Reducing the effects of global warming and related climate change, which is unanimously agreed to be among the most important problems of our age, has revealed efforts to find alternatives to fossil fuels in the international arena. Although it is a fossil fuel-sourced energy type, its advantage in reducing carbon emissions also brings nuclear energy to the fore in this sense. Despite this advantage, the severity of the risks involved in nuclear power activity brings with it a prudent point of view. The damage that may occur during this activity can exceed the borders of a state, as can be seen from the examples in the past. The sensitivity of the situation has resulted in the international conventions being the subject of liability for damages that may be caused by nuclear facilities in the international arena. Although the nuclear facility operator has been identified as the responsible person, the responsibility of the administrative authorities of the state where the nuclear facility is located should also be examined separately. The reason for the existence of the responsibility of the administration is that the ad-ministration has obligations to prevent possible damage and the liabi-lity of the operator is limited in terms of quantity. The responsibility of the administration essentially appears to be administrative responsi-bility. However, there are also cases of liability for the administration subject to private law.
The issue of liability arising from the establishment and operation of nuclear power plants is regulated by the Paris Convention, the 2004 Protocol and Law No. 7381. The common point of all three regulations is that they recognize a private law liability for the operation of a nuclear power plant for which the operator is exclusively responsible. This liability, which is exclusive to the operator, also envisages a limited liability in terms of amount. The damages arising from the establishment and operation of nuclear power plants are not only impossible to foresee, but are also likely to be very large in quantity. This situation raises the question of who will be responsible for the damages exceeding the monetary limits stipulated in the Paris Convention, the Protocol of 2004 and Law No. 7381, since the operator is not liable for such damages. On the other hand, the operator of a nuclear power plant does not necessarily have to be a private legal person; it is also possible for a state legal entity or administrative units with separate public legal personalities to be the operator. In this case, the title of the administration as the executor of the public service of establishing and operating a nuclear power plant and the title of the operator are combined. In cases where the administration is the operator, the basic liability is the liability based on private law and stipulated in the Paris Convention, the 2004 Protocol and Law No. 7381 in terms of amount. However, in cases where the prescribed monetary limits are exceeded, the responsibility of the administration as the executor of the public service will come to the agenda. If the operator is a private law person, the administration becomes the sole addressee for damages exceeding the limit and its administrative liability arising from the execution of public service will be in question.
The main form of administrative liability for the administration is fault liability. The establishment and operation of a nuclear power plant was undertaken by the administration as a public service under Law No. 5710 on the Establishment and Operation of Nuclear Power Plants and Energy Sales. This undertaking constitutes the basis for the defect of service of the administration due to the service defect arising in the form of poor functioning, late functioning or non-functioning of the public service. If the administration, in its capacity as the undertaker, fails to duly fulfill the duties it has undertaken during the establishment and operation of nuclear power plants, its liability for damages arising therefrom will come to the fore. Another issue is the existence of cases where the operator is not held liable under the Paris Convention, the 2004 Protocol or Law No. 7381. In these cases where the operator cannot be held liable, the administration will be held liable for the damages incurred in its capacity as a public service undertaker.
Çağımızın en önemli sorunları arasında yer aldığı konusunda oybirliği bulunan küresel ısınma ve buna bağlı iklim değişikliğinin etkilerinin azaltılması, uluslararası alanda fosil yakıtlara alternatif bulunması çabalarını ortaya çıkarmıştır. Her ne kadar fosil yakıt kaynaklı bir enerji türü olsa da karbon salınımı konusundaki avantajı, nükleer enerjiyi de bu anlamda ön plana çıkarmaktadır. Bu avantajına rağmen nükleer enerji faaliyetinin bünyesinde taşıdığı risklerin büyüklüğü, ihtiyatlı bir bakış açısını da beraberinde getirmektedir. Bu faaliyet esnasında meydana gelebilecek tahribat, geçmişte yaşanan örneklerden de görüleceği üzere bir devletin sınırlarını aşabilmektedir. Durumun hassasiyeti, uluslararası alanda nükleer tesislerin sebep olabileceği zararlardan sorumluluğun milletlerarası sözleşmelere konu olmasını sonuçlamıştır. Sorumluluk sahibi olarak nükleer tesis işleteni belirlenmiş olsa da nükleer tesisin bulunduğu devletin idari makamlarının sorumluluğunun da ayrıca irdelenmesi gerekmektedir. Zira olası zararın önlenmesi konusunda idarenin yükümlülüklerinin bulunması ve işletenin sorumluluğunun miktar yönünden sınırlı olması, idarenin sorumluluğunun var oluş sebepleridir. Çalışmamız bu kapsamda Türk hukukunda idarenin sorumluluğunu temel sorumluluk şekli olan kusur sorumluluğu ve akabinde kusursuz sorumluluk çerçevesinde ele almaktadır. Bu yapılırken Türkiye’nin taraf olduğu Paris Sözleşmesi ve 7381 sayılı Kanun temel alınacaktır.
Primary Language | Turkish |
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Subjects | Public International Law |
Journal Section | Kamu Hukuku |
Authors | |
Publication Date | April 30, 2024 |
Submission Date | December 18, 2023 |
Acceptance Date | January 29, 2024 |
Published in Issue | Year 2024 Volume: 19 Issue: 1 |
Erciyes Üniversitesi Hukuk Fakültesi Dergisi Creative Commons Atıf-GayriTicari-Türetilemez 4.0 Uluslararası Lisansı ile lisanslanmıştır.