[en] It is explained that the use of nuclear energy has to be accompanied by a modern and adequate law relating to damages. a) Unlimited liability and financial security. Arguments against the limitation of liability in terms of sums are the following: protection of the population, the high safety degree of German nuclear installations, the polluter-pays principle co-responsibility of the state and thus the social order in the Federal Republic of Germany in general. b) Adequate settlement of claims for damages. The optimum principle laid down in the Atom Energy Law ought to cover subsequent appropriate measures for compensation. The unavoidable, negative effects following nuclear incidents ought to be kept endurable by taking risk-specific and adequate measures. Arguments against such a normalization of liability and financial security are considered to be relative as far as they have become known. (orig./HP)

[en] The fact that damages cannot be completely ruled out by means of technology constitutes a major problem which follows the use of nuclear energy. At the moment, liability for nuclear installations is limited to DM 1000 million per nuclear incident. IT is expected that the German Bundestag will consider an amendment of the limitation of liability under the Atomic Energy Law. In this article, reasons are given for the fact that the cancellation of the limitation of liability is due, in order to distribute the financial burden to be born in case of accidents in such a way that it will be easier to cope with by those affected, and to re-organize the social order according to the constitutional aims of protection. (orig.)

[en] The authors examine the function and the structural characteristcs of the state-of-the-art concept. It is described as a yardstick in judging the means to be employed to attain the goals of protection under Sec. 1, Subsec. 2 of the Atomic Energy Act. The concept was used to ensure that the advances in theoretical knowledge were met also by an adequate development of technical measures of protection so as to ensure a maximum of safety. The concept included a scientific and engineering state of the art, which allowed a sufficiently reliable forecast to be made of the technical feasibility of science-based concepts of safety and protection. The forecast constituted an obligation to monitor the progress of the state of the art by elucidating progressive developments in safety proposals and concerns. (HSCH)

[en] Criteria for protecting continued economic existence are derived from specific incidents, and so are practical relations between standards of the Atomic Energy Law - not with regard to the notion of danger to be found in police regulations but with regard to the specific protection requirements laid down in the Atomic Energy Law. A question that has hardly ever been discussed until now, namely the one of having an 'active', overlapping protection of continued economic existence is assessed with some reserve, with reference to building regulations and trade law. (HP)

[en] The German Federal Ministry of the Interior has plans to reform nuclear liability law. The main point of these reforms is the complete abolition of an upper limit of liability; the coverage provisions by operators of nuclear power plants are to be raised to DM 1 billion and to be followed by unlimited liability of the government for which, however, the operator would have to pay: In a paper presented at the 6th German Atomic Energy Law Symposium at Muenster these concepts leading to the creation of liability law not yet achieved in any other country in the world were termed 'normalization' by members of the Ministry, for the present procedures reflected the social system of the Federal Republic of Germany. (orig.) 891 HP/orig. 892 MB

[en] The author reviews the Paris and Bruessels agreements, the need for revision of these agreements and the readiness of member states to modify them. Modifications of the year 1979 are discussed, the most important of which is the special drawing right of the International Monetary Fund. Critical remarks are made on a trend to discuss liability in the modification agreements. Some basic principles of the Paris and Brussels agreements are still useful but should be intensified. An alternative to multinational agreements would be harmonisation on a bilateral basis. Nuclear liability low plays an important role in the nuclear controversy. (HSCH)

[en] To afford full protection for possible victims, the authors of this article are in favour of doing away with the limitation of liability of nuclear operators presently provided under the German Atomic Energy Act, the principle of which is based on the Paris Convention and the Brussels Supplementary Convention. In support of this argument reference is made to the recent accident at Three Mile Island, trends in other national legislation towards unlimited liability as well as high safety standards in German nuclear plants. Finally, possible ways of providing unlimited liability are proposed, in particular increased insurance cover and the constitution of an interest-bearing fund in addition to State intervention in case of a major nuclear incident. (NEA)

[en] The deficiencies of the present regulation are described, and possible approaches to a solution to be made by the Federal Ministry of the Interior are developed for the problem of unlimited protection of victims. (HP)