1962年核动力船舶经营人责任公约

颁布日期：19620525 　颁布单位：布鲁塞尔

THE CONTRACTING PARTIES，

HAVING RECOGNIZED the desirability of determining by agreement certainuniform rules concerning the liability of operators of nuclear ships，

HAVE DECIDED decided to conclude a Convention for this purpose， andthereto have agreed as follows：

Article I

For the purposes of this Convention：

1. “Nuclear ship” means any ship equipped with a nuclear power plant.

2. “Licensing State” means the Contracting State which operates orwhich has authorized the operation of a nuclear ship under its flag.

3. “Person” means any individual or partnership， or any public orprivate body whether corporate or not， including a State or any of itsconstituent subdivisions.

4. “Operator” means the person authorized by the licensing State tooperate a nuclear ship， or where a Contracting State operates a nuclearship， that State.

5. “Nuclear fuel” means any material which is capable of producingenergy by a self-sustaining process of nuclear fission and which is usedor intended for use in a nuclear ship.

6. “Radioactive products or waste” means any material， includingnuclear fuel， made radioactive by neutron irradiation incidental to theutilization of nuclear fuel in a nuclear ship.

7. “Nuclear damage” means loss of life or personal injury and loss ordamage to property which arises out of or results from the radioactiveproperties or a combination of radioactive properties with toxic，explosive or other hazardous properties of nuclear fuel or of radioactiveproducts or waste； any other loss， damage or expense so arising orresulting shall be included only if and to the extent that the applicablenational law so provides.

8. “Nuclear incident” means any occurrence or series of occurrenceshaving the same origin which causes nuclear damage.

9. “Nuclear power plant” means any power plant in which a nuclearreactor is， or is to be used as， the source of power， whether forpropulsion of the ship or for any other purpose.

10. “Nuclear reactor” means any installation containing nuclear fuelin such an arrangement that a self-sustained chain process of nuclearfission can occur therein without an additional source of neutrons.

11. “Warship” means any ship belonging to the naval force of a Stateand bearing the external marks distinguishing warships of its nationality，under the command of an officer duly commissioned by the Government ofsuch State and whose name appears in the Navy List， and manned by a crewwho are under regular naval discipline.

12. “Applicable national law” means the national law of the courthaving jurisdiction under the Convention including any rules of suchnational law relating to conflict of laws.

Article II

1. The operator of a nuclear ship shall be absolutely liable for anynuclear damage upon proof that such damage has been caused by a nuclearincident involving the nuclear fuel of， or radioactive products or wasteproduced in， such ship.

2. Except as otherwise provided in this Convention no person otherthan the operator shall be liable for such nuclear damage.

3. Nuclear damage suffered by the nuclear ship itself， its equipment，fuel or stores shall not be covered by the operator's liability as definedin this Convention.

4. The operator shall not be liable with respect to nuclear incidentsoccurring before the nuclear fuel has been taken in charge by him or afterthe nuclear fuel or radioactive products or waste have been taken incharge by another person duly authorized by law and liable for any nucleardamage that may be caused by them.

5. If the operator proves that the nuclear damage resulted wholly orpartially from an act or omission done with intent to cause damage by theindividual who suffered the damage， the competent courts may exonerate theoperator wholly or partially from his liability to such individual.

6. Notwithstanding the provisions of paragraph 1 of this Article， theoperator shall have a right of recourse；

（a） If the nuclear incident results from a personal act oromission done with intent to cause damage， in which even recourse shalllie against the individual who has acted， or omitted to act， with suchintent；

（b） If the nuclear incident occurred as a consequence of anywreck-raising operation， against the person or persons who carried outsuch operation without the authority of the operator or persons whocarried out such operation without the authority of the operator or of theState having licensed the sunken ship or of the State in whose waters thewreck is situated；

（c） If recourse is expressly provided for by contract.

Article III

1. The liability of the operator as regards one nuclear ship shall belimited to 1，500 million francs in respect of any one nuclear incidentnotwithstanding that the nuclear incident may have resulted from any faultor privity of that operator； such limit shall include neither any interestnor costs awarded by a court in actions for compensation under thisConvention.

