Convention on Early Notification of a Nuclear Accident

 

Article 1

Scope of application

1. This Convention shall apply in the event of any accident involving
facilities or activities of a State Party or of persons or legal entities
under its jurisdiction or control, referred to in paragraph 2 below, from
which a release of radioactive material occurs or is likely to occur and
which has resulted or may result in an international transboundary
release that could be of radiological safety significance for another
State.

2. The facilities and activities referred to in paragraph 1 are the
following:

(a) any nuclear reactor wherever located;
(b) any nuclear fuel cycle facility;
(c) any radioactive made management facility;
(d) the transport and storage of nuclear fuels or radioactive wastes;
(e) the manufacture, use, storage, disposal and transport of
radioisotopes for agricultural, industrial, medical and related
scientific and research purposes; and
(f) the use of radioisotopes for power generation in space objects.

Article 2

Notification and information

In the event of an accident specified in article 1 (hereinafter
referred to as a “nuclear accident”), the State Party referred to in that
article shall:

(a) forthwith notify, directly or through the International Atomic
Energy Agency (hereinafter referred to as the “Agency”), those
States which are or may be physically affected as specified in
article 1 and the Agency of the nuclear accident, its nature, the
time of its occurrence and its exact location where appropriate;
and

(b) promptly provide the States referred to in sub-paragraph (a)
directly or through the Agency, and the Agency with such available
information relevant to minimizing the radiological consequences in
those States, as specified in article 5.

Article 3

Other Nuclear Accidents

With a view to minimizing the radiological consequences, States
Parties may notify in the event of nuclear accidents other than those
specified in article 1.

Article 4

Functions of the Agency

The Agency shall:

(a) forthwith inform States Parties, Member States, other States which
are or may be physically affected as specified in article 1 and
relevant international intergovernmental organizations (hereinafter
referred to as “International Organizations “) of a notification
received pursuant to sub-paragraph (a) of article 2; and

(b) promptly provide any State Party, Member State or relevant
international organization, upon request, with the information
received pursuant to sub-paragraph (b) of article 2.

Article 5

Information to be provided

1. The information to be provided pursuant to sub-paragraph (b) of
article 2 shall comprise the following data as then available to the
notifying State Party:

(a) the time, exact location where appropriate, and the nature of the
nuclear accident;
(b) the facility or activity involved;
(c) the assumed or established cause and the foreseeable development of
the nuclear accident relevant to the transboundary release of the
radioactive materials;
(d) the general characteristics of the radioactive release, including,
as far as is practicable and appropriate, the nature, probable
physical and chemical form and the quantity, composition and
effective height of the radioactive release;
(e) information on current and forecast meteorological and hydrological
conditions, necessary for forecasting the transboundary release of
the radioactive materials;
(f) the results of environmental monitoring relevant to the
transboundary release of the radioactive materials;
(g) the off-site protective measures taken or planned;
(h) the predicted behaviour over time of the radioactive release.

2. Such information shall be supplemented at appropriate intervals by
further relevant information on the development of the emergency
situation, including its foreseeable or actual termination.

3. Information received pursuant to sub-paragraph (b) of article 2 may
be used without restriction, except when such information is provided in
confidence by the notifying State Party.

Article 6

Consultations

A State Party providing information pursuant to sub-paragraph (b) of
article 2 shall, as far as is reasonably practicable, respond promptly to
a request for further information or consultations sought by an affected
State Party with a view to minimizing the radiological consequences in
that State.

Article 7

Competent authorities and points of contact

1. Each State Party shall make known to the Agency and to other States
Parties, directly or through the Agency, its competent authorities and
point of contact responsible for issuing and receiving the notification
and information referred to in article 2. Such points of contact and a
focal point within the Agency shall be available continuously.

2. Each State Party shall promptly inform the Agency of any changes that
may occur in the information referred to in paragraph 1.

3. The Agency shall maintain an up-to-date list of such national
authorities and points of contact as well as points of contact of
relevant International Organizations and shall provide it to States
Parties and Member States and to relevant international organizations.

Article 8

Assistance to State Parties

The Agency shall, in accordance with its Statute and upon a request
of a State Party which does not have nuclear activities itself and
borders on a State having an active nuclear programme but not Party,
conduct investigations into the feasibility and establishment of an
appropriate radiation monitoring system in order to facilitate the
achievement of the objectives of this Convention.

Article 9

Bilateral and multilateral arrangements

In furtherance of their mutual interests, States Parties may consider,
where deemed appropriate, the conclusion of bilateral or multilateral
arrangements relating to the subject matter of this Convention.

Article 10

Relationship to other international agreements

This Convention shall not affect the reciprocal rights and obligations
of States Parties under existing international agreements which relate to
the matters covered by this Convention, or under future international
agreements concluded in accordance with the object and purpose of this
Convention.

Article 11

Settlement of Disputes

1. In the event of a dispute between States Parties, or between a State
Party and the Agency, concerning the interpretation or application of
this Convention, the parties to the dispute shall consult with a view to
the settlement of the dispute by negotiation or by any other peaceful
means of settling disputes acceptable to them.

