The challenge of public hearings as experienced in the FRG

The public hearing is an integral part of the licensing procedure under the German Atomic Energy Act Section 7 of this Act provides that construction and operation of stationary installations for the production or fission of nuclear fuel, or for the reprocessing of irradiated nuclear fuel, shall be subject to the grant of a licence. The relevant licensing procedure according to Section 7 is laid down in the German Nuclear Installations Ordinance. This Ordinance provides in Section 2, Paragraph 1: 'As soon as the documents (i.e. those required for examination) are complete, the licensing authority shall notify the public of the project in its official gazette and in a daily newspaper which is read in the region of the site of the installation. Reference to this notice shall be made in the German Federal Register'. Paragraph 2 continues: 'The notice shall (1) state that the application for granting a licence or a preliminary licence has been made and where the documents... (required for examination)... are available for inspection by the public; (2) invite the public to file objections, if any, with a board to be specified in said notice within thirty days after the day following the publication of said official gazette; (3) fix the date of a public hearing and point out that the objections raised will be discussed during said hearing independent of whether the applicant or the persons who have filed objections will appear or fail to appear.' (author)