IAEA Builds Dialogue on Nuclear Damage and Compensation Across Asia

The August 2026 meetings explored how national laws and international agreements can support compensation and strengthen cooperation between countries.

Plans for nuclear power bring a question that reaches beyond electricity generation: how would people receive compensation if a nuclear accident caused damage? The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) brought government officials, legal experts and nuclear stakeholders together in Malaysia and India to examine the legal arrangements behind that protection, with discussions focused on the Convention on Supplementary Compensation for Nuclear Damage (CSC).

The August 2026 meetings explored how national laws and international agreements can support compensation and strengthen cooperation between countries. For Asian nations planning or considering nuclear power programmes, these questions form part of the groundwork needed to develop nuclear energy responsibly and establish clear arrangements for addressing potential damage.

Malaysia Examines Protection Before Taking Nuclear Decisions

Hosted by the Malaysian Government through the Department of Atomic Energy Malaysia, known as Atom Malaysia, the workshop in Selangor on 11–12 August built on regional discussions held in Bangkok in December 2025. Many participants returned to examine the CSC more closely, bringing practical legal and policy questions about how the convention operates and what participation could mean for their countries.

Malaysia is conducting studies to consider introducing a nuclear power programme, making the discussions relevant to decisions still under review. Monalija Kostor, Deputy Director General of Atom Malaysia, said the workshop offered valuable insights to help the country evaluate the CSC and strengthen its national nuclear liability and compensation framework.

Separate meetings between the IAEA delegation and Atom Malaysia examined Malaysia's plans concerning international agreements on nuclear safety, security and liability. The discussions covered legislative assistance and capacity-building support that the agency could provide to help strengthen the country's national legal framework.

India Focuses on Putting the Convention Into Practice

The dialogue moved to Mumbai on 17 August, where the IAEA held a national workshop in cooperation with India's Department of Atomic Energy. Representatives from national institutions examined the CSC's fundamental principles and its implementation within Indian law, connecting the international framework with the practical work required at home.

Bilateral discussions addressed implementation of the convention and developments in India's nuclear legal framework. According to the release, particular attention went to the Sustainable Harnessing and Advancement of Nuclear Energy for Transforming India (SHANTI) Act, which entered into force in December 2025, and the development of its implementing rules and regulations. Extra-budgetary contributions from Japan and the United States funded the events in both countries.

Building a Wider Network for Nuclear Compensation

The CSC helps establish treaty relations between countries belonging to the Paris Convention, the Vienna Convention or neither agreement, widening the connections between different nuclear liability systems. It provides for an international fund that supplements compensation available for nuclear damage, making its role relevant to the resources available after an incident as well as the legal arrangements governing compensation.

The broader international framework includes the Vienna Convention and its amending protocol, the Joint Protocol linking the Vienna and Paris systems, and the Paris and Brussels conventions. The IAEA General Conference has encouraged countries to consider joining the relevant instruments and work towards a global nuclear liability regime based on shared principles.

Recommendations issued by the IAEA's International Expert Group on Nuclear Liability in 2012 encourage countries with nuclear installations to join relevant agreements and establish treaty relations with as many states as practical. A 2022 statement highlighted the benefits of participation, reinforcing the message behind the Malaysia and India meetings: nuclear development needs legal preparation that gives compensation a clear place in national planning and international cooperation.