Vienna: Over 100 delegates met in Vienna last month to accelerate the establishment of a global nuclear liability regime under the framework of a global convention. The Fifth Meeting of the Contracting Parties and Signatories to the Convention on Supplementary Compensation for Nuclear Damage (CSC) was held at the IAEA’s headquarters in Vienna, Austria, on 23-26 June 2025.
According to EMM, industry participants highlighted the need to establish a global nuclear liability regime based on the CSC, which would provide legal certainty to all stakeholders in the nuclear industry worldwide, including operators, insurers, suppliers, and investors. The meeting also provided a forum for further practical discussions related to the operation of the CSC. Ben McRae, Chair of the Fifth Meeting and Assistant General Counsel for Civilian Nuclear Programs at the US Department of Energy, emphasized that the CSC is the best way to address nuclear liability. It provides legal certainty, minimizes supply chain concerns, and increases investor confidence.
A specialist panel discussed the importance of the CSC with reference to the impact of nuclear liability on the cost of nuclear projects. The last part of the meeting was devoted to continued discussions on a possible amendment to the CSC. This amendment aims to eliminate the obligation for States with no nuclear reactors to contribute to the convention’s supplementary international fund, encouraging more countries to join.
The meeting successfully demonstrated growing momentum towards broad adherence to the CSC, which already covers approximately forty percent of nuclear power plants in the world. McRae noted that a global regime based on the CSC is necessary to achieve the full promise of nuclear power by providing safe, secure, clean, and affordable energy. The CSC assures prompt and equitable compensation for damage to persons, property, and the environment and offers the legal certainty necessary for operators, suppliers, investors, lenders, and insurers to participate in nuclear projects.
Anthony Wetherall, Head of the Nuclear and Treaty Law Section in the IAEA Office of Legal Affairs, stated that the CSC is an important building block in establishing a global nuclear liability regime, as called for annually by the IAEA General Conference. He added that this year’s fifth meeting took place in light of efforts to achieve a possible amendment that would eliminate the obligation on States with no nuclear reactors to make financial contributions to the CSC’s supplementary international fund.
The CSC was adopted under IAEA auspices in 1997 and is the only international nuclear liability convention covering approximately 180 nuclear power reactors worldwide, which account for about 43 percent of such operational reactors. The CSC has 11 Parties and 11 Signatories, serving as an umbrella for countries that are parties to existing international nuclear liability conventions or have national legislation conforming to the basic nuclear liability principles specified in the CSC annex.
The inaugural meeting of the CSC Parties and Signatories was held in Ottawa, Canada, in 2019, during which the IAEA accepted the request to act as the Secretariat for future meetings of the Parties on a regular basis.