
Article IX
The sums provided by insurance, by other financial security or by
State indemnification in conformity with paragraph 2 of Article III shall
be exclusively available for compensation due under this Convention.
Article X
1. Any action for compensation shall be brought, at the option of the
claimant, either before the courts of the licensing State or before the
courts of the Contracting State or States in whose territory nuclear
damage has been sustained.
2. If the licensing State has been or might be called upon to ensure
the payment of claims for compensation in accordance with paragraph 2 of
Article III of this Convention, it may intervene as party in any
proceedings brought against the operator.
3. Any immunity from legal processes pursuant to rules of national or
international law shall be waived with respect to duties or obligations
arising under, or for the purpose of, this Convention. Nothing in this
Convention shall make warships or other State-owned or State-operated
ships on non-commercial service liable to arrest, attachment or seizure or
confer jurisdiction in respect of warships on the courts of any foreign
State.
Article XI
1. When, having regard to the likelihood of any claims arising out of
a nuclear incident exceeding the amount specified in Article III of this
Convention, a court of the licensing State, at the request of the
operator, a claimant or the licensing State, so certifies, the operator or
the licensing State shall make that amount available in that court to pay
any such claims; that amount shall be regarded as constituting the
limitation fund in respect of that incident.
2. The amount may be made available for the purposes of the preceding
paragraph by payment into court or by the provision of security or
guarantees sufficient to satisfy the court that the money will be
available when required to meet any established claim.
3. After the fund has been constituted in accordance with paragraph 1
of this Article the court of the licensing State shall be exclusively
competent to determine all matters relating to the apportionment and
distribution of the fund.
4. (a) A final judgment entered by a court having jurisdiction under
Article X shall be recognised in the territory of any other Contracting
State, except:
(i) where the judgment was obtained by fraud; or
(ii) the operator was not given a fair opportunity to present
his case,
(b) A final judgment which is recognized shall, upon being
presented for enforcement in accordance with the formalities required by
the law of the Contracting State where enforcement is sought, be
enforceable as if it were a judgment of a court of that State,
(c) The merits of a claim on which the judgment has been given
shall not be subject to further proceedings.
5. (a) If a person who is a national of a Contracting State, other
than the operator, has paid compensation for nuclear damage under an
International Convention or under the law of a non-Contracting State, such
person shall, up to the amount which he has paid, acquired by subrogation
the rights which the person so compensated would have enjoyed under this
Convention. However, no rights shall be so acquired by any person if and
to the extent that the operator has a right of recourse or contribution
against such person under this Convention;
(b) If a limitation fund has been set up and
(i) the operator has paid, prior to its being set up, compensation
for nuclear damage; or
(ii) the operator has paid, after it has been set up, compensation
for nuclear damage under an International Convention or the law of a
non-Contracting State,
he shall be entitled to recover from the fund, up to the amount
which he has paid, the amount which the person so compensated would have
obtained in the distribution of the fund;
(c) If no limitation fund is set up, nothing in this Convention
shall preclude an operator, who has paid compensation for nuclear damage
out of funds other than those provided pursuant to paragraph 2 of Article
III, from recovering from the person providing financial security under
paragraph 2 of Article III or from the licensing State, up to the amount
he has paid, the sum which the person so compensated would have obtained
under this Convention;
(d) In this paragraph the expression "a national of a Contracting
State" shall include a Contracting State or any of its constituent
subdivisions or a partnership or any public or private body whether
corporate or not established in a Contracting State.
6. Where no fund has been constituted under the provisions of this
Article, the licensing State shall adopt such measures as are necessary to
ensure that adequate sums provided by it or by insurance or other
financial security in accordance with paragraph 2 of Article III, shall be
available for the satisfaction of any claim established by a judgment of a
court of any other Contracting State which would be recognised under
paragraph 4 of this Article; the sums shall be made available, at the
option of the claimant, either in the licensing State or in the
Contracting State in which the damage was sustained or in the Contracting
State in which the claimant is habitually resident.
7. After the limitation fund has been constituted in accordance with
paragraph 1 of this Article or, where no such fund has been constituted,
if the sums provided by the licensing State, or by insurance, or other
financial security are available in accordance with paragraph 6 of this
Article to meet a claim for compensation, the claimant shall not be
entitled to exercise any right against any other asset of the operator in
respect of his claim for nuclear damage and any bail or security (other
than security for costs) given by or on behalf of that operator in any
Contracting State shall be released.
Article XII
1. The Contracting States undertake to adopt such measures as are
necessary to ensure implementation of the provisions of this Convention,
including any appropriate measures for the prompt and equitable
distribution of the sums available for compensation for nuclear damage.
2. The Contracting States undertake to adopt such measures as are
necessary to ensure that insurance and reinsurance premiums and sums
provided by insurance, reinsurance or other financial security, or
provided by them in accordance with paragraph 2 of Article III, shall be
freely transferable into the currency of the Contracting State in which
the damage was sustained, of the Contracting State in which the claimant
is habitually resident or, as regards insurance and reinsurance premiums
and payments, in the currencies specified in the insurance or reinsurance
contract.
3. This Convention shall be applied without discrimination based upon
nationality, domicile or residence.
Article XIII
This Convention applies to nuclear damage caused by a nuclear incident
occurring in any part of the world and involving the nuclear fuel of, or
radioactive products or waste produced in, a nuclear ship flying the flag
of a Contracting State.
Article XIV
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.
Article XV
1. Each Contracting State undertakes to take all measures necessary to
prevent a nuclear ship flying its flag from being operated without a
licence or authority granted by it.
