International Expert Group on Nuclear Liability (INLEX): The First Two Decades of the Origins of INLEX

In the IAEA's 3 October 2003 terms of reference, Director General Mohammed ElBaradei stated his intention to set up an International Expert Group on Nuclear Liability (INLEX). The group was to serve three functions, namely (i) to create a forum of expertise to explore and advise on issues related to nuclear liability; (ii) to enhance global adherence by nuclear and non-nuclear States to an effective nuclear liability regime, inter alia, on the basis of the Convention on Supplementary Compensation for Nuclear Damage and the Annex thereto [8], the Vienna Convention on Civil Liability for Nuclear Damage [4], the Paris Convention on Third Party Liability in the Field of Nuclear Energy [3], the Joint Protocol Relating to the Application of the Vienna Convention and the Paris Convention [6], and the amendments thereto [7, 9]; and, (iii) to assist in the development and strengthening of the national nuclear liability legal frameworks in IAEA Member States to protect the public and the environment, and to enhance nuclear safety. Members were to be nominated by the Director General and serve in their individual capacity as experts in the field of nuclear liability. The group was to meet at regular intervals, originally normally twice a year. The first meeting of INLEX was held at IAEA Headquarters in Vienna on 16–17 October 2003. As the terms of reference then provided, Steven McIntosh of Australia was elected as Chair to preside at the group's meetings.