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Moribund U.S. Nuclear Industry Depending on India’s Nuclear Liability Bill

It may also result in contracts worth US$10 billion for the moribund American nuclear industry..

India’s Nuclear Liability Bill, IntelliBriefs,  Chaitanya RaviResearch Intern,April 25, 2010 Civil Liability for Nuclear Damage Bill that is essential for American commercial nuclear firms to enter the US$150 billion Indian civil nuclear energy market has sharply polarized India’s political, legal and strategic communities.

The government deferred the introduction of the bill in Parliament after strong opposition from India’s major opposition parties in March 2010.
Passage of the bill is considered important for the full implementation of the landmark Indo-US nuclear deal that was signed in December 2008. It may also result in contracts worth US$10 billion for the moribund American nuclear industry from the two reactor sites allotted to Westinghouse Electric (a unit of Toshiba) and GE Hitachi by the Indian government…………….
At present, India is not a party to any of the four international nuclear liability conventions (the 1960 Paris Convention, the 1963 Vienna Convention, the 1997 protocol to Amend Vienna Convention and the 1997 Convention on Supplementary Liability for Nuclear Damage). Its domestic nuclear law (Atomic Energy Act of 1962) says nothing about nuclear liability or compensation for nuclear damage resulting from a nuclear accident.
Since all civil nuclear facilities are owned by the Central Government (Nuclear Power Corporation of India Limited and the Bharat Navbhikiya Vidyut Nigam, both public sector enterprises), the liability issues arising from these installations are its responsibility. Under existing Indian legislation, foreign suppliers may face absolute, unlimited and non-delegable liability, something that prevents them from taking insurance cover. Private American firms are more affected than their government backed French and Russian counterparts. There is no clarity over trans-boundary liability issues and liability during transport of nuclear material…….
Critics have also questioned the ten year time limit to claim compensation for any nuclear damage (Clause 18) and argue that the effects of radiation extend across generations. They are strongly opposed to Clause 35 of the bill that prevents Civil Courts from exercising any jurisdiction over the proceedings of the Nuclear Damages Claims Commission and its final award; which according to them, is tantamount to preventing victims from suing foreign suppliers in Indian courts. IntelliBriefs: India’s Nuclear Liability Bill

April 27, 2010 - Posted by Christina Macpherson | business and costs, India | antinuclear, nuclear, nuclear costs, nuclear secrecy, nuclear spin