Nuclear and radiological Security: Introduction.

Securing radioactive sources has become increasingly important given the rising threat of radiological terrorism. While radiation safety has long been established in most applicable industries, the importance of nuclear and radiological source security has lagged behind in nonnuclear material specific industries, such as academic institutions and medical facilities. To evaluate the attitudes and behaviors regarding nuclear security culture, an assessment of nuclear and radiological material practices was developed and conducted on 73 radioactive material users at a university. The survey portion of the assessment was comprised of a series of questions segregated into four categories: policy, enforcement, leadership, and behavior. Nuclear security awareness questions formed a subset of the questionnaire. Users were classified by their radioactive material experience and work classification: student, faculty, or other staff. Of the users surveyed, 9% were also interviewed face-to-face to further expand on their views of nuclear security culture. Results of the assessment showed that students from the work classification group as well as the cohort of radioactive material users with 2-5 y of experience possessed a greater degree of awareness towards nuclear security compared to faculty and other more experienced radioactive material users. Relative to students and faculty, other staff from the work classification group faced some difficulty judging the enforcement of policies, adequacy of inspection, and job performance review related to nuclear security. The response from all three groups emphasized the need to enhance threat-response preparedness and greater communication among stakeholders.

The subject of this paper is scientific description of the terms nuclear security and nuclear safety, with reference to international legal aspects and necessary holistic approach to these concepts. Taking into account that there are overlapping and inconsistent use of the abovementioned terms in both domestic and foreign literature, the aim of this paper is to describe them precisely, point to the main differences and similarities in terminology, in order to enable their understanding, adequate use in scientific and professional literature, as well as holistic approach in practice. The connection between the terms stems from their common goal - protection of people and the environment from harmful influence of radioactivity, whereas the terms diverge in areas where the requirements for achieving nuclear security and nuclear safety are in complete contradiction. Nuclear security refers to the protection of nuclear materials and facilities from unauthorized access, theft and abuse, with primary focus being on preventing criminal activities. Nuclear safety, on the other hand, has an aim to prevent accidents in nuclear facilities, as well as to protect people and the environment from potentially harmful influence of radioactivity. Holistic approach requires integration of nuclear security and safety measures, in order to achieve synergy between the two concepts, and, at the same time, make sure that their implementation does not jeopardize one another. This way, societies and states can reduce risks to nuclear materials and facilities, both from unauthorized access and potential hazards arising from nuclear processes and facilities.

The issue of uncontrollable children is no longer peculiar in the present days. Uncontrollable children can be found in almost every country across the globe. Although this issue is no longer novel, uncontrollable children are being defined and treated differently in different jurisdictions. On this note, numerous international legal instruments have been adopted to protect the welfare of all children which includes the protection on the uncontrollable children. This article aims to comparatively analyse the available provisions extracted from international legal instruments that form part of the international legal framework on uncontrollable children with the Malaysian legal framework regarding uncontrollable children to analyse the consistency between the former and the latter legal frameworks. The preliminary finding from this article is that the legal framework on uncontrollable children in the Child Act 2001 has substantially incorporated the proper treatment which is required by the international legal framework and is consistent with the international legal framework. This can be seen in particular following the disintegration of the treatment on uncontrollable children and juvenile offenders as well as the prioritisation of family-based care subsequent to the 2016 amendment of the Child Act 2001. This development to carry out reform process is commendable in the aspect of children’s rights and consistent with the aspiration of the international legal framework in preserving the best interest of the child which includes uncontrollable children. In reaching this finding, content analysis was carried out pertaining to the provisions of the international and Malaysian legal frameworks on the treatment of uncontrollable children which suggests that the Malaysian government has been taking some significant efforts to incorporate the international standards within its domestic law.

Chapter 11 - Case Study: The Nuclear Security Summit Process and Its Outcomes

Although regulators say that current protections are adequate, the US government continues to pay for extra security features for facilities that hold radiological materials.

