compensation in line with Swiss law in the country concerned. (iv) Other provisions concerning insurance If, following an incident causing damage, the private insurer or the State make payments, then the cover available is reduced accordingly. When, however, such payments reach one tenth of the total covered, the insurer must inform the person covered as well as the competent public authority. In this case, the person covered must take out complementary insurance to re-establish his initial cover. Such insurance, however, covers only incidents arising after the date of its coming into effect. Insurers must report to the competent public authority any cancellation or suspension of insurance. Such cancellation or suspension will only take effect six months after such notice has been received unless the original insurance has, in the meantime, been replaced by a new one. D. Compensation If an incident causes significant damage, the Federal Council orders an inquiry and publishes an invitation to all persons who think they have been victims of nuclear damage to make themselves known in the three months following such publication and to indicate to the competent public authority, the date and place where the damage was suffered. It is provided that the notice by the Federal Council must indicate that while failure to give such particulars will not affect any right to compensation, it may make it more difficult to establish a causal link between the damage and the incident. E. Time-limits The general rule in Switzerland is that actions must be brought within three years of the date of knowledge of the damage and of the person liable, and may in no event be brought more than 30 years after the date of the incident giving rise to the damage. If the victim's health worsens after judgment or after agreement on compensation, or if new facts come to light or new methods of proof are available, the rule is again that a revision of the judgment or the agreement may be requested in the three years following the date on which the victim knew of such facts or methods of proof, but still no later than 30 years after the date of the incident causing damage. 8. United Kingdom The United Kingdom is a Contracting Party of both the Paris Convention and the Brussels Supplementary Convention, and its legislation in the field of third party liability-essentially the 1965 Nuclear Installations Act18-follows the principles of these Conventions. Important amendments to this Act were, however, included in the Energy Act of 1983 which entered into force on 1st September 1983. The purpose of the amendments is essentially to ratify the 1982 Protocols amending the two Conventions, and also to raise the national limit of liability for operators. A. Damage Covered In addition to implementing the provisions of the Paris Convention in this respect, which are of a general nature, United Kingdom legislation specifies expressly that where, as a result of nuclear damage to either of its parents, a child is born disabled, the child's disabilities are to be regarded as injuries caused on the same occasion as those suffered by its parent. Furthermore, nuclear damage due to an incident caused by a natural disaster of an exceptional character is covered by the operator's liability in United Kingdom law. B. Cover for Liability (i) Limitation of liability The maximum liability of nuclear operators in the United Kingdom is limited to £20 million (about $30.6 million) plus any payments required in respect of interest or costs. A limit of £5 million only may be prescribed if circumstances so warrant. The Secretary of State is, however, given specific powers to increase these amounts in the future. If damage is caused in the United Kingdom during the transport of nuclear substances for which the operator of an installation situated in the territory of another Contracting Party of the Paris Convention is liable, that operator will only be required to pay compensation to the extent that his own national law provides for this and only up to the limit of liability of nuclear operators established by his own law. (ii) Insurance or financial security Operators must provide financial security either by insurance or some other means, approved by the Government, so as to cover their liability. 19 Where financial security is provided otherwise than by insurance, and the same person guarantees two or more sites for the same operator, the security will normally be considered sufficient if it covers the total of the two largest sites, although the Government may require the provision of a larger amount. (iii) State intervention If the amount of damage exceeds the limit of liability of the operator, provision is made for a procedure whereby claims are made to the appropriate Government authority instead of against the operator. The same applies of claims are made after the expiry of the applicable period of limitation of actions. The 1965 Act provides that all such claims will be satisfied by the appropriate authority to such extent and out of funds provided by such means as Parliament may determine. C. Compensation The 1965 Act, as amended, provides that the operator, whenever claims against him have reached three fifths of his liability limit, must give notice to the competent public authority and thereafter claims may not be settled between the operator and the claimant except with the agreement of that authority. D. Time-limits The rule under the United Kingdom Act is that a claim will not be entertained after the expiration of thirty years from the date of the incident which gave rise to the claim. However, as seen above, the State will compensate claims brought after the expiry of this time-limit. 38-299 0-84-30 |