Legal Protection for Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant: Matters for Nuclear Installations Everywhere

The document examines the precarious situation at the Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant (ZNPP) in Ukraine, highlighting risks such as loss of offsite power and cooling water. It analyzes the existing legal protections provided by customary international law, the Geneva Conventions, and the Pelindaba Treaty, arguing that while legal norms exist, they are often undermined by political considerations and a lack of enforcement. The author concludes that strengthening existing frameworks and accountability is more critical than creating new conventions.

• The Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant (ZNPP) has faced multiple security threats since March 2022, including the stationing of Russian military equipment in turbine halls, shelling of the nitrogen-oxygen station, and damage to offsite power supplies and reactor buildings.
• The most immediate risk to ZNPP is the failure of external power supplies, which are essential for cooling shutdown reactors and removing decay heat to prevent the reactor from carrying out its own destruction.
• The destruction of the Kakhovka Dam on 6 June 2023 significantly lowered water levels in the reservoir used by ZNPP for cooling, creating a new risk that is currently being mitigated by using a discharge channel from the nearby Zaporizhzhya Thermal Power Plant.
• Nuclear installations are protected under customary international law and the Geneva Conventions, which prohibit attacks on works containing 'dangerous forces' if such attacks may cause severe losses among the civilian population.
• The Pelindaba Treaty is the only binding multilateral treaty that specifically prohibits armed attacks on nuclear installations, applying to the African Nuclear-Weapon-Free Zone.
• Existing legal protections are often bypassed due to political objectives or vague terminology, such as the ambiguity of what constitutes a risk of 'release of dangerous forces', which can be exploited by states to justify military operations.
• The author argues against creating new international conventions to protect nuclear sites, suggesting instead that existing legal frameworks should be strengthened and enforcement and accountability measures upscaled.

APA

Bosman, I. (2023). Legal Protection for Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant: Matters for Nuclear Installations Everywhere. South African Institute of International Affairs. https://saiia.org.za/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/SAIIA_PB-281_LegalProtectionZNPP.pdf

Chicago

Bosman, Isabel. Legal Protection for Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant: Matters for Nuclear Installations Everywhere. South African Institute of International Affairs, 2023. https://saiia.org.za/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/SAIIA_PB-281_LegalProtectionZNPP.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |last1=Bosman |first1=Isabel |title=Legal Protection for Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant: Matters for Nuclear Installations Everywhere |publisher=South African Institute of International Affairs |date=October 2023 |url=https://saiia.org.za/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/SAIIA_PB-281_LegalProtectionZNPP.pdf |access-date=23 October 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{bosman2023legal, author = {Bosman, Isabel}, title = {{Legal Protection for Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant: Matters for Nuclear Installations Everywhere}}, institution = {South African Institute of International Affairs}, year = {2023}, month = oct, url = {https://saiia.org.za/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/SAIIA_PB-281_LegalProtectionZNPP.pdf}, urldate = {2026-10-23}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }