{"title":"Legal boundaries: Ensuring protection amidst threats to the Zaporizhzhya Nuclear Power Plant in the Ukraine","authors":"","doi":"10.1016/j.erss.2024.103700","DOIUrl":null,"url":null,"abstract":"<div><p>This article aims to examine the protection accorded to nuclear power plants in international law, based on the example of the Zaporizhzhya Nuclear Power Plant in the context of the current Russian aggression against Ukraine and the ensuing international armed conflict. The authors attempt to answer the question of the legality of the attacks against the Zaporizhzhya Nuclear Power Plant. The research methods used are institutional-legal analysis and, supplementarily, a critical literature analysis. The institutional-legal analysis focuses on the examination of international treaties like Additional Protocol I to the Geneva Conventions, which constitutes the main legal reference point in this article, as well as on other documents that may not be binding (such as resolutions adopted by the International Atomic Energy Agency's General Conference or the Board of Governors, as well as statements and reports of other International Atomic Energy Agency's and United Nations' bodies). The main conclusion is that Russian attacks against the Zaporizhzhya Nuclear Power Plant were and continue to be illegal on multiple fronts. While the legal regulations appear adequate and capable of meeting the challenge posed by Russian attacks and occupation of the Zaporizhzhya Nuclear Power Plant, the problem lies with the political will of Russia to respect these rules.</p></div>","PeriodicalId":48384,"journal":{"name":"Energy Research & Social Science","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":6.9000,"publicationDate":"2024-07-27","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":"0","resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":null,"PeriodicalName":"Energy Research & Social Science","FirstCategoryId":"96","ListUrlMain":"https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2214629624002913","RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"经济学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":null,"EPubDate":"","PubModel":"","JCR":"Q1","JCRName":"ENVIRONMENTAL STUDIES","Score":null,"Total":0}
引用次数: 0
Abstract
This article aims to examine the protection accorded to nuclear power plants in international law, based on the example of the Zaporizhzhya Nuclear Power Plant in the context of the current Russian aggression against Ukraine and the ensuing international armed conflict. The authors attempt to answer the question of the legality of the attacks against the Zaporizhzhya Nuclear Power Plant. The research methods used are institutional-legal analysis and, supplementarily, a critical literature analysis. The institutional-legal analysis focuses on the examination of international treaties like Additional Protocol I to the Geneva Conventions, which constitutes the main legal reference point in this article, as well as on other documents that may not be binding (such as resolutions adopted by the International Atomic Energy Agency's General Conference or the Board of Governors, as well as statements and reports of other International Atomic Energy Agency's and United Nations' bodies). The main conclusion is that Russian attacks against the Zaporizhzhya Nuclear Power Plant were and continue to be illegal on multiple fronts. While the legal regulations appear adequate and capable of meeting the challenge posed by Russian attacks and occupation of the Zaporizhzhya Nuclear Power Plant, the problem lies with the political will of Russia to respect these rules.
期刊介绍:
Energy Research & Social Science (ERSS) is a peer-reviewed international journal that publishes original research and review articles examining the relationship between energy systems and society. ERSS covers a range of topics revolving around the intersection of energy technologies, fuels, and resources on one side and social processes and influences - including communities of energy users, people affected by energy production, social institutions, customs, traditions, behaviors, and policies - on the other. Put another way, ERSS investigates the social system surrounding energy technology and hardware. ERSS is relevant for energy practitioners, researchers interested in the social aspects of energy production or use, and policymakers.
Energy Research & Social Science (ERSS) provides an interdisciplinary forum to discuss how social and technical issues related to energy production and consumption interact. Energy production, distribution, and consumption all have both technical and human components, and the latter involves the human causes and consequences of energy-related activities and processes as well as social structures that shape how people interact with energy systems. Energy analysis, therefore, needs to look beyond the dimensions of technology and economics to include these social and human elements.