Compensation for damages caused by nuclear energy

According to the Law on CDCNE in Japan, there are only provisions concerning the case of liability exemption, and no regulation on maximum compensation level for nuclear en[r]

COMPENSATION FOR DAMAGES CAUSED BY NUCLEAR ENERGY Dr Nguyen Thi Phuong Cham School of Law – Vietnam National University I Introduction On November 25, 2009, with 77.48% of ayes, the National Assembly issued Resolution No 41/2009/QH12 approving the investment in Ninh Thuan nuclear power project This project consists of factories and each of them includes units to supply electricity to the national electricity system, contributing to national socio-economic development in general and Ninh Thuan province in particular However, the project has encountered many objections and conflict opinions due to concerns that great disasters could occur in the operation and could affect the residence in this area Even then there are such obviously predictable obstacles, no provisions or principles on the compensation for damages caused by nuclear energy have been found in the draft or the official document approving the project Therefore, this paper, which focuses on the compensation for damages caused by nuclear energy (CDCNE) from the perspective of comparative law, embraces important implications for Vietnam by pointing out the inappropriateness in the legal system of Vietnam, which results in the lack of uniformity and consistency of current regulations in relation to the international laws II Regulation on the compensation for damages caused by nuclear energy from comparative perspectives Motivation and role of Regulation on the compensation for damages caused by nuclear energy From comparative perspectives, the regulation on CDCNE was first introduced in the US in the late of the 50s when it witnessed a shift from the state‘s monopoly to the private sector in nuclear power technology Therefore, with the effort to motivate enterprises toward an active participation, the US found that it was necessary to build legal regulations with the purpose of balancing two basic issues: (1) reduction of the risk of too great compensation for nuclear energy enterprises, which promote the development of the nuclear energy industry, (2) assurance of legal mechanisms to protect rights and interests of people in case of a nuclear incident Meanwhile in Europe, due to the close relationship between countries in all economic and social aspects, it exists an urgent need for a general principle in CDCNE between these countries, and the constitution of international conventions on the liability for CDCNE for the third party plays an important role in the legislative process of each nation July 1960, countries of western Europe (members of OECD) adopted the Paris Convention on CDCNE for a third party, which took effect on April 1968 As a result, legal regulations on CDCNE of some countries that were earlier promulgated have been revised to unify with the 18 Convention15, and some developed their own national law based on this convention16 In general, in this period, the national legislation in eastern Europe aimed to realise the Paris Convention and the Brussel Additional Convention on CDCNE in 1964 In addition, the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) has been conducting numerous conferences of experts since 1959 and began to discuss widely the formulation of uniform standards at minimum limits on the civil liability of CDCNE And by May 1963, Vienna Convention was adopted Some important provisions of this Convention, however, are not clearly defined or incomplete due to the limits of liability and jurisdiction of the courts that some countries not participate in so that it was not until 11/1977 that the Vienna Convention came into effect In Japan, the discussions on CDCNE began when this country was transferred the nuclear technology from the United States and signed the Japan-US Nuclear Energy Agreement with an exemption of liability for the donor country Japanese scholars have found that regarding legal regulations relating to liability for this type of damages, the provisions of Article 709 of the Civil Code at this time, the victim could not be fully and timely protected their rights and interests by the general principles such as fault-based liability, maximising the responsible subjects for compensation, and the mechanism of compensation through judicial process at the Court,… Therefore, in June 1961, the Law on CDCNE as a specialised law in the field of liability regulations was promulgated Related to the common problem at the time when many Western European countries had been revised their national legislation to conform to international law, although Japan participated from the first stage in the drafting of the Vienna Convention of the IAEA, Japan still maintained their legal regime on CDCNE due to the fact that these common problems are unlikely to happen This is the main reason for the difference between Japan and other countries in terms of CDCNE Meanwhile, though initially having similar legal regulations as Japan, in 2001, Korean laws on CDCNE were