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RUSSIA RATIFIES CONVENTION ON CIVIL LIABILITY FOR NUCLEAR DAMAGE

RIA Novosti

MOSCOW, March 11 (RIA Novosti) - The Federation Council has ratified the Vienna Convention on Civil Liability for Nuclear Damage on Friday. 133 members of the upper house voted for the decision, 1 was against it, and 1 abstained.

Mikhail Margelov, chairman of the International Committee of the Federation Council, reported that the document was signed on behalf of the Russian Federation in May 1996.

"The Convention is a fundamental international legal document in the sphere of civil liability for nuclear damage resulting from incidents at civilian nuclear installations," he underlined. The Convention provides for the payment of compensation for nuclear damage by a court decision.

Mr. Margelov stressed that in accordance with the document the amount, type and conditions for insurance are determined by the Installation State. If there is a lack of insurance assets to sustain nuclear liability claims, the payment shall be guaranteed by the state, with the maximum sum not exceeding $60 million.

"The Convention does not touch upon compensation for nuclear damage caused by an act of terrorism, and it is very important," Mr. Margelov stressed.

According to him, Russia's ratification of the Convention will promote the development of broad international cooperation in nuclear energy, which meets the economic, political and scientific interests of Russia.

Answering his colleagues' questions, the committee chairman stressed that the ratification would not entail Russia's liability for the Chernobyl disaster. "Firstly, the disaster took place before the ratification, and secondly, it was on the territory of another state," he noted.

The Chernobyl disaster occurred on April 26, 1986.

Sergei Antipov, a spokesman for the Russian Atomic Energy Agency (Rosatom), told the Federation Council members that "the absolute majority" of 32 states that signed the Vienna Convention had already ratified it.