Paris Convention on Nuclear Third Party Liability
The Paris Convention on Nuclear Third Party Liability sets out a general legal framework that is designed to ensure that victims of nuclear damage are compensated in the event of a nuclear accident. The Convention stipulates that the civil operator of the nuclear installation is completely liable for any damage caused at their facility or when nuclear material is transported to or from their facility. Civil operators are obliged to allocate at least 5 million and no more than 15 million in Special Drawing Rights to compensation claims, a monetary unit specified by the International Monetary Fund that is based on basket of currencies and is recalculated on a daily basis. The operator is consequently legally obliged to ensure that they have an adequate financial insurance to cover claims related to injury, death, and property loss. Moreover, they must provide compensation to all victims irrespective of location and nationality. The Paris Convention currently has 16 State Parties, primarily from Western Europe and was ratified on 1 April 1968.