amended because this country participated in several international conventions There are different trends in the legislation on CDCNE With Japan, some other countries and territories chose to constitute a law on CDCNE as a specialised law in the field of liability, such as Korea in 1969, Taiwan in 1971, Switzerland in 1983 and India in 2010 On the contrary, many countries decided to issue a legal framework for CDCNE as a part of the Law on Nuclear Energy, which concerns all issues topics in the field of nuclear energy such as legal provisions on institutional licensing, safety regulations, with typical examples are the US in 1957, the UK in 1959, West Germany in 1959, Switzerland in 195917 and Russia in 1995 Whether designed as a specialised law or a regulation under the Law on Nuclear Energy, the position and role of CDCNE in the legal system could be affirmed as a specific legal status in the structure of regulations on the liability of the Civil Law 15 UK (1959); West Germany (1959); Switzerland (1959); Sweden (1960)) Italy (1963); Spain (1964); Holland (1965); France (1965) 17 In 1983, in Switzerland, the regulations on CDCNE was separated and had become a specialised law 16 19 It is fair to point out the Characteristic of DCNE: transformation and revision in the core principles of fault-based liability Firstly, there are specific principles regulating CDCNE: (1) no-fault liability18, (2) centralised liability, which means the liability for CDCNE only belongs to the subject operating nuclear energy The principle of centralised liability is established by the following purposes: (1) simplify the responsible subject; (2) stabilise the status of supply enterprises thereby protecting and nurturing the industrial sectors; (3) avoid the overlap and complexity when supply companies have to sign liability insurance contracts for the similar incident 19 Regarding the right to claim CDCNE of operating nuclear energy entity from the supply enterprise, it will be recognised in case of damage caused by the nuclear energy due to intention of supply enterprise (Article 5.1 of the Law on CDCNE of Japan), or will be implemented in the case of an agreement between the nuclear energy operator and the supplier (clause of the above article) In particular, for example, India recognises the right to claim for compensation from a supplier in case of fault (Article 17) South Korea adds a deliberate condition, in the case where the firm has a serious fault, the nuclear energy operator also has the right to claim for compensation of the supplier (Article 4.1) Secondly, though being based on the principle of no-fault liability, each country will constitute a different legal regime on the liability exemption for the operators depending on the purpose of the Law on CDCNE Thirdly, depending on the purpose of each country on the Law on CDCNE, whether to protect the victim or to stimulate the development of the nuclear energy industry by the limited liability for entities Fourthly, in order to ensure purpose of compensating timely and fully for victims, it is necessary to develop regulations on CDCNE through the obligation to sign insurance contracts of operators, as well as the mechanism of compensation in the case of exceeding the limit of liability (if it is a limited liability), or in the case the operator does not have appropriate economic potential to perform the obligation, or in case an insurance enterprise is exempt from liability due to force majeure,… Fifthly, regulations on the support for compensation from the state in case of recognising the mechanism of liability exemption for operators Legislation on compensation for damages caused by nuclear energy in countries 2.1 United States In the United States, in 1953, the 34th President Dwight David Eisenhower initiated the peaceful use of nuclear power and in the following year (1954), the Atomic Energy Act 18 19 The practice in Japan has demonstrated that: If the liability of operators is not recognised as no-fault liability, people in neighbour residence of nuclear power plants will oppose Japan Energy Law Institute, ―Annual research report of researchers in 2017: Legal regime and current status of compensation of damages caused by nuclear energy in countries‖ 11/2018, p.139) http://www.jeli.gr.jp/img/file22.pdf#search=%27原子力損害賠償における国内外の現状及び法制度の諸論点%27 accessed in 14/07/2019) Kanazawa, ―On the activities related to issues of compensation for damages caused by nuclear energy by the International Nuclear Energy Agency‖, Jurist Journal, 190 (1959) p 11 20 was revised, under which the development of the atomic energy industry expanded with the transition from state monopoly to the private sector However, there is a need for regulations on the risk reduction for the state in coping with the great incidents caused by the entities With this receptive idea, in September 1957, revising the Atomic Energy Act in 1954, the PA Act (Price-Anderson Nuclear Industries Indemnity Act) took two purposes to protect the victim and developed a strong industrial power as its pillars This act is the first legal regulation to be promulgated in the world on