Members of the Nuclear Law Committee (NLC) meeting
The Nuclear Law Committee (NLC) is a group of specialists from the NEA member countries that comprises lawyers, policymakers, academics and technical experts. The NLC met in person and online on 14-15 May 2025 with 62 participants from 24 NEA member countries, representatives from Singapore and the United Arab Emirates, the European Union (EU), the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) and representatives from the nuclear insurance industry, to discuss the committee’s activities.
The first day of the meeting included an address by NEA Director-General William D. Magwood, IV, along with updates from the Secretariat, IAEA and EU. The Japanese delegation reported on the status of lawsuits for compensation for nuclear damage in Japan regarding the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant accident. The first day also included reports on national developments in nuclear law in Canada, Czechia, Poland, the United Kingdom and the United States. Finally, the group discussed the interaction of nuclear liability conventions with international agreements in the field of transport.
The second day featured a tour de table to discuss national developments concerning advanced and small modular reactors as well as a presentation on upcoming international workshops related to small modular reactors.
Updates on the latest activities of the NLC working parties, namely the Working Party on the Legal Aspects of Nuclear Safety (WPLANS), the Working Party on Nuclear Liability and Transport (WPNLT) and the Working Party on Nuclear Liability and Radioactive Waste Disposal Facilities (WPLDF) were shared with the NLC.
The Secretariat also informed the NLC of the appointment of the judges for the 11th mandate of the European Nuclear Energy Tribunal, which started on 1 January 2025, and provided a status report on the initiatives of the NEA Division of Nuclear Law such as the Women in Nuclear Law Initiative established under Women in Nuclear Global, and the Working Group 5 on Re-establishing nuclear law education programmes established under the NEA Global Forum on Nuclear Education, Science, Technology and Policy.
Updates from key working parties
Members of the Working Party on the Legal Aspects of Nuclear Safety (WPLANS)
On 13 May 2025, the WPLANS met in person and online to take stock of recent work and discuss key upcoming events and workshops. The 31 participants from 16 NEA member countries and 2 non-NEA member countries discussed the planning of the 2025 Bridging Law and Technology: International Workshop for the Deployment of Small Modular Reactors, which the NEA is co-hosting with the government of Sweden in Stockholm on 8-10 December 2025. The workshop is designed for legal, technical and policy experts from government and the private sector to discuss the unique legal challenges posed by advancements in small modular, transportable, marine and Generation IV reactors and identify potential paths forward.
The WPLANS also received an update on the progress towards publication of the five-year update to the 2019 report Legal Frameworks for Long-Term Operation of Nuclear Power Reactors , which is expected to be published in August 2025. Further, a representative from the NEA Committee on Nuclear Regulatory Activities (CNRA) Working Group on Policy & Licensing provided an update on the group’s activities of interest to WPLANS.
Canada and the United States provided presentations on the legal challenges to licensing decisions and the WPLANS heard updates on national developments in the legal aspects of nuclear safety from Czechia, Spain and the United Kingdom.
Members of the Working Party on Nuclear Liability and Transport (WPNLT)
On 16 May 2025, the WPNLT met in person and online with 37 participants from 15 NEA member countries, Singapore, the United Arab Emirates, the IAEA, the International Nuclear Law Association (INLA), the World Nuclear Association (WNA) and World Nuclear Transport Institute (WNTI), as well as insurance experts.
The meeting of the WPNLT, which examines issues relating to the interpretation and application of international nuclear liability instruments to nuclear transport, included updates from the Secretariat and the IAEA as well as presentations from INLA, WNA and WNTI.
The meeting also featured a session on key considerations related to insuring the transport of nuclear substances, with presentations by representatives of nuclear insurance pools, mutuals and P&I Clubs. This prompted discussions on certain aspects of nuclear liability such as preventive measures and led to an exchange of views regarding insurance coverage considerations for carriers of nuclear substances. The working party discussed the finalisation of a WPNLT report on the qualification of nuclear substances and nuclear liability, with a specific focus on ways to facilitate the qualification process of nuclear substances in case of transport or transit.
Finally, building upon discussions from the previous WPNLT meeting, the group examined the potential overlap of operators’ nuclear liability in case of international transport of nuclear substances in the absence of treaty relations between the installation states of the sending and receiving operators. A draft case study on this issue was also developed to identify all relevant aspects to be taken into consideration.
