Juridical reflections on the concept of 'qualified expert' in radiation protection: definition and liability

The concept of 'qualified expert' in radiation protection exists in European law since the first version of the EURATOM Directive of the 20/02/1959 concerning the basic standards relative to the sanitary protection of the population and the workers against the dangers of ionising radiations. This concept is integrated in the successive versions of the basic standards, until the last Directive of the 13/05/1996. In the year 2000, when the delay of transposition of this Directive into national regulations comes to and end, France should normally put this concept into its revised regulations under the name of 'competent person'. The definition of the qualified expert in the Directive of 1996 has been modified by the introduction of the term 'capacity of acting as a qualified expert'. The objective of this paper is to analyse the potential consequences in France of this 'capacity of acting' on the regulatory approach of the means to be given in the qualified expert and also on his penal liability. (author)