the issue of CDCNE.20 * The principles concerning the liability of nuclear energy operators have a common point between countries in the early period that the liability is not based on fault and centralised However, both of these principles are not explicitly defined in the PA Act Firstly, in principle, the liability is no-fault liability because, in the field of tort law, each state has the competence in legislation, therefore, it is not easy to implement the PA Act, an act from Federal legislation Nevertheless, the practice in judicial proceedings shows that, for nuclear energy operators, when managing their business in such a risky domain, it is necessary to swift from fault-based to no-fault liability In this regard, it is assumed that there is no difference between these two types.21 Moreover, in 1966, with the amendment of the law, extraordinary incidents (according to Extraordinary Nuclear Occurrence in the PA Act), was clarified for the uniformity across the Federation Specifically, in the case of ―Extraordinary Nuclear Occurrence‖, the Nuclear Regulatory Commission - NRC or the Department of Energy (DOE) has the authority to require insured operators to waive defences (Article 170.n) and in fact, liability for CDCNE to be liable on a no-fault liability 22 Secondly, in fact, the principle of centralised liability in the PA Act is not clarified, and then this liability of the operators in the US seems to be economically centralised, examined by scholars Although the PA Act does not have regulations on transparency, if there is liability of the undertaking or supply subject, the compensation mechanism for the nuclear energy operator must cover the entire damages Therefore, while other countries focus on the liability of CDCNE as legal channelling, the US considers it as economic channelling.23 * Regarding the mechanism of liability exemption: While natural disasters which cause nuclear energy occurrences are not considered as a reason for liability exemption, occurrences caused by wars are applied the liability exemption by the PA Act (Article 11.w) However, there is no regulation concerning the case that a nuclear energy operator is exempt from liability and supported by the state for its compensation 20 Noburu Utatsu, Legal issues in Compensation for damages caused by Nuclear Energy, Kinzai Publisher, 2012, p 43 Noburu Utatsu, Development of modern Nuclear Energy Law and General Theory of Law, Nihonhyouron Publisher, 2002, p.34 22 Noburu Utatsu, Legal issues in Compensation for damages caused by Nuclear Energy, Kinzai Publisher, 2012, p 46; W Page Keeton, Dan B Dobbs, Robert E Keeton, David G Owen: Prosser and Keeton on the Law of Torts, 5th Edition (St Paul, MN, West Publishing, 1984, p.558 23 Noburu Utatsu, Legal issues in Compensation for damages caused by Nuclear Energy, Kinzai Publisher, 2012, p 45 21 21 * Regarding the mechanism of performing the obligation of CDCNE: The United States applies a limited liability for nuclear energy operators Initially, the limit was determined on the summary of insurance (Article 170.b) and support from the state (Article 170.c, d), but then since 1960 when the energy industry business has become more competitive, energy enterprises such as coal and crude oil have opposition to policy support with large amounts of money for the nuclear energy industry 24 Therefore, compensation support from the state is gradually reducing and eliminating In 1975, when revising the Act, the reciprocal mechanism was applied among enterprises in place of the state support mechanism for CDCNE And the limit of liability was determined on the total amount of liability insurance (First Compensation Mechanism) and the amount of money extracted from businesses through reciprocal regimes between businesses (Second Compensation Mechanism) (Article 170.b) * Supporting mechanism of the state: For cases that it is possible to exceed the above compensation limit, according to Article 170.i, the President within 90 days must report and propose to the Congress the compensation plan, which includes the estimated compensation amount, the impact on the Federal budget, the establishment of funds for CDCNE, and the Congress must take necessary and timely actions to assure rights and interests of victims 2.2 Germany In 1959 in Germany, with the purpose of protecting victims and fully developing a nuclear energy industry, the Law on the peaceful use of nuclear energy and the defence against danger (hereinafter called is Nuclear Energy Law (NEL) was promulgated, which regulated the legal mechanism of CDCNE with the following characteristics: * Absolute no-fault liability (do not recognise the liability exemption) According to Clause 3, Article 25 of the NEL, no-fault liability for CDCNE are absolute and consistent and not recognise the liability exemption for nuclear energy operators, from the standpoint of protecting the victims Therefore, Germany ended the application of the Paris Convention on CDCNE in case of force majeure such as natural disasters and war According to German law, for damages caused by nuclear energy due to natural disasters, violence, and