The Role of Technology in Determining Liability for Damages Caused by the Use of Peaceful Nuclear Energy
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.35246/db9h6b11Keywords:
Nuclear Liability, Civil Liability Conventions, Operator Strict Liability, Nuclear Damage, CausationAbstract
Modern nuclear projects rely on digital systems, dense sensor networks, and data sharing tools. These tools can help show what happens when nuclear damage is claimed. They can also shape how the law assigns responsibility for that damage. Many nuclear liability systems already place strict liability on the operator and limit who can be sued. Even so, technology still matters because it affects proof, causation, and later recourse claims. Technology also matters when damage crosses borders and when cyber events play a role. This research explains how modern technology changes the way responsibility is found for nuclear damage from peaceful use. It reviews key liability treaties, state responsibility rules, and national examples. It then links those rules to radiation mapping, remote sensing, digital logs, and forensic methods. It also addresses cyber attribution and AI use in safety and operations. The research ends with practical steps that can improve fairness, speed, and trust in nuclear damage decisions.
Downloads
References
International Treaties and Conventions
I. Convention on Assistance in the Case of a Nuclear Accident or Radiological Emergency (1986). United Nations Treaty Collection. https://treaties.un.org/doc/Publication/UNTS/Volume%201455/volume-1455-I-24645-English.pdf
II. Convention on Early Notification of a Nuclear Accident (1986). United Nations Treaty Collection. https://treaties.un.org/doc/Publication/UNTS/Volume%201438/volume-1438-I-24516-English.pdf
III. Convention on Supplementary Compensation for Nuclear Damage (1997). Treaty Doc. 107-21. Congress.gov. https://www.congress.gov/treaty-document/107th-congress/21/document
IV. Convention on Third-Party Liability in the Field of Nuclear Energy (Paris Convention). OECD Legal Instruments. https://legalinstruments.oecd.org/public/doc/307/307.en.pdf
V. Brussels Supplementary Convention (1963). Convention supplementary to the Paris Convention of 29 July 1960 on Third Party Liability in the Field of Nuclear Energy. United Nations Treaty Collection. https://treaties.un.org/doc/Publication/UNTS/Volume%201041/volume-1041-I-15974-English.pdf
VI. Vienna Convention on Civil Liability for Nuclear Damage (1963). United Nations Treaty Collection. https://treaties.un.org/doc/Publication/UNTS/Volume%201063/volume-1063-I-15497-English.pdf
VII. Vienna Convention on Civil Liability for Nuclear Damage (1997 Consolidated Text). Nuclear Pool Documentation. https://nuclearpool.by/wp-content/uploads/2020/09/the-vienna-convention-on-civil-liability-for-nuclear-damage-1963.pdf
VIII. UNECE (1991). Convention on Environmental Impact Assessment in a Transboundary Context (Espoo Convention). https://unece.org/fileadmin/DAM/env/eia/documents/legaltexts/Espoo_Convention_authentic_ENG.pdf
International Law Instruments and Case Law
IX. International Court of Justice (2010). Pulp Mills on the River Uruguay (Argentina v. Uruguay), Judgment. https://www.icj-cij.org/case/135
X. International Law Commission (2001a). Draft Articles on Responsibility of States for Internationally Wrongful Acts. United Nations. https://legal.un.org/ilc/texts/instruments/english/draft_articles/9_6_2001.pdf
XI. International Law Commission (2001b). Draft Articles on Prevention of Transboundary Harm from Hazardous Activities. United Nations. https://legal.un.org/ilc/texts/instruments/english/draft_articles/9_7_2001.pdf
Journal Articles and Conference Papers
XII. Brunner, I. (2025). Attributing cyber operations under international law: Political and legal aspects. QIL-Questions of International Law. https://www.qil-qdi.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/03_Regulating-Activities_BRUNNER_FIN.pdf
XIII. Corbacho, J. A., García-Talavera, M., & others (2024). Use of a drone-based gamma-ray spectrometry system to quantify contamination and dose rate. Radioprotection. https://www.radioprotection.org/articles/radiopro/full_html/2024/02/radiopro230060/radiopro230060.html
XIV. Ismail, I., & Ariffin, K. A. Z. (2025). The admissibility of digital evidence from open-source forensic tools: Development of a framework for legal acceptance. PLOS ONE, 20(9), e0331683. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0331683
XV. Klebanov, L. R., & Lizikova, M. S. (2025). Artificial intelligence in nuclear energy: Legal challenges and international cooperation in regulation. RUDN Journal of Law. https://journals.rudn.ru/law/article/view/44990/24989/en_US
XVI. Marques, L., Cardoso, R., & others (2021). State-of-the-art mobile radiation detection systems for nuclear security applications. Sensors, 21(4), 1051. https://www.mdpi.com/1424-8220/21/4/1051
XVII. Smith, R., & Berthoud, L. (2024). Remote sensing techniques for detecting proxies of radiation anomalies at nuclear facilities. IEEE Aerospace Conference Proceedings. https://www.researchgate.net/publication/379893920
