The Nuclear Installations (Compensation for Nuclear Damage) (Amendment) Regulations 2025
The Nuclear Installations (Compensation for Nuclear Damage) (Amendment) Regulations 2025 amend the Nuclear Installations Act 1965 to implement the Convention on Supplementary Compensation for Nuclear Damage (CSC).
The amendments remove a lower liability cap for claims under the CSC, unifying the liability limit with the one applied under the Paris Convention.
This increase in potential compensation is aimed at better protecting victims of nuclear incidents while aligning UK law with international standards.
Consequential changes across several sections of the 1965 Act ensure consistency and functionality in managing compensation claims.
Arguments For
Harmonization of Liability Caps: Aligns liability caps for claims under different international nuclear liability conventions, ensuring consistent treatment of compensation requests. This provides clarity and predictability for all parties involved.
Implementation of International Treaty: Fulfills the UK's obligations under the Convention on Supplementary Compensation for Nuclear Damage (CSC), strengthening international cooperation on nuclear safety and liability. This demonstrates commitment to global standards and strengthens international relations.
Improved Compensation for Victims: By removing the lower liability cap for CSC-only claims, the regulations ensure a higher level of compensation for victims of nuclear incidents, aligning with the CSC's aims. This addresses potential loopholes and reinforces victim protection.
Legal Certainty: The amendments clarify the legal framework governing compensation for nuclear damage, reducing ambiguity and potential disputes. The consolidation of liability limits reduces uncertainty for related industries and the public.
Consistent Application of Law: The cohesive changes reflected in multiple sections reduce complexity and increase efficient implementation of the legal framework, creating a more robust and streamlined system for handling claims.
Arguments Against
Unintended Consequences: While aiming for clarity, the amendments might introduce unforeseen complexities in the interpretation and application of the law. It is difficult to anticipate all future circumstances relevant to liability caps.
Administrative Burden: The changes could increase the administrative burden on relevant government agencies in handling compensation claims, requiring procedural adjustments. The real impact on administration requires further assessment post-implementation.
Financial Implications: Raising the liability cap could have significant financial implications for the UK government and potentially the nuclear industry. Careful financial planning is needed to ensure affordability.
Alternative Approaches: Other mechanisms might achieve similar goals of victim protection without amending specific sections of the Nuclear Installations Act 1965. Alternative, potentially less disruptive means of achieving compensation harmonization should be explored.
Potential for Litigation: Despite aiming for clarity, the amendments may still leave room for legal challenges and disputes arising from interpretation and application of the changed legislation. Such challenges may arise in cases with overlapping liabilities under multiple conventions.
Citation, commencement, extent and interpretation 1.
(1) These Regulations may be cited as the Nuclear Installations (Compensation for Nuclear Damage) (Amendment) Regulations 2025.
(2) These Regulations come into force on the same day as Schedule 22 to the EA 2023 (Accession to Convention on Supplementary Compensation for Nuclear Damage) comes into force.
(3) These Regulations extend to England and Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland.
(4) In these Regulations, “EA 2023” means the Energy Act 2023.
Section 1 provides basic administrative information.
Subsection (1) states the regulations' short title.
Subsection (2) sets the regulations' commencement date to coincide with Schedule 22 of the Energy Act 2023.
Subsection (3) details their geographical reach across the UK.
Subsection (4) defines 'EA 2023' as the Energy Act 2023.
Amendment of the Nuclear Installations Act 1965 2.
(1) The Nuclear Installations Act 1965 is amended in accordance with paragraphs (2) to (8).
(2) In section 13 (exclusion, extension or reduction of compensation in certain cases) (as amended by paragraph 1 of Schedule 22 to the EA 2023), in subsection (5A) omit “(1ZAA),”.
(3) In section 16 (satisfaction of claims) (as amended by paragraph 2 of Schedule 22 to the EA 2023)—
(a) in subsection (1ZA) omit “, other than CSC-only claims,”;
(b) omit subsection (1ZAA);
(c) in subsection (1A) for “, (1ZAA), (3B), (3BA), (3BB), (3BC) or (3BD)” substitute “,(3B), (3BA), (3BB) or (3BC)”;
(d) in subsection (3), in paragraph (a) omit “(1ZAA),”;
(e) in subsection (3B)—
(i) omit “, other than CSC-only claims (“non-CSC-only claims”),”;
(ii) omit “non-CSC-only”;
(f) in subsections (3BA), (3BB) and (3BC) omit “non-CSC-only”;
(g) omit subsection (3BD);
(h) in subsection (3D), in paragraph (b)—
(i) in sub-paragraphs (i) and (ii) omit “, (1ZAA),”;
(ii) in sub-paragraph (iii) omit “, (3BD)”.
