Victims can’t sue foreign suppliers for nuclear mishap

The government on Sunday made it clear that India’s liability law will not be amended as it released the understanding reached with the US recently under which foreign suppliers of equipment for nuclear reactors cannot be sued by the victims in case of a mishap.

In a detailed paper on “frequently asked questions” dealing with contentious issues, including liability, compensation and right of recourse in case of a nuclear mishap, the external affairs ministry said, “there is no proposal to amend the Civil Liability for Nuclear Damage (CLND) Act or the Rules.”

The foreign suppliers of the reactors cannot be sued for the damages by victims of a nuclear accident but can be held liable by the operator who has the right of recourse that could be operationalised through the contract between the operator and the supplier, they said. Noting that the understanding on the policy hurdles were reached after three rounds of discussions between the Indo-US Nuclear Contact Group, it said, “Based on these discussions, an understanding was reached with the US on the two outstanding issues on civil nuclear cooperation, which was confirmed by the leaders (PM Modi and President Obama) on January 25, 2015.”

Asserting that the country’s Civil Liability for Nuclear Damages (CLND) Act “channels all legal liability for nuclear damage exclusively to the operator”, the MEA said, “concerns” over the broad scope of Section 46, pertaining to possible actions under other laws, have been raised by suppliers, both domestic and foreign and clarified that this section “does not provide a basis for bringing claims for compensation for nuclear damage under other Acts.”