Vienna Convention on Civil Liability for Nuclear Damage (Vienna Convention)
Ongoing

The Vienna Convention establishes a nuclear liability and compensation regime similar to that provided for under the Paris Convention. The Vienna Convention is open to any state.

  • Adopted: 21 May 1963
  • Opened for signature: 21 May 1963
  • Entered into force: 12 November 1977
  • Parties: 46 (see table below)

More information on the Vienna Convention, including the text and current status, is available here.

The following is a sampling of the articles related to the Vienna Convention that have been published in the Nuclear Law Bulletin and Principles and Practice of International Nuclear Law:

  • The Simultaneous Application of the Paris and Vienna Conventions in the Danish Draft Act, by Judge Spleth (NLB 6, p. 58).
  • International Co-operation in Providing Insurance Cover for Nuclear Damage to Third Parties and for Damage to Nuclear Installations, by J. Deprimoz (NLB 32, p. 33).
  • A Bridge Between two Conventions on Civil Liability for Nuclear Damage: the Joint Protocol relating to the Application of the Vienna Convention and the Paris Convention, by O. Von Busekist (NLB 43, p. 10).
  • Towards a New Regime of State Responsibility for Nuclear Activities, by L. De La Fayette (NLB 50, p. 7).
  • Vienna Convention Revision: A Review of the Exercise and Insurance Implications in the Provisions under Discussion, by G. C. Warren (NLB 55, p. 9).
  • The Protocol Amending the 1963 Vienna Convention, by V. Lamm (NLB 61, p. 7).
  • Revised Paris and Vienna Nuclear Liability Conventions – Challenges for Insurers, by M. Tetley (NLB 77, p. 27).
  • International Pooling of Operators' Funds: An Option to Increase the Amount of Financial Security to Cover Nuclear Liability?, by N. Pelzer (NLB 79, p. 37).
  • Perspective on the Pros and Cons of a Pooling-type Approach to Nuclear Third Party Liability, by S. Carroll (NLB 81, p. 75).
  • The Brussels I Regulation and Liability for Nuclear Damage, by J. Handrlica (NLB 86, p. 29).
  • Progress towards a global nuclear liability regime (NLB 93, p. 9).
  • Recognition and enforcement of foreign judgments on civil liability for nuclear damage, by U. Magnus (NLB 106, p. 7).
  • The qualification of nuclear substances and nuclear liability, by E. de Boissieu (NLB 108/109, p. 77).
  • Applicability of the existing nuclear liability conventions to different types of small modular reactors currently under development, by V. Roland (NLB 110, p. 7).
  • Nuclear liability in respect of Ukraine’s nuclear installations under Russian military control, by N.L.J.T. Horbach and O.F. Brown (NLB 111, p. 7).
  • The modern nuclear liability regime’s concept of “environmental damage”: How national courts may apply it and what remedies they may provide for such damage, by S. Knopp Pisi (NLB 111, p. 23).
  • Nuclear fusion: Legal Aspects, by W. Tonhauser and K. T. Olajos (NLB 111, p. 57).
  • Liability and compensation for third party damage resulting from a nuclear incident, by J.A. Schwartz (Principles and Practice of International Nuclear Law, p. 409).
  • Insurance of nuclear risks, by S. M. S. Reitsma and M. G. Tetley (Principles and Practice of International Nuclear Law, p. 445).

 

Parties to the Vienna Convention on Civil Liability for Nuclear Damage
Argentina* Czechia* Mexico* Rwanda
Armenia* Egypt Moldova Saint Vincent and the Grenadines
Belarus* El Salvador Montenegro Saudi Arabia
Benin Estonia Morocco Senegal
Bolivia Ghana Niger Serbia
Bosnia and Herzegovina Hungary* Nigeria Slovak Republic*
Brazil* Jordan North Macedonia Trinidad and Tobago
Bulgaria* Kazakhstan Peru Ukraine*
Cameroon Latvia Philippines Uruguay
Chile Lebanon Poland Zimbabwe
Croatia Lithuania Romania*  
Cuba Mauritius Russia*  

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