This publication reproduces the explanatory texts on the nuclear liability instruments adopted under the IAEA's auspices in 1997. Finalized by the International Expert Group on Nuclear Liability (INLEX), these texts constitute a comprehensive study and authoritative interpretation of the IAEA's nuclear liability regime. More particularly, the texts deal with the Protocol to Amend the Vienna Convention on Civil Liability for Nuclear Damage and the Convention on Supplementary Compensation for Nuclear Damage.

The publication includes an overview, and brings together the texts, of the IAEA's nuclear liability instruments. It also includes a matrix of comparative provisions in the various nuclear liability instruments, as well as the recommendations on how to achieve a global nuclear liability regime that were adopted by INLEX in 2012 following a request by Member States reflected in the IAEA Action Plan on Nuclear Safety.

The explanatory texts were first updated in 2017 in the light of these important developments, and this second revision reflects further discussions within INLEX. It is hoped that the texts and the other documents included in this publication will increase awareness of nuclear liability as an important aspect of nuclear law by becoming a useful tool for legislators, government officials, technical experts, lawyers and nuclear insurers.