Natural Disaster as a Reason to Annul the Nuclear Liability - From National and International Law's Perspective (Contributed Paper)

One serious issue that deserves more attention from Indonesia before constructing its first NPP, regarding its ''ring of fire'' geological position, is the natural disaster as a reason to annul the nuclear liability. Article 32 of Act No 10 Year 1997 on Nuclear Energy stipulates that '' nuclear installation operator shall not be responsible for the damage caused by a nuclear accident that occurred as a direct impact of a domestic or international armed conflict or natural disaster that exceeded the design limits and acceptance criteria set by the regulatory body. '' In its explanation natural disaster includes earthquakes. This article adopts the provision of article IV paragraph 3b 1963 Vienna Convention on Civil Liability for Nuclear Damage. But, in 1997 Amendment Protocol, this provision has been deleted. Natural disasters often referred to as an ''act of God'' because it occurs outside the control of the human. Nevertheless, not all natural disasters could cause the operator to annul its civil liability. The most important question is: ''has the operator taken all necessary preventive actions to prevent accidents, before and during the natural disaster?'' In practice, an accident can occur due to a combination of natural disasters and negligence. For example is the 2011 Fukushima Daaichi disaster. The tsunami that occurred on the east coast of Japan was the direct cause of the accident. However, there was also the human error factor. (author)