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Ms Peri Johnson
Legal Adviser and Director
Office of Legal Affairs
International Atomic Energy Agency

BiographyBiography in PDF

Arms Control and Disarmament
The Role of Nuclear Law in the Use of
Atomic Energy for Peace and Development
Video | Audio
(28/10/2022, 57 minutes)


Arms Control and Disarmament
The Role of Nuclear Law in the Use of Atomic Energy for Peace and Development
A. Legal Instruments

Statute of the International Atomic Energy Agency, New York, 26 October 1956, United Nations, Treaty Series, vol. 276, p. 3.

Agreement concerning the relationship between the United Nations and the International Atomic Energy Agency, New York and Vienna, 23 October and 14 November 1957, United Nations, Treaty Series, vol. 281, p. 369.

Agreement between the Republic of Austria and the International Atomic Energy Agency regarding the Headquarters of the International Atomic Energy Agency, Vienna, 11 December 1957, United Nations, Treaty Series, vol. 339, p. 110.

Convention on third party liability in the field of nuclear energy, Paris, 29 July 1960, United Nations, Treaty Series, vol. 956, p. 251.

Convention Supplementary to the Paris Convention of 29 July 1960 on third party liability in the field of nuclear energy, Brussels, 31 January 1963, United Nations, Treaty Series, vol. 1041, p. 358.

Vienna Convention on civil liability for nuclear damage, Vienna, 21 May 1963, United Nations, Treaty Series, vol. 1063, p. 265.

Treaty for the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons in Latin America, Mexico City, 14 February 1967, United Nations, Treaty Series, vol. 634, p. 281.

Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons, Washington, Moscow and London, 1 July 1968, United Nations, Treaty Series, vol. 729, p. 161.

Vienna Convention on the Law of Treaties, Vienna, 23 May 1969, United Nations, Treaty Seriesvol. 1155, p. 331.

Convention on the Physical protection of Nuclear Material, New York and Vienna, 3 March 1980, United Nations, Treaty Series, vol. 1456, p. 101.

South Pacific Nuclear Free Zone Treaty, Rarotonga, 6 August 1985, United Nations, Treaty Series, vol. 1445, p. 177.

Convention on Early Notification of a Nuclear Accident, Vienna, 26 September 1986, United Nations, Treaty Series, vol. 1439, p. 275.

Convention on Assistance in the Case of a Nuclear Accident or Radiological Emergency, 26 September 1986, United Nations, Treaty Series, vol. 1457, p. 133.

Joint Protocol relating to the application of the Vienna Convention on Civil Liability for Nuclear Damage and the Paris Convention on Third Party Liability in the Field of Nuclear Energy, Vienna, 21 September 1988, United Nations, Treaty Series, vol. 1672, p. 293.

Convention on nuclear safety, Vienna, 20 September 1994, United Nations, Treaty Series, vol. 1963, p. 293.

Treaty on the Southeast Asia Nuclear Weapon-Free Zone, Bangkok, 15 December 1995, United Nations, Treaty Series, vol. 1981, p. 129.

Joint Convention on the safety of spent fuel management and on the safety of radioactive waste management, Vienna, 5 September 1997, United Nations, Treaty Series, vol. 2153, p. 303.

Protocol to amend the Vienna Convention on civil liability for nuclear damage, Vienna, 12 September 1997, United Nations, Treaty Series, vol. 2241, p. 270.

Convention on Supplementary Compensation for Nuclear Damage, Vienna, 12 September 1997, United Nations, Treaty Series, vol. 3038, p. 41.

International Convention for the Suppression of Terrorist Bombings, New York, 15 December 1997, United Nations, Treaty Series, vol. 2149, p. 256.

Security Council resolution 1373 (2001) of 28 September 2001.

International Law Commission, Articles on Responsibility of States for Internationally Wrongful Acts with commentaries, 2001.

International Law Commission, Articles on Prevention of Transboundary Harm from Hazardous Activities with commentaries, 2001.

Security Council resolution 1540 (2004) of 28 April 2004.

International Convention for the Suppression of Acts of Nuclear Terrorism, New York, 13 April 2005, United Nations, Treaty Series, vol. 2445, p. 89.

Amendment to the Convention on the Physical Protection of Nuclear Material, Vienna, 8 July 2005, United Nations, Treaty Series, vol. 3132 (forthcoming).

International Law Commission, Principles on the Allocation of Loss in the Case of Transboundary Harm Arising out of Hazardous Activities with commentaries, Yearbook of the International Law Commission, 2006, vol. II, Part Two.

Treaty on a Nuclear-Weapon-Free Zone in Central Asia, Semipalatinsk, 8 September 2006, United Nations, Treaty Series, vol. 2970, p. 91.

B. Jurisprudence

Trail Smelter Arbitral Tribunal, Trail smelter case (United States of America, Canada), Awards of 16 April 1938 and 11 March 1941Reports of International Arbitral Awards, vol. III, p. 1905.

