Legal aspects of the control and repression of illicit trafficking of nuclear and other radioactive materials. Is there a need for an international convention?

It is generally recognised that illicit trafficking of nuclear and other radioactive materials is a serious problem, and one that must be tackled with a comprehensive response involving national governments as well as a number of intergovernmental organisations including the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA). The IAEA notes that 1 773 incidents were reported to its Illicit Trafficking Database, or ITDB, between January 1993 and December 2009, and that 351 of these involved '... unauthorized possession and related criminal activities' such as '... illegal possession, movement or attempts to illegally trade in or use nuclear material or radioactive sources'. The IAEA adds that 222 more incidents were confirmed between July 2009 and June 2010 and concludes that: - the availability of unsecured nuclear and other radioactive material persists; - effective border control measures help to detect illicit trafficking, although effective control is not uniformly implemented at all international border points; and - individuals and groups are prepared to engage in trafficking this material. A disturbing trend is trafficking in particularly sensitive regions of the world, such as in countries that were formerly a part of the former Soviet Union. In November 2010, Georgian officials seized four individuals allegedly trying to sell cesium-137, which though fairly common can be used to make a radiological dispersion device (RDD) or 'dirty bomb'. This closely followed a court case in Georgia involving Armenian nationals who had attempted to sell weapon-grade plutonium. More recently, in June 2011, Moldovan police arrested six individuals suspected of trafficking in uranium-235. In view of the problem, this paper considers whether an international convention specifically targeting illicit trafficking is needed or not. The paper does not go conceptually beyond the legal aspects of controlling and repressing illicit trafficking; rather, it will look at whether the existing system of international and national legal frameworks is necessary and sufficient. The following topics will be examined in order to reach a conclusion in Part V about the need for a convention: the nature and scale of the illicit trafficking problem (Parts I and II), the existing international regime to control illicit trafficking (Part III) and the role of national legislation (Part IV)