war, the operators still have to bear the liability of CDCNE25 However, also under German law, for nuclear energy occurrences caused by the above phenomena (force majeure), the nuclear energy operator still bears the liability, but it is limited, based on the regime of the duty of liability exemption of the state for these subject (Article 31.1) * Liability for CDCNE of the operators is unlimited rather instead of being limited: The first law on CDCNE was regulated with the principle of limited liability for operators due to the harmonisation with international laws However, Germany has gradually pursued the global industrial development of nuclear energy along with the higher demand for 24 25 Souji Yamamoto (ed), Comprehensive Modern Law 54: Future Society and Law, Chikumashobo Publisher, 1976, p.459 Noburu Utatsu, Legal issues in Compensation for damages caused by Nuclear Energy, Kinzai Publisher, 2012, p 53 22 safety Therefore, opinions which approved that the limitation of the liability of a nuclear energy operator was necessary to ensure the development of the energy industry has been abolished in Germany26 With the amendment of the Law in 1985, the liability of CDCNE of operators is unlimited instead of limited as before27 In addition, through the amendment in 2002, it replaced the purpose of ―promoting research, development and use of nuclear energy in peace‖ by ―ensuring safety in current operation until abolishing, stopping the use of nuclear energy to produce electricity for industrial use‖ Thus, through this revision, it is shown that the regime of CDCNE in the German law aims mainly to protect and compensate the victims in promoting safety in the nuclear energy industry.28 * Centralised liability (form economically to legally): In 1960, Germany signed the Paris Convention but on the liability of CDCNE of operators, Germany found that in the beginning of the regime on CDCNE, principles of economically centralised liability were applied, which was similar to the PA Act of the US, and then this country did not ratify the Convention.29 But in order to unify the regulations on CDCNE in Europe, Germany ratified this Convention in 1975 and has applied directly to domestic affairs (Article 75.1 of the NEL) Accordingly, the principle of centralised liability of operators shifted from economically to legally, based on the provisions of the Paris Convention * On the mechanism of performing CDCNE: In Germany, this mechanism is established based on the liability insurance and the capital guarantee of large power plants Liability insurance will be exempted in case of force majeure, or in the case of insolvent insurance business, it is clear that insurance cannot be used to compensate for damage, in this case, according to Article 34.1 of the NEL, the state will provide compensation up to a maximum of EUR 2.500.000.000 (two billion and five hundred million euro) For damages exceeding the compensation mechanism, the NEL does not have any provisions on the compensation of the state Therefore, if the damages exceed the level of the compensation and nuclear energy operators cause the occurrence, they have to obey the principle of unlimited liability which means they must to perform the obligation by their capital In addition, in the event that it is anticipated to show that the amount of compensation exceeds the available capital, necessary procedures and distribution of capital have to comply with the regulations issued by the Government, even if victims shall not be fully compensated, the allocation of capital has to be fairly carried out (Article 35) 26 Noburu Utatsu, Development of modern Nuclear Energy Law and General Theory of Law, Nihonhyouron Publisher, 2002, p.34 Earlier, the German Law on Nuclear Law limited the liability for operators with the maximum compensation of 500 million mark 28 Japan Energy Law Institute, ―Annual research report of researchers in 2017: Legal regime and current status of compensation of damages caused by nuclear energy in countries‖ 11/2018, p.133) http://www.jeli.gr.jp/img/file22.pdf#search=%27原子力損害賠償における国内外の現状及び法制度の諸論点%27 accessed in 14/07/2019) 29 Yoshio Kanazawa (ed), Documents of the workshop: Nuclear Energy Law - comparing Japan and Germany - 1st Seminar on German Law on nuclear energy, 1980, p 101 27 23 2.3 Japan According to Article of the Law on CDCNE, the purpose of the law is stated clearly: ―This law constitutes basic provisions concerning liability of CDCNE when operating nuclear energy, aims to protect the victims and to promote the development of the nuclear energy industry.