Decision 2013/434 - 2013/434/EU: Council Decision of 15 July 2013 authorising certain Member States to ratify, or to accede to, the Protocol amending the Vienna Convention on Civil Liability for Nuclear Damage of 21 May 1963 and to make a declaration on the application of the relevant internal rules of Union law - Main contents

EN

Official Journal of the European Union

L 220/1

The Union is working towards the establishment of a common judicial area based on the principle of mutual recognition of judicial decisions.

The Protocol of 12 September 1997 (hereinafter ‘the 1997 Protocol’) amending the Vienna Convention on Civil Liability for Nuclear Damage of 21 May 1963 (hereinafter ‘the Vienna Convention’) was negotiated with a view to improving compensation for victims of damage caused by nuclear incidents. It is therefore desirable that the provisions of the 1997 Protocol be applied in the Member States which are Contracting Parties to the Vienna Convention.

The Union has exclusive competence with regard to Articles XI and XII of the Vienna Convention as amended by the 1997 Protocol in so far as those provisions affect the rules laid down in Council Regulation (EC) No 44/2001 of 22 December 2000 on jurisdiction and the recognition and enforcement of judgments in civil and commercial matters (1). Regulation (EC) No 44/2001 is to be replaced as of 10 January 2015 by Regulation (EU) No 1215/2012 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 12 December 2012 on jurisdiction and the recognition and enforcement of judgments in civil and commercial matters (2). The Member States retain their competence for matters covered by the 1997 Protocol which do not affect Union law. Given the subject matter and the aim of the 1997 Protocol, acceptance of the provisions of the Protocol which fall under Union competence cannot be dissociated from the provisions which fall under the competence of the Member States.

The Vienna Convention and the 1997 Protocol are not open to participation by regional economic integration organisations. As a result, the Union is not in a position to become a Contracting Party to the 1997 Protocol.

The Member States which are Contracting Parties to the Vienna Convention and which did not ratify the 1997 Protocol prior to their accession to the Union should therefore be authorised to ratify, or to accede to, the 1997 Protocol in the interest of the Union.

Twelve of the Member States of the Union, namely Belgium, Germany, Greece, Spain, France, Italy, the Netherlands, Portugal, Slovenia, Finland, Sweden and the United Kingdom, are Contracting Parties to the Paris Convention on Third Party Liability in the Field of Nuclear Energy of 29 July 1960, as amended by the Additional Protocol of 28 January 1964 and by the Protocol of 16 November 1982 (hereinafter ‘the Paris Convention’). The Paris Convention establishes a regime for the compensation of victims for damage caused by nuclear incidents based on principles similar to those of the Vienna Convention. The Protocol of 12 February 2004 (hereinafter ‘the 2004 Protocol’) amending the Paris Convention improves compensation for damage caused by nuclear incidents. By Council Decisions 2004/294/EC (3) and 2007/727/EC (4) the Member States which are Contracting Parties to the Paris Convention were authorised to ratify, or to accede to, the 2004 Protocol in the interest of the then Community. It is therefore objectively justified that...