The Early Notification Convention establishes a notification system for nuclear accidents that have the potential for an international transboundary release of radioactive material that could be of radiological safety significance for another state.

Adopted: 26 September 1986

Opened for signature: 26 September 1986 (Vienna) and 6 October 1986 (New York)

Entered into force: 27 October 1986

Parties: 132 (including EURATOM, FAO, WHO and WMO) (see table below)

More information on the Early Notification Convention, including the text, is available here.

The text of the Early Notification Convention is also reproduced in the Supplement to Nuclear Law Bulletin No. 38.

The current status of the Early Notification Convention is available here.

The following articles related to the Early Notification Convention were published in the Nuclear Law Bulletin:

• The IAEA Conventions on Early Notification of a Nuclear Accident and on Assistance in the Case of a Nuclear Accident or Radiological Emergency, by B. Moser (NLB 44, p. 10). 
• Inside nuclear baseball: Reflections on the development of the safety conventions, by C. Stoiber (NLB 100, p. 61).
• The impact of the major nuclear power plant accidents on the international legal framework for nuclear power, by S.G. Burns (NLB 101, p. 7).

* Country with at least one nuclear power plant in operation.