Societas et Iurisprudentia (Jun 2014)
Basic Questions of Civil Liability for Nuclear Damage in Slovakia
Abstract
The nuclear liability regime currently in force in Slovakia governs liability on the system of civil law. The roots of the historical development of the Slovak nuclear liability legislation can be dated back to 1995 when the Slovak Republic acceded to Vienna Convention on Civil Liability for Nuclear Damage. The Vienna Convention as one of the fundamental international conventions regulating the issues of liability for damages caused as a result of a nuclear incident has promoted a special régime (nuclear liability régime) founded on several principles which had become binding rules for respective contracting parties over the preceding half-century. The fundamental principles established by Vienna Convention directly or indirectly implemented at the Slovak national level include the following: exclusive liability of the operator of nuclear installation, strict liability of the operator, limitation of damages in amount and time, exclusive jurisdiction and mandatory financial coverage. The paper deals with the Slovak nuclear liability legislation established on the basis thereof, taking account of the specifics of the implementation process, formulation and interpretation of the Slovak nuclear liability legal rules and reviewing the variance from the requirement to meet the compatibility standard in this field.