XVIII. Xu, R. (2023). Application of drones in nuclear contaminated sites. E3S Web of Conferences, 424, 03004. https://www.e3s-conferences.org/articles/e3sconf/pdf/2023/61/e3sconf_icree2023_03004.pdf
Institutional Reports and Policy Documents
XIX. Chatham House (2024). Cybersecurity of the Civil Nuclear Sector: Threat Landscape and International Legal Protections. https://www.chathamhouse.org/sites/default/files/2024-11/2024-11-18-cybersecurity-civil-nuclear.pdf
XX. Congressional Research Service (2025). Price-Anderson Act: Nuclear Power Industry Liability Limits and Compensation to the Public After Radioactive Releases (IF10821). Congress.gov. https://www.congress.gov/crs_external_products/IF/PDF/IF10821/IF10821.6.pdf
XXI. Idaho National Laboratory (2024). Digitalization Guiding Principles and Method for Nuclear Industry Work Processes. https://inldigitallibrary.inl.gov/sites/sti/sti/Sort_232168.pdf
XXII. NIST (2022). Digital Evidence Preservation (NISTIR 8387). https://nvlpubs.nist.gov/nistpubs/ir/2022/NIST.IR.8387.pdf
XXIII. OECD Nuclear Energy Agency (NEA) (2012). Japan's Compensation System for Nuclear Damage. https://www.oecd-nea.org/upload/docs/application/pdf/2021-02/japans_compensation_system.pdf
XXIV. OECD NEA (2013). Radiological Characterization (NEA/RWM/WPDD(2013)2). https://www.oecd-nea.org/upload/docs/application/pdf/2020-01/rwm-wpdd2013-2.pdf
XXV. OECD NEA (2015). Nuclear Law Bulletin No. 95. https://www.oecd-nea.org/upload/docs/application/pdf/2020-11/nlb95.pdf
XXVI. OECD NEA (2020). Japan: Act on Compensation for Nuclear Damage (Act No. 147 of 1961, as amended). https://www.oecd-nea.org/upload/docs/application/pdf/2020-03/act_on_compensation_for_nuclear_damage_.pdf
XXVII. OECD NEA (2021). Nuclear Law Bulletin, Volume 2020 Issue 2. https://www.oecd.org/content/dam/oecd/en/publications/reports/2021/05/nuclear-law-bulletin-volume-2020-issue-2_964d124e/27b9c2df-en.pdf
XXVIII. Office for Nuclear Regulation (2024). Licensing of Safety-Critical Software for Nuclear Reactors: Common Position (Revision 1). https://www.onr.org.uk/documents/2024/common-position-safety-critical-software-rev1.pdf
XXIX. U.S. Department of Energy (2023). Price-Anderson Act Report to Congress (January 2023). https://www.energy.gov/sites/default/files/2023-02/PAA%20Report%20January%202023_0.pdf
XXX. WHO (2013). Health Risk Assessment from the Nuclear Accident after the 2011 Great East Japan Earthquake and Tsunami. https://eeae.gr/docs/files/_WHO%20health%20risk%20assessment_report.pdf
XXXI. UNSCEAR (2013). UNSCEAR 2013 Report, Volume I: Scientific Annex A. https://www.unscear.org/docs/publications/2013/UNSCEAR_2013_Report_Vol.I.pdf
XXXII. UNSCEAR (2020/2021). UNSCEAR 2020/2021 Report, Volume II: Scientific Annex B. https://www.unscear.org/docs/publications/2021/UNSCEAR_2020_21_Report_Vol.II.pdf
Downloads
Published
Issue
Section
License

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.
Copyright and Licensing:
For all articles published in Journal of Legal Sciences, copyright is retained by the authors. Articles are licensed under an open access Creative Commons CC BY 4.0 license, meaning that anyone may download and read the paper for free. In addition, the article may be reused and quoted provided that the original published version is cited. These conditions allow for maximum use and exposure of the work.
Reproducing Published Material from other Publishers: It is absolutely essential that authors obtain permission to reproduce any published material (figures, schemes, tables or any extract of a text) which does not fall into the public domain, or for which they do not hold the copyright. Permission should be requested by the authors from the copyrightholder (usually the Publisher, please refer to the imprint of the individual publications to identify the copyrightholder).
Permission is required for: Your own works published by other Publishers and for which you did not retain copyright.
Substantial extracts from anyones' works or a series of works.
Use of Tables, Graphs, Charts, Schemes and Artworks if they are unaltered or slightly modified.
Photographs for which you do not hold copyright.
Permission is not required for: Reconstruction of your own table with data already published elsewhere. Please notice that in this case you must cite the source of the data in the form of either "Data from..." or "Adapted from...".
Reasonably short quotes are considered fair use and therefore do not require permission.
Graphs, Charts, Schemes and Artworks that are completely redrawn by the authors and significantly changed beyond recognition do not require permission.
Obtaining Permission
In order to avoid unnecessary delays in the publication process, you should start obtaining permissions as early as possible. If in any doubt about the copyright, apply for permission. Journal of Legal Sciences cannot publish material from other publications without permission.
The copyright holder may give you instructions on the form of acknowledgement to be followed; otherwise follow the style: "Reproduced with permission from [author], [book/journal title]; published by [publisher], [year].' at the end of the caption of the Table, Figure or Scheme.






