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International Treaties

CONVENTION ON ASSISTANCE IN CASE OF A NUCLEAR ACCIDENT OR RADIOLOGICAL EMERGENCY
Ratified: 26 January 1987. 

CONVENTION ON EARLY NOTIFICATION OF A NUCLEAR ACCIDENT
Ratified: 26 January 1987 

VIENNA CONVENTION ON CIVIL LIABILITY FOR NUCLEAR DAMAGE
(VIENNA CONVENTION)
Signed: 27 May 1997

The permanent representative of Belarus to international organizations in Vienna, Valyantsin Fisenka, signed the Vienna Convention following several years of debate.[1,2] On 21 October 1994, the Belarusian Embassy in Lithuania released a statement outlining a Belarusian proposal for a tripartite agreement between Belarus, Lithuania, and Sweden that would require the owner of a nuclear facility to be fully liable for damages caused by an accident. According to Belarus, such an agreement would facilitate Swedish-assisted safety improvements at the Ignalina facility. Sweden, however, preferred that Belarus negotiate bilateral agreements with both Lithuania and Sweden. A Belarusian-Lithuanian bilateral agreement on nuclear liability, based upon negotiations begun in January 1994 in Vilnius, would include a provision under which Belarus, in the interest of promoting Swedish safety improvements, would forego liability claims on firms involved in supplying nuclear facility equipment. [3]

On 17 March 1995, as a result of meetings held in Stockholm between representatives from Belarus and Sweden, Belarus decided to sign the Vienna Convention, which regulates third party nuclear liability among member states. Belarus had been reluctant to join the Convention because it did not wish to be held financially responsible for the Chornobyl accident. In addition, Western companies were reluctant to sign nuclear contracts in Lithuania for fear of being held financially liable by Belarus in case of an accident. The issue delayed Swedish safety improvements at the Ignalina facility.[4]

On 10 July 1995, Prime Minister Mikhail Chigir officially agreed in a letter to Swedish Prime Minister Ingvar Carlsson that Belarus would sign the Convention, which would limit liability of a potential nuclear accident to $5 million. Western experts have explained to Belarusian officials that the Convention does not apply retroactively.[5]
Sources:
[1] "President Signs Decree on Joining Vienna Nuclear Damage Convention," East Europe, No. 207, 11-17 May 1997, p. 21.
[2] "Civil Liability For Nuclear Damage: International Framework," International Atomic Energy Agency, http://www.iaea.or.at/worldatom/glance/legal/liability.html.
[3] VILNIUS RADIO NETWORK, 10/21/94; in "Vilnius Embassy Issues Statement On Nuclear Station Talks," JPRS-TEN-94-027, 11/18/94, p. 23.
[4] Ariane Sains, "Belarus Agreement On Liability Clears Path For Ignalina Upgrades," NUCLEONICS WEEK, 3/23/95, p. 12; and Sains, "Belarus Nears Liability Agreement To Clear Way For Ignalina Upgrade," NUCLEONICS WEEK, 3/9/95, pp. 12-13.
[5] Ariane Sains, "Belarus Promises Adherence to Vienna Liability Convention," NUCLEONICS WEEK, 7/20/95, p. 14. Also see J. Lebon, "The Nuclear Third Party Liability Issues In Europe," NUCLEAR EUROPE WORLDSCAN, 7-8/95, pp. 106-107, and CISNP Discussions with Belarusian official, 10/95.
 {updated 2/12/98}

INTRA-NIS AGREEMENTS
5/30/96: SIX CIS MEMBERS AGREE TO NUCLEAR ENERGY COOPERATION
Officials from Armenia, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Russia, Tajikistan, and Ukraine came to an agreement on cooperating in the area of nuclear energy development during a two-day meeting in Minsk. The countries will also work together on issues including the nuclear fuel cycle, spent fuel, and nuclear waste.
[Nikolai Grusha, Russian Nuclear Society, in "CIS Accord on Nuclear Energy Links," NUCNET, 5/30/96.] {Entered 2/14/97, Mew} {Cleared 3/19/97 JWRL}
 
 
4/2/96: BELARUS AND RUSSIA SIGN DEFENSE/BORDER CONTROL AGREEMENT
Russian President Boris Yeltsin and Belarusian President Aleksandr Lukashenka signed the bilateral Treaty on Forming a Community. The treaty calls for joint patrolling of the Russo-Belarusian border and the coordination of foreign policies, among other issues. Lukashenko will head the Supreme Council, which governs the treaty, until 1998. Russian Prime Minister Viktor Chernomyrdin will head the Executive Council.
["In Belarus…," POST-SOVIET NUCLEAR & DEFENSE MONITOR, 4/5/96, p. 19.] {Entered 2/14/97, Mew}

Comments or questions? Contact Michael Jasinski at MIIS CNS: Michael.Jasinski@miis.edu

This material is produced independently for NTI by the Center for Nonproliferation Studies at the Monterey Institute of International Studies and does not necessarily reflect the opinions of and has not been independently verified by NTI or its directors, officers, employees, agents. Copyright © 2002 by MIIS.

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