This chapter traces the evolution of international law related to the weaponization of nuclear and other radioactive materials, focusing in particular on the law pertaining to preventing acts of nuclear terrorism. International efforts to control atomic energy have evolved substantially since the only use of nuclear weapons, against Japan, in 1945. Unlike for chemical and biological weapons, whose legal regimes are centred on total bans of such weapons, the legal regime for nuclear weapons founded in the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons codifies a situation in which certain States retain weapons, pledging to negotiate toward disarmament, while others forego them and submit to a system of verification to ensure no diversion of nuclear energy from peaceful uses to nuclear weapons or other nuclear explosive devices. The recognition that physical protection of nuclear material and nuclear facilities from acts such as theft and sabotage was also highly important to both non-proliferation and radiation safety, but was not provided for under the safeguards system set up to detect and deter diversion by States of nuclear material to non-peaceful purposes, precipitated the nuclear security framework, starting with physical protection recommendations developed under the auspices of the International Atomic Energy Agency and the Convention on the Physical Protection of Nuclear Material. Subsequent developments related to nuclear security have been driven primarily by two issues: first, concerns regarding vulnerability of a significant amount of nuclear and other radioactive material, not necessarily part of weapons programmes, particularly following the end of the Cold War; and second, the threat that terrorists would obtain and use such materials. The latter issue came to the fore in the wake of the terrorist attacks on 11 September 2001, displaying a new strain of mass-casualty international terrorism. These attacks were a transformative event for the area of nuclear security, leading to a number of actions aimed at strengthening the international legal framework. However, from the beginning, nuclear security has been formulated as fundamentally a national responsibility of States pursuant, where applicable, to certain international obligations. National sensitivities continue to affect the extent to which States are willing to enter into legally binding agreements. With that in mind, the present chapter looks at methods by which the law evolves and considers how they have been put into practice with respect to nuclear security in light of said national sensitivities and in response to perceived threats.

Ghana has significantly improved its nuclear security infrastructure over the years. However, as threats increase by the day and new applications of nuclear and radiological technology are designed and implemented, Ghana must develop a rigid and comprehensive approach to mitigating the negative impacts on its nuclear security while improving prevention, detection, and deterrence of nuclear and radiological terrorism within its geographical space. This paper overviews the approaches adopted by Ghana to build a strong nuclear security regime within the past decade. These include improving legal frameworks for nuclear security by establishing an independent Nuclear Regulatory Authority; assessing nuclear security culture in facilities; strengthening nuclear security capabilities at facilities that hold radioactive materials by improving physical protection systems for deterrence and detection; and building strong and effective collaboration and cooperation with various stakeholders, both locally and internationally, to distribute responsibility and provide technical and logistic support to build a stronger nuclear security regime. Ghana also identified developments in human capacity in areas of nuclear security as a relevant approach to improving its nuclear security and has thus collaborated with the IAEA and the University of Ghana to establish a graduate school for training Ghanaians and Africans in nuclear-related disciplines.

The issue of ensuring nuclear safety has remained important for many decades. The use of atomic energy for peaceful purposes, as well as the creation of nuclear weapons, have created new opportunities for human development in various fields, but at the same time it has become a potential source of global disasters that can pose a threat not only to national but also to international organizations. international security. The object of the research is the social relations that arise in the field of safety in the use of atomic energy. The subject of the work is the norms of international law, as well as the norms of Russian legislation regulating safety issues in the field of atomic energy use. The purpose of the article is to study the international legal and essential characteristics of the concept of nuclear safety. Systematic and formal legal scientific approaches were applied in the article to conduct the research and comprehensively disclose its subject. The research methodology includes methods such as analysis, synthesis, and the comparative legal method. The study presents the main international treaties related to nuclear safety issues, as well as the main regulatory legal acts of the Russian Federation governing the issue under consideration. The author analyzes the opinions of scientists on this issue contained in the legal literature. Based on the results of the study, the author formulated the following conclusions: 1) issues related to ensuring nuclear safety have not lost their importance at present, but they still remain relevant; 2) the concept of "nuclear safety" is not contained in any international regulatory legal act, as well as in the legislation of the Russian Federation; 3) there is a need to legislate a generally accepted definition. the concepts of "nuclear safety". The article presents the author's definition of nuclear safety.