International Court of Justice, Corfu Channel case, Judgment of 9 April 1949, I.C.J. Reports 1949, p. 4.

International Court of Justice, Nuclear Tests (Australia v. France), Judgment, I.C.J. Reports 1974, p. 253.

International Court of Justice, Nuclear Tests (New Zealand v. France), Judgement, I.C.J. Reports 1974, p. 457.

International Court of Justice, Legality of the Use by a State of Nuclear Weapons in Armed Conflict, Advisory Opinion of 8 July 1996, I.C.J. Reports 1996, p. 666.

International Court of Justice, Legality of the Threat or Use of Nuclear Weapons, Advisory Opinion of 8 July 1996, I.C.J. Reports 1996, p. 226.

International Court of Justice, Gabčikovo-Nagymaros Project (Hungary/Slovakia), Judgment, I.C.J. Reports 1997, p. 7.

International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea, MOX Plant (Ireland v. United Kingdom), Provisional Measures, Order of 3 December 2001, ITLOS Reports 2001, p. 95.

International Court of Justice, Pulp Mills on the River Uruguay (Argentina v. Uruguay), Judgment, I.C.J. Reports 2010, p. 14.

C. Documents

International Atomic Energy Agency, The Agency’s Safeguards, INFCIRC/26, 31 January 1961.

International Atomic Energy Agency, The Agency’s Safeguards: Extension of the system to large reactor facilities, INFCIRC/26/Add.1, 9 April 1964.

International Atomic Energy Agency, The Agency’s Safeguard System, INFCIRC/66/Rev.2, 16 September 1968.

International Atomic Energy Agency, The Structure and Content of Agreements between the Agency and States Required in Connection with the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons, INFCIRC/153, Vienna, 1972.

International Atomic Energy Agency, The Standard text of Safeguards Agreements in Connection with the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons, GOV/INF/276, 22 August 1974.

International Atomic Energy Agency, Model Protocol Additional to the Agreement(s) between State(s) and the International Atomic Energy Agency for the Application of Safeguards, INFCIRC/540 (Corr.), Vienna, 1997.

International Atomic Energy Agency, Code of Conduct on the Safety and Security Radioactive Resources, Non-serial Publications, IAEA, Vienna, 2004.

International Atomic Energy Agency, Code of Conduct on the Safety of Research Reactors, Non-serial Publications, IAEA, Vienna, 2004.

International Atomic Energy Agency, The Standard Text of Safeguards Agreements in Connection with the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons, Revision of the Standardized Text of the “Small Quantities Protocol”, GOV/INF/276/Mod.1, 21 February 2006.

International Atomic Energy Agency, Nuclear Security Recommendations on Physical Protection of Nuclear Material and Nuclear Facilities (INFCIRC/225/Revision 5), IAEA Nuclear Security Series No. 13, IAEA, Vienna, 2011.

International Atomic Energy Agency, Board of Directors, Action Plan on Nuclear Safety, 13 September 2011, as endorsed by the IAEA General Conference during its 55th regular session on 22 September 2011.

International Atomic Energy Agency, The 1988 Joint Protocol Relating to the Application of the Vienna Convention and the Paris Convention — Explanatory Text, IAEA International Law Series No. 5, IAEA, Vienna, 2013.

International Atomic Energy Agency, Safeguards Implementation Guide for States with Small Quantities Protocols, IAEA Service Series No. 22, IAEA, Vienna, 2016.

International Atomic Energy Agency, Regulations for the Safe Transport of Radioactive Material, IAEA Safety Standard Series, No. SSR-6 (Rev.1), 2018.

D. Doctrine

M. Elbaradei, E. L. Nwogugu and J. M. Rames (eds.), The International Law of Nuclear Energy – Basic Documents: Parts 1 and 2, Kluwer Academic Publishers, Amsterdam, 1993.

D. Fischer, History of the International Atomic Energy Agency, IAEA Non-serial Publications, Vienna, 1997.

International Atomic Energy Agency, Nuclear Law: The Global Debate, TMC Asser Press, The Hague, 2022.

P. L. Johnson, “The Law of the International Atomic Energy Agency”, in K. Sexton and S. G. Burns (eds.), Principles and Practice of International Nuclear Law, OECD, Paris, 2022.

R. H. Reiner and P.C. Szasz, The Law and Practices of the International Atomic Energy Agency, IAEA Legal Series No. 7-S1, Vienna, 1993.

L. Scheinman, The Non-proliferation Role of the International Atomic Energy Agency - A Critical Assessment, Resources for the Future, Washington DC, 1985.

L. Scheinman, The International Atomic Energy Agency and World Nuclear Order, Routledge, London, 1987.

P.C. Szasz, The Law and Practices of the International Atomic Energy Agency, IAEA Legal Series No. 7, Vienna, 1970.