2. The operator shall be required to maintain insurance， or otherfinancial security covering his liability for nuclear damage， in suchamount， of such type and in such terms as the licensing State shallspecify. The licensing State shall ensure the payment of claims forcompensation for nuclear damage established against the operator byproviding the necessary funds up to the limit laid down in paragraph 1 ofthis Article to the extent that the yield of the insurance or thefinancial security is inadequate to satisfy such claims.

3. However， nothing in paragraph 2 of this Article shall require anyContracting State or any of its constituent subdivisions， such as States，Republics or Cantons， to maintain insurance or other financial security tocover their liability as operators of nuclear ships.

4. The franc mentioned in paragraph 1 of this Article is a unit ofaccount constituted by sixty-five and one half milligrams of gold ofmillesimal fineness nine hundred. The amount awarded may be converted intoeach national currency in round figures. Conversion into nationalcurrencies other than gold shall be effected on the basis of their goldvalue at the date of payment.

Article IV

Whenever both nuclear damage and damage other than nuclear damage havebeen caused by a nuclear incident or jointly by a nuclear incident and oneor more other occurrences and the nuclear damage and such other damage arenot reasonably separable， the entire damage shall， for the purposes ofthis Convention， be deemed to be nuclear damage exclusively caused by thenuclear incident. However， where damage is caused jointly by a nuclearincident covered by this Convention and by an emission of ionizingradiation or by an emission of ionizing radiation in combination with thetoxic， explosive or other hazardous properties of the source of radiationnot covered by it， nothing in this Convention shall limit or otherwiseaffect the liability， either as regards the victims or by way of recourseor contribution， of any person who may be held liable in connection withthe emission of ionizing radiation or by the toxic， explosive or otherhazardous properties of the source of radiation not covered by thisConvention.

Article V

1. Rights of compensation under this Convention shall be extinguishedif an action is not brought within ten years from the date of the nuclearincident. If， however， under the law of the licensing State the liabilityof the operator is covered by insurance or other financial security orState indemnification for a period longer than ten years， the applicablenational law may provide that rights of compensation against the operatorshall only be extinguished after a period which may be longer than tenyears， but shall not be longer than the period for which his liability isso covered under the law of the licensing State. However， such extensionof the extinction period shall in no case affect the right of compensationunder this Convention of any person who has brought an action for loss oflife or personal injury against the operator before the expiry of theaforesaid period of ten years.

2. Where nuclear damage is caused by nuclear fuel， radioactiveproducts or waste which were stolen， lost， jettisoned， or abandoned， theperiod established under paragraph 1 of this Article shall be computedfrom the date of the nuclear incident causing the nuclear damage， but theperiod shall in no case exceed a period of twenty years from the date ofthe theft， loss， jettison or abandonment.

3. The applicable national law may establish a period of extinction orprescription of not less than three years from the date on which theperson who claims to have suffered nuclear damage had knowledge or oughtreasonably to have had knowledge of the damage and of the personresponsible for the damage， provided that the period established underparagraphs 1 and 2 of this Article shall not be exceeded.

4. Any person who claims to have suffered nuclear damage and who hasbrought an action for compensation within the period applicable under thisArticle may amend his claim to take into account any aggravation of thedamage， even after the expiry of that period， provided that final judgmenthas not been entered.

Article VI

Where provisions of national health insurance， social insurance，social security， workmen's compensation or occupational diseasecompensation systems include compensation for nuclear damage， rights ofbeneficiaries under such systems and rights of subrogation， or of recourseagainst the operator， by virtue of such systems， shall be determined bythe law of the Contracting State having established such systems. However，if the law of such Contracting State allows claims of beneficiaries ofsuch systems and such rights of subrogation and recourse to be broughtagainst the operator in conformity with the terms of this Convention， thisshall not result in the liability of the operator exceeding the amountspecified in paragraph 1 of Article III.

Article VII

1. Where nuclear damage engages the liability of more than oneoperator and the damage attributable to each operator is not reasonablyseparable， the operators involved shall be jointly and severally liablefor such damage. However， the liability of any one operator shall notexceed the limit laid down in Article III.