‖ Thus, it is clear that when compared with other laws on compensation or tort, instead of protecting the victims, this Law is designed to promote the industry in general and the nuclear energy industry in particular Therefore, if there are extraordinary nuclear energy occurrences, it is necessary for transparency in the support of the state for great damages This support would be an effective method for operators In Japanese law, the regime of CDCNE is governed by two laws: - Law concerning CDCNE (Genbaihou) - Law concerning contracts of supporting for CDCNE (Law on supporting contract Hoshokeiyakuhou) The general purpose of both laws is to protect the rights and interests of the victims and to develop the nuclear energy industry This is considered as a specialised law in the branch of civil law on tort30 Characteristics of the law on CDCNE in Japan: * Liability of CDCNE is no-fault liability: According to Article of the Law on CDCNE, the liability for compensation of operators is not based on fault, which is specific legal regulations in relation to the General Part Tort Law of the Civil Code * Legally centralised liability: According to Article of the Law on CDCNE, the liability is centralised only on the operator In 1994, with the promulgation of the Law on Product Liability with the aim to protect the body, life, health and property of consumers, it exists parallelly with two regulations of no-fault liability in the Law on CDCNE and the Law on Product Liability Lawmakers assume that in the case of damage caused by nuclear energy if the Law on Product Liability is applied, not only the operators but also the manufacturer of nuclear furnaces are responsible for compensation Therefore, in order to affirm the principle of centralisation of liability for CDCNE, Article 4.3 of the Law on CDCNE is amended in the process of drafting the Law of Product Liability: ―Even with liability for compensation of the manufacturer related to the damage caused by nuclear energy, the operator still has to compensate for the damages‖ 30 Hirotaka Fujiwara (ed) - Nuclear Damage Compensation Research Group, Nuclear Damage Compensation Practice, Civil Law research Publish, 2011, p.12 24 - The relationship between the Law on CDCN and the regulations on compensation in the Civil Code of Japan (Article 709) The judgment of the local court of Mito city on February 27th, 2015.31 The victims sued to claim Company A, the parent company of the nuclear energy operator who has to compensate based on Article 709 of the Civil Code of Japan, and the subordinate is Article 3.1 of the Law on CDCNE The Court judged that there was damage caused by nuclear energy, as stipulated in Article 3.1 of the Law on CDCNE, but Article 4.1 of this law clearly stipulates that the operator is the only responsible subject for the compensation and therefore, Company A is not responsible for the compensation, and these provisions concerning centralised liability result in the fact that provisions on liability for compensation in the Civil Code are not applied in this situation - The relationship between the Law on CDCNE and the State Compensation Liability The judgment of Maebashi Local Court on March 18th, 201732, 137 people had to flee from Fukushima to neighbouring provinces such as Gunmakend along with the claim for compensation against Tokyo Electric Power Company, they also claimed the State Compensation with the reason that it did not perform the responsibility prescribed by law And this is the first precedent to recognise the liability for compensation of the state In this judgment, concerning the relationship between the Law on CDCNE and the Law on State Compensation Liability, the judge stated that: ―In this case, the Defendant (the State) can be considered to not perform the responsibility prescribed by law […] And the Law on CDCNE is not interpreted as the exception of with the regulations on compensation liability of the state stipulated in Article 17 of the Constitution, so even when the liability of operators is centralised, the compensation liability of the State is not exempted under Article 4.1 of the Law on CDCNE‖ * Obligations of nuclear energy operator and Unlimited liability The regulations on CDCNE in Japan with the aim of ensuring the performance of compensation liability according to Articles 6, of the Law on CDCNE, requires operators to participate in the mechanism of compensation Along with the obligation of contracting liability insurance, at the same time they must also sign a contract with the Government for the support of compensation This contract with the government will subsidise the compensation when the damages are not covered by the insurance And in case if any damage occurs, the maximum compensation for each of these cases is 120 billion Japanese yen33 31 Case Law Journal vol 2003, p.67 32 Japan Energy Law Institute, ―Annual research report of researchers in 2017: Legal regime and current status of compensation of damages caused by nuclear energy in countries‖ 11/2018, p.133) http://www.jeli.gr.jp/img/file22.pdf#search=%27原子力損害賠償における国内外の現状及び法制度の諸論点%27 accessed in 14/07/2019) 33 Japan Energy Law Institute, ―Annual research report of researchers in 2017: Legal regime and current status of compensation of damages caused by nuclear energy in countries‖ 11/2018, p.11) http://www.jeli.gr.jp/img/file22.pdf#search=%27原子力損害賠償における国内外の現状及び法制度の諸論点%27 accessed in 14/07/2019) 25 (which is called the compensation level according to compensation mechanism) And according to Article 16 of the Law on CDCNE: in case the damages exceed the compensation level according to this mechanism, the State will subsidise for the damages According to the Law on CDCNE