Adoption of protocols to amend the Paris convention on third party liability in the field of nuclear energy and the Brussels convention supplementary to the Paris convention

To keep in line with the world-wide tendency to strengthen the nuclear third party liability system after the Chernobyl accident, the Protocols to amend the Paris Convention on Third Party Liability in the Field of Nuclear Energy and the Brussels Convention Supplementary to the Paris Convention was adopted on 12 February, 2004. The most important feature of the revised Paris Convention is an increase in the nuclear operator's liability amount from 15 million SDRs to a new minimum of 700 million Euros. For the additional compensation to those provided by the domestic liability regime, the revised Brussels Supplementary Convention will maintain its basic three-tier compensation system but with significantly increased amounts(As a result the total amount to be compensated according to the three tiers will be 15 billions Euros). The protocols to amend the Paris Convention on Third Party Liability in the Field of Nuclear Energy will come into force when ratified by two thirds of the Signatory States, and the protocol to amend the Brussels Convention Supplementary to the Paris Convention will come into force when ratified by all the Brussels Supplementary Convention Signatory States