(4) In section 16AA (Section 16: CSC-related definitions) (as inserted by paragraph 4 of Schedule 22 to the EA 2023) omit subsections (4) to (6).
(5) In section 17 (jurisdiction, shared liability and foreign judgments) (as amended by paragraph 5 of Schedule 22 to the EA 2023), in subsection (3B), in paragraphs (a) and (b) omit “, (1ZAA)”.
(6) In section 18 (general cover for compensation) (as amended by paragraph 6 of Schedule 22 to the EA 2023)—
(a) in subsection (1D)—
(i) in paragraphs (a) and (b) omit “, (1ZAA)”;
(ii) in paragraph (c) omit “, (3BD)”;
(b) in subsection (4B), in paragraph (b) omit “or, where relevant, (1ZAA)”.
(7) Omit section 25C (special drawing rights) (as inserted by paragraph 7 of Schedule 22 to the EA 2023).
(8) In section 26 (interpretation) (as amended by paragraph 8 of Schedule 22 to the EA 2023), in subsection (1)—
(a) omit the definition of “CSC-only claim”;
(b) in the definitions of “event” and “occurrence” omit “(1ZAA),” and “, (3BD)”.
Section 2 details the amendments to the Nuclear Installations Act 1965 to reflect changes resulting from the accession to the CSC.
Subsection (1) introduces the amendments listed in subsections (2)-(8).
Subsections (2) through (8) list specific amendments to various sections of the 1965 Act, involving the removal or alteration of clauses, subsections, and parts of definitions.
These changes mainly involve removing distinctions made between 'CSC-only' and other claims, leading to a unified compensation limit.
All these changes aim at implementing the new compensation scheme aligned with the CSC.
Explanatory Note (This note is not part of the Regulations) These Regulations amend the Nuclear Installations Act 1965 (c. 57) (NIA 1965), as amended by Schedule 22 to the Energy Act 2023 (c. 52) (Schedule 22). Schedule 22 contains the amendments necessary to implement the Convention on Supplementary Compensation for Nuclear Damage (CSC) in the United Kingdom. The CSC is an international nuclear third party liability treaty that aims to establish a minimum national compensation amount amongst the CSC contracting parties and to further increase the amount of compensation to be made available through public funds by the CSC contracting parties, should the national amount be insufficient to compensate the damage caused by a nuclear incident.
Schedule 22 will come into force on the day on which the CSC comes into force in respect of the United Kingdom and these Regulations come into force on the same day as Schedule 22.
These Regulations amend the classification of claims for compensation in respect of the CSC that is established under the NIA 1965 by the amendments in Schedule 22. Regulation 2(3)(b) omits section 16(1ZAA) of the NIA 1965, which is the provision that introduces a lower liability cap for claims that relate only to the CSC than is in place for claims arising under the Convention on Third Party Liability in the Field of Nuclear Energy (Paris Convention). The result is that the liability for claims under either convention is €700 million (pursuant to section 16(1ZA) NIA 1965). This means that any claim brought under the CSC (or under the CSC and Paris Convention) would have a cap on liability of €700 million plus the value of the CSC international pooled funds (as defined in section 26(1) NIA 1965, inserted by paragraph 8(2)(a) of Schedule 22).
The remainder of the amendments made by regulation 2 are consequential changes to the provisions of the NIA 1965 (as amended by Schedule 22) to reflect the change in liability limit in respect of CSC claims. A full impact assessment has not been produced for this instrument as no, or no significant, impact on the private, voluntary or public sector is foreseen.
The explanatory note clarifies the purpose and effects of these regulations.
It highlights that the changes primarily aim to implement the CSC into UK law by altering the Nuclear Installations Act 1965, specifically removing the different treatment of claims under the CSC and the Paris Convention.
It explains this impacts the liability cap for claims, aligning the maximum compensation level, and describes the remaining changes as consequential adjustments.
The note also states that a full impact assessment was deemed unnecessary due to the lack of significant anticipated effects on various sectors.