2. In the case of a nuclear incident where the nuclear damage arisesout of or results from nuclear fuel or radioactive products or waste ofmore than one nuclear ship of the same operator， that operator shall beliable in respect of each ship up to the limit laid down in Article III.

3. In case of joint and several liability， and subject to theprovisions of paragraph 1 of this Article：

（a） Each operator shall have a right of contribution against theothers in proportion to the fault attaching to each of them：

（b） Where circumstances are such that the degree of fault cannotbe apportioned， the total liability shall be borne in equal parts.A

rticle VIII

No liability under this Convention shall attach to an operator inrespect to nuclear damage caused by a nuclear incident directly due to anact of war， hostilities， civil war or insurrection.

Article IX

The sums provided by insurance， by other financial security or byState indemnification in conformity with paragraph 2 of Article III shallbe exclusively available for compensation due under this Convention.

Article X

1. Any action for compensation shall be brought， at the option of theclaimant， either before the courts of the licensing State or before thecourts of the Contracting State or States in whose territory nucleardamage has been sustained.

2. If the licensing State has been or might be called upon to ensurethe payment of claims for compensation in accordance with paragraph 2 ofArticle III of this Convention， it may intervene as party in anyproceedings brought against the operator.

3. Any immunity from legal processes pursuant to rules of national orinternational law shall be waived with respect to duties or obligationsarising under， or for the purpose of， this Convention. Nothing in thisConvention shall make warships or other State-owned or State-operatedships on non-commercial service liable to arrest， attachment or seizure orconfer jurisdiction in respect of warships on the courts of any foreignState.

Article XI

1. When， having regard to the likelihood of any claims arising out ofa nuclear incident exceeding the amount specified in Article III of thisConvention， a court of the licensing State， at the request of theoperator， a claimant or the licensing State， so certifies， the operator orthe licensing State shall make that amount available in that court to payany such claims； that amount shall be regarded as constituting thelimitation fund in respect of that incident.

2. The amount may be made available for the purposes of the precedingparagraph by payment into court or by the provision of security orguarantees sufficient to satisfy the court that the money will beavailable when required to meet any established claim.

3. After the fund has been constituted in accordance with paragraph 1of this Article the court of the licensing State shall be exclusivelycompetent to determine all matters relating to the apportionment anddistribution of the fund.

4. （a） A final judgment entered by a court having jurisdiction underArticle X shall be recognised in the territory of any other ContractingState， except：

（i） where the judgment was obtained by fraud； or

（ii） the operator was not given a fair opportunity to presenthis case，

（b） A final judgment which is recognized shall， upon beingpresented for enforcement in accordance with the formalities required bythe law of the Contracting State where enforcement is sought， beenforceable as if it were a judgment of a court of that State，

（c） The merits of a claim on which the judgment has been givenshall not be subject to further proceedings.

5. （a） If a person who is a national of a Contracting State， otherthan the operator， has paid compensation for nuclear damage under anInternational Convention or under the law of a non-Contracting State， suchperson shall， up to the amount which he has paid， acquired by subrogationthe rights which the person so compensated would have enjoyed under thisConvention. However， no rights shall be so acquired by any person if andto the extent that the operator has a right of recourse or contributionagainst such person under this Convention；

（b） If a limitation fund has been set up and

（i） the operator has paid， prior to its being set up， compensationfor nuclear damage； or

（ii） the operator has paid， after it has been set up， compensationfor nuclear damage under an International Convention or the law of anon-Contracting State，

he shall be entitled to recover from the fund， up to the amountwhich he has paid， the amount which the person so compensated would haveobtained in the distribution of the fund；

（c） If no limitation fund is set up， nothing in this Conventionshall preclude an operator， who has paid compensation for nuclear damageout of funds other than those provided pursuant to paragraph 2 of ArticleIII， from recovering from the person providing financial security underparagraph 2 of Article III or from the licensing State， up to the amounthe has paid， the sum which the person so compensated would have obtainedunder this Convention；

（d） In this paragraph the expression “a national of a ContractingState” shall include a Contracting State or any of its constituentsubdivisions or a partnership or any public or private body whethercorporate or not established in a Contracting State.

