Published June 2016 | Version v1
Journal article

Legal claims against Belgian reactors?

  • 1. CONLAR Consulting on Nuclear Law and Regulation, Leipzig (Germany)

Description

The Belgian reactors Tihange 2 and Doel 3 have been restarted in November 2015 after the problem of hydrogen flakes in the reactor pressure vessels had been investigated. The permission to restart has been the object both of critical statements by the German Federal Ministry of the Environment (BMUB) and of lawsuits filed with Belgian law courts by a group of German municipalities led by the city of Aachen and by the Land North-Rhine-Westphalia. According to a general principle of the law of nations, a state is not permitted to operate installations near its border, which cause significant environmental damage in a neighbouring state. However, it is not quite clear how this principle applies to the issue of potential accidents of nuclear power plants. According to the author, a tangible threat of an accident is required; mere doubts and concerns about the extent of safety margins are not sufficient.

Additional details

Additional titles

Original title (German)
Rechtsmittel gegen belgische Reaktoren?

Publishing Information

Journal Title
Atw. Internationale Zeitschrift fuer Kernenergie
Journal Volume
61
Journal Issue
6
Journal Page Range
p. 389-390
ISSN
1431-5254