The nuclear safety legal framework modernisation after Fukushima and the international Governance

On March 11, 2011, the Japan suffered an earthquake followed by a tsunami to the terrible consequences. In nuclear power plant Fukushima Dai-ichi happened a nuclear accident of level 7 (highest) on the international scale, which marked the spirits such as rivaled that of Chernobyl in 1986. This accident left the world agog with these new forms of threats, especially since the TEPCO operator did not master the situation or learn the lessons of the past. Since Fukushima, the fundamentals in Europe and worldwide has so upset been turned upside-down and this raises the question of safety and security of power plants with renewed acuity, which necessitated. It is imperative to redefine in law and in practice some standards and principles at the national, European and international level in accordance with these new threats to the highest level of safety. But the legal revisions need to be more ambitious. The future of nuclear power suggest therefore: at the European level: a more ambitious revision of the directive on nuclear safety; the establishment of a regulatory body with effective independence de jure; the definition of a liability law harmonised throughout the EU and the IAEA for victims in the event of an accident. At the international level: the governance is necessary as a vector of a common safety culture and security culture; although the diversity of national models of management and control of the nuclear industry appears a priori difficult to move towards common rules. As well as at the European level, the writing of a single text entitled to the repair of damages would be necessary for the same reasons already stated. The revision of the Convention on nuclear safety is also as important crucial for the future. For immediate harmonization concerns many fields, for the most part: during and after a nuclear accident crisis management; the implementation of the principles of safety and security at the most efficient and highest level from the conception to the dismantling of an installation; strengthening interaction adapted between nuclear safety and nuclear security; but also the integration of the population in the decision-making process in the areas of nuclear is mandatory for the acceptance of nuclear energy. (author)