in Japan, there are only provisions concerning the case of liability exemption, and no regulation on maximum compensation level for nuclear energy operator so it is interpreted that the liability, in this case, is an unlimited liability 34 * Liability exemption: The liability of CDCNE is only exempted in the case of war or abnormal natural disasters (Article 3.1 of the Law on CDCNE) And the practice shows that there are strict conditions to determine whether a natural disaster is abnormal or not For example, the incident of the Fukushima nuclear power plant in March 2011, caused by the 9-magnitude earthquake causing tsunami, was not determined as extraordinary disaster since there were similar or even greater disasters in the past which were considered as the case of liability exemption due to extraordinary disasters, with the reason that they had never experienced such occurrences in the history35 Therefore, it can be affirmed with the regulation on liability exemption due to force majeure shows that the Law on CDCNE aims to protect the benefits and rights of the victim Regulations on CDCNE in Vietnam 3.1 Structural perspective The regulation on CDCNE is stipulated in Section 2, Chapter X of the Nuclear Energy Law 2008 (from Articles 87 to 91) 3.2 Principles on CDCNE The law of Vietnam affirms that the liability of CDCNE is not based on fault but there is no provision that exists as a regulation related to the principle of centralised liability The provisions in Paragraph of Article 8736 show that there are no comparative legal studies on the issue of liability for CDCNE With the current regulations, it will exist problems related to the relationship between the owner and the person assigned by the owner and legally using materials and nuclear equipment (as a legal processor) According to Article 88.2: ―Total compensation per nuclear incident occurring in a 34 Research centre on compensation for damages caused by nuclear energy and public policy of Faculty of law, Yokohama University, Trends and issues about revising the Law on compensation for damages caused by nuclear energy, Taisei Publisher, 2017, p 13 35 Hirotaka Fujiwara (ed) - Nuclear Damage Compensation Research Group, Nuclear Damage Compensation Practice, Civil Law research Publish, 2011, p.15; Japan Energy Law Institute, ―Annual research report of researchers in 2017: Legal regime and current status of compensation of damages caused by nuclear energy in countries‖ 11/2018, p.42) http://www.jeli.gr.jp/img/file22.pdf#search=%27原子力損害賠償における国内外の現状及び法制度の諸論点%27 accessed in 14/07/2019) 36 Article 87.- Responsibility to pay compensations for radiation damage, nuclear damage: ―Organizations and individuals that are owners of nuclear material or equipment or those authorized by owners to store or use these materials or equipment shall pay compensations for damage caused by nuclear incidents even though it is not their fault, except for incidents occurring due to wars, terrorism or natural disasters beyond the designed safety limits under national technical regulations‖ 26 nuclear power plant must not exceed SDR 150 million For incidents occurring in other nuclear facilities and facilities in the transportation of nuclear material, the total compensation must not exceed SDR 10 million‖ Thus, the law of Vietnam clearly shows that the liability for CDCNE is a limited liability but there is a problem as follows: If there is more than one responsible subject for CDCNE (since Vietnamese law does not determine the principle of centralised liability), this is a limitation for a subject or limited liability to all subjects in case of an incident in nuclear power plants 3.3 Liability exemption Vietnamese law stipulates a very wide range of liability exemption, including the cases of war, terrorism, natural disasters exceeding the safety limits of designs according to national technical regulations (Article 87.2 of the Law on Nuclear Energy in 2008) From the comparative perspective, India is the only country recognises the liability exemption due to terrorism Regarding the liability exemption in case of natural disaster in Vietnamese laws, there is a great risk of the victim‘s failure to be compensated It is unfair to determine an objective and unforeseen condition in a subjective provision of liability exemption Therefore, nuclear energy operators only need to prove that the nuclear energy plants were designed in accordance with the national technical regulations with a certain limit so that if damages caused by the disaster exceeds the safety limit, the operators will be exempt from liability for compensation This regulation is contrary to the current trend of international and foreign laws and demonstrates that it is not the regime of no-fault liability (recognising right of defense for the plaintiff) in Vietnam 3.4 Obligation attached with the mechanism of CDCNE There are absolutely no regulations on the liability of operators to participate in the civil liability insurance contract, as well as the obligation to establish the compensation funds of operators, … 3.5 Liability of nuclear energy operators and the support from