On 11 March 2011, the nuclear safety sector was deeply shaken by the accident at the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant in Japan. Because of this accident, 25 years of established certainties in nuclear power plant operational safety that followed the Chernobyl disaster were once again called into question.

The impact of climate change on the distribution of fish stocks and other marine species is a pervasive problem that causes governance issues and threatens the rule of law for the oceans. Fish moving across static jurisdictional and management boundaries may become unregulated and risk being overexploited. Shifting fish stocks threaten the certainty, predictability and stability of the international fisheries legal framework, and undermine conservation and management measures by coastal States and regional fisheries organisations, impeding sustainable exploitation and conservation of global fish stocks. This chapter assesses whether and to what extent the international legal framework adequately places an obligation upon States to adapt to the complexities caused by MLRs shifting their location, to maintain the rule of law. It assesses whether the key principles and obligations under the international framework are fit for purpose to address these issues. It indicates there is a general obligation on States, either individually or collectively, to adapt the management of marine living resources to the effects of climate change. It concludes with potential solutions which may strengthen an adaptive response.

Based on the international legal framework as established by the Agreement on Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPS), the author discusses the approach to GI protection under South African law. While South Africa has not introduced a registration system with regard to GIs, it relies, amongst other approaches, on common law approaches to defending GIs. The author further explains that certain GIs that are now protected under the EU registration regime have long been used in the South African trade environment, to the effect of having become generic. It is against this background that the author argues that in light of the strong negotiating position of the EU, the Europeans, when negotiating the free trade agreement with South Africa, in fact coerced South African negotiators into accepting the terms of the EU with regard to certain GIs. The author concludes that it may be useful for jurisdictions like South Africa to associate with other New World economies to ensure a better bargaining position during negotiations, except where such negotiations deal with purely localized issues.

The chapter examines how states develop nuclear security systems as they navigate the lengthy journey of building a new civilian nuclear sector. It outlines the steps set out by the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), which states must follow sequentially to establish a civilian nuclear industry. In so doing, the chapter focuses on the hurdles states have needed to overcome to establish national regulatory and legal frameworks and implement physical protection systems for the first time, and also highlights where opportunities have arisen. Accordingly, the chapter considers the gap between the ideal and the reality, comparing the standards set by the IAEA with what individual states have been able to accomplish. In order to highlight differences in national approaches, the chapter utilizes two case studies: Turkey and the United Arab Emirates (UAE). At the time of writing, Turkey is in the final stages of operationalizing its first nuclear power plant (NPP), while the UAE’s first reactor went online in 2020. The development of the nuclear industry in each country is explored in order to understand how nuclear security systems might diverge. While implementation inevitably differs between states, nuclear security is an intrinsic and non-delineable aspect of the broader nuclear sector. In this process, what might be considered ‘norms’ of the global nuclear security regime are established, although perceptions about security might also evolve.

Marine Plastic Pollution (MPP) is increasing at an alarming rate. It presses environmental crisis, posing significant threats to both marine ecosystem and biodiversity, as well as human health. While relevant international legal frameworks call for concerted global action, effective national law enforcement remains a crucial element in the fight against plastic waste. This research explores Indonesia’s practice in implementing existing international legal frameworks nationally to tackle MPP. Although Indonesia has made significant progress in establishing national laws that align with international legal frameworks, however, much remain to be done. This especially related to regulatory framework and law enforcement institutions. This paper highlights existing regulatory and institutional frameworks adopted by Indonesia and analyses key enforcement challenges faced by Indonesia in reducing MPP. It is argued that strengthening national enforcement mechanisms, fostering intergovernmental collaboration, and enhancing public-private partnerships are essential to curbing marine plastic pollution. Ultimately, the paper calls for a more robust, integrated approach that aligns national legal frameworks with global efforts to protect marine environments from further degradation.