6. Where no fund has been constituted under the provisions of thisArticle， the licensing State shall adopt such measures as are necessary toensure that adequate sums provided by it or by insurance or otherfinancial security in accordance with paragraph 2 of Article III， shall beavailable for the satisfaction of any claim established by a judgment of acourt of any other Contracting State which would be recognised underparagraph 4 of this Article； the sums shall be made available， at theoption of the claimant， either in the licensing State or in theContracting State in which the damage was sustained or in the ContractingState in which the claimant is habitually resident.

7. After the limitation fund has been constituted in accordance withparagraph 1 of this Article or， where no such fund has been constituted，if the sums provided by the licensing State， or by insurance， or otherfinancial security are available in accordance with paragraph 6 of thisArticle to meet a claim for compensation， the claimant shall not beentitled to exercise any right against any other asset of the operator inrespect of his claim for nuclear damage and any bail or security （otherthan security for costs） given by or on behalf of that operator in anyContracting State shall be released.

Article XII

1. The Contracting States undertake to adopt such measures as arenecessary to ensure implementation of the provisions of this Convention，including any appropriate measures for the prompt and equitabledistribution of the sums available for compensation for nuclear damage.

2. The Contracting States undertake to adopt such measures as arenecessary to ensure that insurance and reinsurance premiums and sumsprovided by insurance， reinsurance or other financial security， orprovided by them in accordance with paragraph 2 of Article III， shall befreely transferable into the currency of the Contracting State in whichthe damage was sustained， of the Contracting State in which the claimantis habitually resident or， as regards insurance and reinsurance premiumsand payments， in the currencies specified in the insurance or reinsurancecontract.

3. This Convention shall be applied without discrimination based uponnationality， domicile or residence.Article XIII

This Convention applies to nuclear damage caused by a nuclear incidentoccurring in any part of the world and involving the nuclear fuel of， orradioactive products or waste produced in， a nuclear ship flying the flagof a Contracting State.

Article XIV

This Convention shall supersede any International Conventions in forceor open for signature， ratification or accession at the date on whichthis Convention is opened for signature， but only to the extent that suchConventions would be in conflict with it； however， nothing in this Articleshall affect the obligations of Contracting States to non-ContractingStates arising under such International Conventions.

Article XV

1. Each Contracting State undertakes to take all measures necessary toprevent a nuclear ship flying its flag from being operated without alicence or authority granted by it.

2. In the event of nuclear damage involving the nuclear fuel of， orradioactive products or waste produced in， a nuclear ship flying the flagof a Contracting State， the operation of which was not at the time of thenuclear incident licensed or authorized by such Contracting State， theowner of the nuclear ship at the time of the nuclear incident shall bedeemed to be the operator of the nuclear ship for all the purposes of thisConvention， except that his liability shall not be limited in amount.

3. In such an event， the Contracting State whose flag the nuclear shipflies shall be deemed to be the licensing State for all the purposes ofthis Convention and shall， in particular， be liable for compensation forvictims in accordance with the obligations imposed on a licensing State byArticle III and up to the limit laid down therein.

4. Each Contracting State undertakes not to grant a licence or otherauthority to operate a nuclear ship flying the flag of another State.However， nothing in this paragraph shall prevent a Contracting State fromimplementing the requirements of its national law concerning the operationof a nuclear ship within its internal waters and territorial seas.

Article XVI

This Convention shall apply to a nuclear ship from the date of herlaunching. Between her launching and the time she is authorized to fly aflag， the nuclear ship shall be deemed to be operated by the owner and tobe flying the flag of the State in which she was built.

Article XVII

Nothing in this Convention shall affect any right which a ContractingState may have under international law to deny access to its waters andharbours to nuclear ships licensed by another Contracting State， even whenit has formally complied with all the provisions of this Convention.

