Nuclear Energy and Nuclear Law in Macedonia and Neighbor Countries - Bulgaria, Serbia and Albania

Abstract

In this paper the emphasis is on nuclear energy and its peaceful use in the world, in accordance with the construction of nuclear law on international level and in the scope of the national regime. The world today is living in a nuclear renaissance where nuclear energy is used in great quantity and the usage is growing. On the other side, the 1986 Chernobyl accident confirmed prior theoretical assessments that a nuclear accident might cause damage of an extreme magnitude. The detrimental effects of such an accident do not stop at state borders; they may extend into regions far beyond the territory of the country in which the accident happened. There may be damage to individuals, to property and to the environment in several countries. For this purpose nuclear law is a significant segment that reflects on human life in the nuclear states and their neighbors and one important element of this law is the civil liability available in both international and certain national laws in case of a nuclear accident. On the other side, there are non-nuclear states, such as our country and some of its neighbors which have no nuclear power plants, and their nuclear law is in nascent form, and we will try to present the institutional and legal frame of the nuclear law in such countries, as well as its neighbors’.

Key words: nuclear energy, nuclear law, civil liability for nuclear law, nuclear damage, international regime, national regime.