The Senate has passed a bill on civil and legal liability in the field of nuclear energy use

April 30, 2020 the Deputies of the Senate of Kazakhstan Parliament adopted the draft law "On introduction of amendments and supplements to some legislative acts of the Republic of Kazakhstan on issues of civil liability in the field of atomic energy use" and accompanying to this amendments to the law "On radiation safety of population" and "On use of nuclear energy", the press service of the Ministry of Energy of Kazakhstan announced.

The draft law provides for the regulation of public relations arising during the operation of nuclear installations in the Republic of Kazakhstan, namely in the field of civil liability of operators of nuclear installations for causing nuclear damage.

The law of the Republic of Kazakhstan dated February 10, 2011 ratified the Vienna Convention on civil liability for nuclear damage of 1997.

The main idea of the Vienna Convention is that in the event of a nuclear incident, the installation operator is obliged to compensate for the damage caused. At the same time, the minimum amount of compensation for nuclear damage by the operator is determined by the state.

Today, Kazakhstan does not regulate at the legislative level the conditions for applying the provisions of the Vienna Convention of 1997, namely, the state does not define the limits of the operator's liability and does not regulate the issues of financial security and insurance.

It is important to note that the acting legislation of Kazakhstan is based on General civil liability, which is insufficient and not adapted to specific nuclear risks, and there is no mechanism of compensation for losses due to a nuclear incident.

Amendments to the current legislation of the Republic of Kazakhstan are aimed at strengthening civil liability of nuclear installation operators to third parties. In particular, the Draft law establishes rules for providing financial protection to victims of damage resulting from a nuclear incident, as well as for establishing mechanisms for insuring civil liability of the operator of a nuclear installation for causing nuclear damage.

Unofficial translation