IAEA Supports Estonia in Preparing the Legal Framework for Nuclear Power

The Republic of Estonia is considering embarking on a nuclear power programme focussed on the deployment of small modular reactors (SMR) to meet its climate targets and bolster its energy security. As part of this process, Estonia is developing a new nuclear law and has requested the IAEA's legislative assistance to support the country in strengthening its legal framework.

An IAEA legislative assistance mission organized in cooperation with Estonia's Ministry of Climate from 13 to 17 January 2025 provided an opportunity for in-depth discussions with members of Estonia's Nuclear Energy Programme Implementing Organization and other national stakeholders on the relevant international legal instruments in the areas of nuclear safety, nuclear security, safeguards and civil liability for nuclear damage, as well as elements of a comprehensive nuclear law. Estonia is party to all the main instruments adopted under IAEA auspices in the areas of nuclear safety and security.

The mission included a discussion dedicated to nuclear liability, with a focus on the Convention on Supplementary Compensation for Nuclear Damage (CSC). It highlighted the importance of a global nuclear liability regime and the key features and benefits of the CSC. In the area of nuclear liability, Estonia is currently party to the 1963 Vienna Convention on Civil Liability for Nuclear Damage as well as the Joint Protocol Relating to the Application of the Vienna Convention and the Paris Convention.