Article XVIII

An action for compensation for nuclear damage shall be brought againstthe operator； it may also be brought against the insurer or any personother than the licensing State who has provided financial security to theoperator pursuant to paragraph 2 of Article III， if the right to bring anaction against the insurer or such other person is provided under theapplicable national law.

Article XIX

Notwithstanding the termination of this Convention or the terminationof its application to any Contracting State pursuant to Article XXVII， theprovisions of the Convention shall continue to apply with respect to anynuclear damage caused by a nuclear incident involving the nuclear fuel of，or radioactive products or waste produced in， a nuclear ship licensed orotherwise authorized for operation by any Contracting State prior to thedate of such termination， provided the nuclear incident occurred prior tothe date of such termination or， in the event of a nuclear incidentoccurring subsequent to the date of such termination， prior to the expiryof a period of twenty-five years after the date of such licensing or otherauthorization to operate such ship.

Article XX

Without prejudice to Article X any dispute between two or moreContracting Parties concerning the interpretation or application of thisConvention which cannot be settled through negotiation， shall， at therequest of one of them， be submitted to arbitration. If within six monthsfrom the date of the request for arbitration the Parties are unable toagree on the organization of the arbitration， any one of those Parties mayrefer the dispute to the International Court of Justice by request inconformity with the Statute of the Court.

Article XXI

1. Each Contracting Party may at the time of signature or ratificationof this Convention or accession thereto， declare that it does not consideritself bound by Article XX of the Convention. The other ContractingParties shall not be bound by this Article with respect to any ContractingParty having made such a reservation.

2. Any Contracting Party having made a reservation in accordance withparagraph 1 may at any time withdraw this reservation by notification tothe Belgian Government.

Article XXII

This Convention shall be open for signature by the States representedat the eleventh session （1961-1962） of the Diplomatic Conference onMaritime Law.

Article XXIII

This Convention shall be ratified and the instruments of ratificationshall be deposited with the Belgian Government.

Article XXIV

1. This Convention shall come into force three months after thedeposit of an instrument of ratification by at least one licensing Stateand one other State.

2. This Convention shall come into force， in respect of each signatoryState which ratifies it after its entry into force as provided inparagraph 1 of this Article， three months after the date of deposit of theinstrument of ratification of that State.

Article XXV

1. States Members of the United Nations， Members of the specializedagencies and of the International Atomic Energy Agency not represented atthe eleventh session of the Diplomatic Conference on Maritime Law， mayaccede to this Convention.

2. The instruments of accession shall be deposited with the BelgianGovernment.

3. The Convention shall come into force in respect of the accedingState three months after the date of deposit of the instrument ofaccession of that State， but not before the date of entry into force ofthe Convention as established by Article XXIV.

Article XXVI

1. A conference for the purpose of revising this Convention shall beconvened by the Belgian Government and the International Atomic EnergyAgency after the Convention has been in force five years.

2. Such a conference shall also be convened by the Belgian Governmentand the International Atomic Energy Agency before the expiry of this termor thereafter， if one-third of the Contracting States express a desire tothat effect.Article XXVII

1. Any Contracting State may denounce this Convention by notificationto the Belgian Government at any time after the first revision Conferenceheld in accordance with the provisions of Article XXVI.1.

2. This denunciation shall take effect one year after the date onwhich the notification has been received by the Belgian Government.

Article XXVIII

The Belgian Government shall notify the States represented at theeleventh session of the Diplomatic Conference on Maritime Law， and theStates acceding to this Convention， of the following：

1. Signatures， ratifications and accessions received in accordancewith Articles XXII， XXIII and XXV.

2. The date on which the Convention will come into force in accordancewith Article XXIV.

3. Denunciations received in accordance with Article XXVII.

IN WITNESS WHEREOF， the undersigned Plenipotentiaries， whosecredentials have been found in order， have signed this Convention.

DONE at Brussels， this twenty-fifth day of May， one thousand ninehundred and sixty-two， in the English， French， Russian and Spanishlanguages in a single copy， which shall remain deposited in the archivesof the Belgian Government which shall issue certified copies.

In case of any disparity in the texts， the English and French versionsshall be authentic