Much has already been written on this most recent EVD outbreak—evaluating and dissecting the contributions and failings of the various role-players involved, and considering what can be done differently in future. This article will contribute to this important and ongoing debate and will specifically focus on the international, operational, and national legal frameworks in terms of which large-scale health crises like that of Ebola play out. It will be argued that the very culture and architecture of this transnational legal and operational framework for public health emergencies is isolated from the national realities in which it operates and merely offers a hierarchical authority of what legally ought to be done, with little regard to what is actually necessary and possible on the ground. In considering the most recent Ebola outbreak, and juxtaposing it with the Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (“SARS”) outbreak of 2003, it will be shown that a more nuanced transnational legal understanding of public health emergencies is indeed needed—a holistic approach that goes beyond biomedical/scientific and legalistic confines in dealing with disease outbreak and control. It is again important to emphasise here, for the sake of clarity, that this article is exclusively focused on the transnational legal and operational framework in which public health emergencies play out. International humanitarian responses, general public health considerations, as well as other national systemic considerations—like those relating to health systems—although important, will not be considered here. A brief interlude on the methodology of this article also deserves a place here. As already indicated above, much literature exists on the Ebola outbreak, and with the attention now shifting to the Zika virus, it is important to further distinguish the contribution of this article. This article utilises a primarily transdisciplinary lens in narrating the rise and fall of two notable epidemics of the modern world. A variety of sources, from different disciplines and bases, are used in presenting an easily accessible text that recounts key themes of both epidemics—highlighting similarities and differences, and raising important questions for the future. As with most narrative research methodologies, reliance is also placed on newspaper articles in constructing an account of how the two epidemics played out, each in its own particular time and space. The disease narrative ultimately presented in this article, therefore simultaneously serve as a chronicle of the two epidemics, while also reflecting why a more nuanced transnational legal understanding of public health emergencies is indeed needed. To facilitate this discussion and analysis, the content of this article is divided into four parts. First, in Part II, the lifecycle of two epidemics will be considered, Ebola, and the 2003 SARS outbreak. Considering these two outbreaks and the international legal responses thereto provides a valuable lens through which the multiple layers of disease outbreaks and control from the past to the present can be observed. In Part III, this paper provides an overview of the international legal and operational framework for public health emergencies, confined to references and examples from the two outbreaks selected for and discussed in Part II. Part IV considers the national legal responses of those countries most affected by the recent Ebola outbreak and the 2003 SARS outbreak. Part V discusses the question of whether to quarantine or not. Part VI discusses lessons to be learned, and why knowledge production beyond disciplinary confines is necessary. And finally, Part VII of this article concludes with a critical analysis of two observed failings of the current international legal and operational framework for public health emergencies. In considering the shortcomings of the current framework it will be argued that a more holistic approach to disease control is required that looks beyond disciplinary confines.

The practice of ukuthwala in South Africa has evolved considerably. It is a form of preliminary procedure for a customary marriage where the young man forcibly takes a girl to be his wife. Sometimes it is undertaken with the consent of the girl, parents or guardians. In recent times, the practice has taken on new dimensions: young girls are being married forcibly to older men. One of the challenges of the South African Constitution is the contradictions it raises between universal individual rights guaranteed in the Bill of Rights, on the one hand, and long cherished traditional practices such as ukuthwala on the other that tend to violate the rights contained in the Bill of Rights. The purpose of the article is to investigate if ukuthwala is another form of ‘forced marriage’. It looks at the local, regional and international legal framework in order to assess ukuthwala's constitutionality within the domain of human rights. It notes that ukuthwala occurs in different ways, violates children's rights and contributes to the prevalent problem of domestic violence in South Africa. Ukuthwala fails the constitutional compatibility test on any number of grounds. Girls are deprived of their right to choose whether to marry, whom to marry and when. It impacts on aspects of girls’ lives including their right to human dignity, their right to education, right to live free of violence and their right to freedom and security. Ukuthwala perpetuates the cycle of gender inequality. It concludes that though ukuthwala occurs in different forms, it is equivalent to ‘forced marriage’.