2. If a dispute of this character between States Parties cannot be
settled within one year from the request for consultation pursuant to
paragraph 1, it shall, at the request of any party to such dispute, be
submitted to arbitration or referred to the International Court of
Justice for decision. Where a dispute is submitted to arbitration, if,
within six months from the date of the request, the parties to the
dispute are unable to agree on the organization of the arbitration, a
party may request the President of the International Court of Justice or
the Secretary-General of the United Nations to appoint one or more
arbitrators. In cases of conflicting requests by the parties to the
dispute, the request to the Secretary-General of the United Nations shall
have priority.

3. When signing, ratifying, accepting, approving or acceding to this
Convention, a State may declare that it does not consider itself bound by
either or both of the dispute settlement procedures provided for in
paragraph 2. The other States Parties shall not be bound by a dispute
settlement procedures provided for in paragraph 2 with respect to a State
Party for which such a declaration is in force.

4. A State Party which has made a declaration in accordance with
paragraph 3 may at any time withdraw it by notification to the
depositary.

Article 12

Entry into force

1. This Convention shall be open for signature by all States and
Namibia, represented by the United Nations Council for Namibia, at the
Headquarters of the International Atomic Energy Agency in Vienna and at
the Headquarters of the United Nations in New York, from 26 September
1986 and 6 October 1986 respectively, until its entry into force or for
twelve months, whichever period is longer.

2. A State and Namibia, represented by the United Nations Council for
Namibia, may express its consent to be bound by this Convention either by
signature, or by deposit of an instrument of ratification, acceptance or
approval following signature made subject to ratification, acceptance or
approval, or by deposit of an instrument of accession. The instruments of
ratification, acceptance, approval or accession shall be deposited with
the depositary.

3. This Convention shall enter into force thirty days after consent to
be bound has been expressed by three States.

4. For each State expressing consent to be bound by this Convention
after its entry into force, this Convention shall enter into force for
that State thirty days after the date of expression of consent.

(a) This Convention shall be open for accession, as provided for in
this article, by international organizations and regional
integration organizations constituted by sovereign States, which
have competence in respect of the negotiation, conclusion and
application of international agreements in matters covered by this
Convention.

(b) In matters within their competence such organizations shall, on
their own behalf, exercise the rights and fulfil the obligations
which this Convention attributes to States Parties.

(c) When depositing its instrument of accession, such an organization
shall communicate to the depositary a declaration indicating the
extent of its competence in respect of matters covered by this
Convention.

(d) Such an organization shall not hold any vote additional to those of
its Member States.

Article 13

Provisional application

A State may, upon signature or at any later date before this
Convention enters into force for it, declare that it will apply this
Convention provisionally.

Article 14

Amendments

1. A State Party may propose amendments to this Convention. The proposed
amendment shall be submitted to the depositary who shall circulate it
immediately to all other States Parties.

2. If a majority of the States Parties request the depositary to convene
a conference to consider the proposed amendments, the depositary shall
invite all States Parties to attend such a conference to begin not sooner
than thirty days after the invitations are issued. Any amendment adopted
at the conference by a two-thirds majority of all States Parties shall be
laid down in a protocol which is open to signature in Vienna and New York
by all States Parties.

3. The protocol shall enter into force thirty days after consent to be
bound has been expressed by three States. For each State expressing
consent to be bound by the protocol after its entry into force, the
protocol shall enter into force for that State thirty days after the date
of expression of consent.

Article 15

Denunciation

1. A State Party may denounce this Convention by written notification to
the depositary.

2. Denunciation shall take effect one year following the date on which
the notification is received by the depositary.

Article 16

Depositary

1. The Director General of the Agency shall be the depositary of this
Convention.

2. The Director General of the Agency shall promptly notify States
Parties and all other States of:

(a) each signature of this Convention or any protocol of amendment;
(b) each deposit of an instrument of ratification, acceptance, approval
or accession concerning this Convention or any protocol of
amendment;
(c) any declaration or withdrawal thereof in accordance with article
11;
(d) any declaration of provisional application of this Convention in
accordance with article 13;
(e) the entry into force of this Convention and of any amendment
thereto; and
(f) any denunciation made under article 15.

Article 17

Authentic texts and certified copies

The original of this Convention, of which the Arabic, Chinese,
English, French, Russian and Spanish texts are equally authentic, shall
be deposited with the Director General of the International Atomic Energy
Agency who shall send certified copies to States Parties and all other
States.

IN WITNESS WHEREOF the undersigned, being duly authorized, have signed
this Convention, open for signature as provided for in paragraph 1 of
article 12.

ADOPTED by the General Conference of the International Atomic Energy
Agency meeting in special session at Vienna on the twenty-sixth day of
September one thousand nine hundred and eighty-six.

Author: international

Mentioned in these Entries

Conventions: Chronological Index 1971-1990, International Court of Justice, International Organizations, Other Environmental conventions, Settlement of Disputes.