2. In the event of nuclear damage involving the nuclear fuel of, or
radioactive products or waste produced in, a nuclear ship flying the flag
of a Contracting State, the operation of which was not at the time of the
nuclear incident licensed or authorized by such Contracting State, the
owner of the nuclear ship at the time of the nuclear incident shall be
deemed to be the operator of the nuclear ship for all the purposes of this
Convention, except that his liability shall not be limited in amount.
3. In such an event, the Contracting State whose flag the nuclear ship
flies shall be deemed to be the licensing State for all the purposes of
this Convention and shall, in particular, be liable for compensation for
victims in accordance with the obligations imposed on a licensing State by
Article III and up to the limit laid down therein.
4. Each Contracting State undertakes not to grant a licence or other
authority to operate a nuclear ship flying the flag of another State.
However, nothing in this paragraph shall prevent a Contracting State from
implementing the requirements of its national law concerning the operation
of a nuclear ship within its internal waters and territorial seas.
Article XVI
This Convention shall apply to a nuclear ship from the date of her
launching. Between her launching and the time she is authorized to fly a
flag, the nuclear ship shall be deemed to be operated by the owner and to
be flying the flag of the State in which she was built.
Article XVII
Nothing in this Convention shall affect any right which a Contracting
State may have under international law to deny access to its waters and
harbours to nuclear ships licensed by another Contracting State, even when
it has formally complied with all the provisions of this Convention.
Article XVIII
An action for compensation for nuclear damage shall be brought against
the operator; it may also be brought against the insurer or any person
other than the licensing State who has provided financial security to the
operator pursuant to paragraph 2 of Article III, if the right to bring an
action against the insurer or such other person is provided under the
applicable national law.
Article XIX
Notwithstanding the termination of this Convention or the termination
of its application to any Contracting State pursuant to Article XXVII, the
provisions of the Convention shall continue to apply with respect to any
nuclear damage caused by a nuclear incident involving the nuclear fuel of,
or radioactive products or waste produced in, a nuclear ship licensed or
otherwise authorized for operation by any Contracting State prior to the
date of such termination, provided the nuclear incident occurred prior to
the date of such termination or, in the event of a nuclear incident
occurring subsequent to the date of such termination, prior to the expiry
of a period of twenty-five years after the date of such licensing or other
authorization to operate such ship.
Article XX
Without prejudice to Article X any dispute between two or more
Contracting Parties concerning the interpretation or application of this
Convention which cannot be settled through negotiation, shall, at the
request of one of them, be submitted to arbitration. If within six months
from the date of the request for arbitration the Parties are unable to
agree on the organization of the arbitration, any one of those Parties may
refer the dispute to the International Court of Justice by request in
conformity with the Statute of the Court.
Article XXI
1. Each Contracting Party may at the time of signature or ratification
of this Convention or accession thereto, declare that it does not consider
itself bound by Article XX of the Convention. The other Contracting
Parties shall not be bound by this Article with respect to any Contracting
Party having made such a reservation.
2. Any Contracting Party having made a reservation in accordance with
paragraph 1 may at any time withdraw this reservation by notification to
the Belgian Government.
Article XXII
This Convention shall be open for signature by the States represented
at the eleventh session (1961-1962) of the Diplomatic Conference on
Maritime Law.
Article XXIII
This Convention shall be ratified and the instruments of ratification
shall be deposited with the Belgian Government.
Article XXIV
1. This Convention shall come into force three months after the
deposit of an instrument of ratification by at least one licensing State
and one other State.
2. This Convention shall come into force, in respect of each signatory
State which ratifies it after its entry into force as provided in
paragraph 1 of this Article, three months after the date of deposit of the
instrument of ratification of that State.
Article XXV
1. States Members of the United Nations, Members of the specialized
agencies and of the International Atomic Energy Agency not represented at
the eleventh session of the Diplomatic Conference on Maritime Law, may
accede to this Convention.
2. The instruments of accession shall be deposited with the Belgian
Government.
3. The Convention shall come into force in respect of the acceding
State three months after the date of deposit of the instrument of
accession of that State, but not before the date of entry into force of
the Convention as established by Article XXIV.
Article XXVI
1. A conference for the purpose of revising this Convention shall be
convened by the Belgian Government and the International Atomic Energy
Agency after the Convention has been in force five years.
2. Such a conference shall also be convened by the Belgian Government
and the International Atomic Energy Agency before the expiry of this term
or thereafter, if one-third of the Contracting States express a desire to
that effect.
Article XXVII
1. Any Contracting State may denounce this Convention by notification
to the Belgian Government at any time after the first revision Conference
held in accordance with the provisions of Article XXVI.1.
2. This denunciation shall take effect one year after the date on
which the notification has been received by the Belgian Government.
Article XXVIII
The Belgian Government shall notify the States represented at the
eleventh session of the Diplomatic Conference on Maritime Law, and the
States acceding to this Convention, of the following:
1. Signatures, ratifications and accessions received in accordance
with Articles XXII, XXIII and XXV.
2. The date on which the Convention will come into force in accordance
with Article XXIV.
3. Denunciations received in accordance with Article XXVII.
IN WITNESS WHEREOF, the undersigned Plenipotentiaries, whose
credentials have been found in order, have signed this Convention.
DONE at Brussels, this twenty-fifth day of May, one thousand nine
hundred and sixty-two, in the English, French, Russian and Spanish
languages in a single copy, which shall remain deposited in the archives
of the Belgian Government which shall issue certified copies.
In case of any disparity in the texts, the English and French versions
shall be authentic.
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