the State - Article 9137 on the support fund for remedying nuclear damage includes the following issues: Firstly, this is not a legal regulation to support the damages caused by nuclear energy 37 Article 91 Support fund for remedying nuclear damage The support fund for remedying nuclear damage is used in the following cases: a/ Organizations and individuals responsible to pay compensations for damage no longer exist; b/ Damage extent exceeds the maximum compensation level per nuclear incident-specified at Point c, Clause 2, Article 88 of this Law The support fund for remedying nuclear damage is raised from the following sources: a/ Contributions of nuclear facilities; b/ Financial supports of domestic organizations and individuals; c/ Financial supports of foreign organizations and individuals and international organizations; d/ Other sources as specified by law The Prime Minister shall specify this fund 27 Secondly, the fund is established entirely based on contributions (not derived from obligations) of nuclear facilities and other entities in society So, can this fund exist or not? And the amount of support is not anticipated in the implementation mechanism Therefore, there is no regulation for victims to be compensated in the case that responsible subject does not have the ability to perform the obligation, or the damages exceed the prescribed limit Moreover, there is no regulation on the liability for compensation of the State for damages caused by nuclear energy III Conclusion With the current legal regulations of Vietnam, there are still many problems surrounding the CDCNE Since Vietnam aims to put nuclear energy exploitation into the development of science and technology and energy industry for peaceful purposes, comparative research would be a great factor by contributing the knowledge and synchronising the domestic law with international law Along with asserting the purpose of balancing between the industrialisation in nuclear energy and the benefits of citizens, there is also the need to constitute an appropriate regulation with transparency and the consensus from the Vietnamese people in the development of nuclear energy Therefore, Vietnam needs to focus on researching the following legal issues: - The responsible subjects of CDCNE follow the principle of centralised liability, with the example of the regulation in the US, which is more economically, or the example of Japan and Germany as countries focus on legal centralisation Moreover, through precedents in Japan, it is important to anticipate the legal solutions for CDCNE in relation to other laws - It is necessary for the transparency of regulations related to limits of liability - Set up mechanism of compensation such as: Clarifying regulations on the liability of operators in the mechanism of CDCNE such as the obligation of compulsory insurance, the obligation of establishing the fund in case of liability exemption of the insurance due to force majeure - Transparency in liability exemption for operators - Adding more provision about the role of the State in supporting to remedy the damages caused by nuclear energy References Japan Energy Law Institute, ―Annual research report of researchers in 2017: Legal regime and current status of compensation of damages caused by nuclear energy in countries‖, 11/2018 Kanazawa, ―On the activities related to issues of compensation for damages caused by nuclear energy by the International Nuclear Energy Agency‖, Jurist Journal, 190 (1959) Noburu Utatsu, Legal issues in Compensation for damages caused by Nuclear Energy, Kinzai Publisher, 2012 Noburu Utatsu, Development of modern Nuclear Energy Law and General Theory of Law, Nihonhyouron Publisher, 2002 28 10 29 W Page Keeton, Dan B Dobbs, Robert E Keeton, David G Owen: Prosser and Keeton on the Law of Torts, 5th Edition (St Paul, MN, West Publishing, 1984 Souji Yamamoto (ed), Comprehensive Modern Law 54: Future Society and Law, Chikumashobo Publisher, 1976, p.459 Yoshio Kanazawa (ed), Documents of the workshop: Nuclear Energy Law - comparing Japan and Germany - 1st Seminar on German Law on nuclear energy, 1980 Hirotaka Fujiwara (ed) - Nuclear Damage Compensation Research Group, Nuclear Damage Compensation Practice, Civil Law research Publish, 2011, p.12 Case Law Journal vol 2003 Research centre on compensation for damages caused by nuclear energy and public policy of Faculty of law, Yokohama University, Trends and issues about revising the Law on compensation for damages caused by nuclear energy, Taisei Publisher, 2017  ... of compensation for damages caused by nuclear energy by the International Nuclear Energy Agency‖, Jurist Journal, 190 (1959) Noburu Utatsu, Legal issues in Compensation for damages caused by Nuclear. .. on compensation for damages caused by nuclear energy and public policy of Faculty of law, Yokohama University, Trends and issues about revising the Law on compensation for damages caused by nuclear. .. case that a nuclear energy operator is exempt from liability and supported by the state for its compensation 20 Noburu Utatsu, Legal issues in Compensation for damages caused by Nuclear Energy, Kinzai