Objectives: To achieve and maintain a high level of nuclear safety world-wide, to establish and maintain effective defences in nuclear installations against potential radiological hazards in order to protect individuals, society and the environment from harmful effects of ionising radiation from such installations, prevent accidents with radiological consequences and to mitigate such consequences should they occur.
Summary of provisions: Each Party agrees to review the existing nuclear installations as soon as possible, and, when necessary in the context of the Convention, to take all reasonably practicable improvements to upgrade the safety of the nuclear installations. If such upgrading cannot be achieved, each Party is to implement plans to shut down the nuclear installation as soon as practically possible (art. 6). Each Party undertakes to establish and maintain a legislative and regulatory framework to govern the safety of nuclear installations, providing inter alia for the establishment of applicable national safety requirements and regulations, a system of licensing with regard to nuclear installations and the prohibition of the operation of a nuclear installation without a license, a system of regulatory inspection and assessment of nuclear installations to ascertain compliance with applicable regulations and the terms of licenses and the enforcement of applicable regulations and of the terms of licenses (art. 7). Each Party agrees to establish or designate a regulatory body entrusted with the implementation of the framework and provided with adequate authority, competence and financial and human resources to fulfil its assigned responsibilities. The function of such body should be effectively separated from those of any other body concerned with the promotion and utilisation of nuclear energy (art. 8). All organisations engaged in activities directly related to nuclear installations are to establish policies that give due priority to nuclear safety (art.10). Adequate financial resources and qualified and competent staff are to be available at each nuclear installation (art. 11). Quality assurance programmes are to be established and implemented (art. 13) while comprehensive and systematic safety assessments are to be carried out before the construction and commissioning of a nuclear installation and throughout its lire, followed by verification of its safety (art. 14). Exposure of workers and the public to radiation is to be kept as low as reasonably achievable and within prescribed national radiation dose limits (art. 15) and off-site and on-site emergency plans are to be established (art. 16). The Convention contains provisions concerning safety of nuclear installations, including siting, their design and construction and their operation (arts. 17-19).
Institutional mechanisms: Meetings of the Contracting Parties are to occur at least every three years to review reports from Parties with regard to measures which the respective Parties have taken to implement the obligation of the Convention (arts 5, 20 and 21). The International Atomic Energy Agency is to provide the secretariat for the meeting of the Contracting Parties (art. 28).
(Source: IUCN ELC, 08.2005, based on UNEP Register of International Treaties and Other Agreements in the Field of the Environment, 1996) Article 30 4. allows international organizations to become Parties to this instrument. The following organizations have become Parties: EURATOM. This is not reflected in the Parties' matrix attached.