Professional Forum “What Is Nuclear Law?” Held at the University of Belgrade Faculty of Law
The forum presented nuclear law as an interdisciplinary field connecting safety and security, environmental protection, criminal liability and compensation for nuclear damage.
On 25 October 2024, the University of Belgrade Faculty of Law and the Serbian Radiation and Nuclear Safety and Security Directorate organised the professional forum “What Is Nuclear Law?” at the Faculty. The event brought together experts, government officials, law students and security studies students to exchange knowledge on the foundations of this specialised legal discipline and its importance for future energy and regulatory challenges.
Directorate representatives Tihomir Hrnjak, Katarina Žarković, Jasmina Milovanović and Vladimir Janjić introduced the concept of nuclear law and its principal elements and objectives. Their presentations placed the national regulatory framework and the Directorate’s role within the context of possible future uses of nuclear energy, institutional capacity-building and compliance with international safety and security standards.
In the academic part of the programme, Prof. Dr Milan Škulić analysed the principal criminal-law aspects of environmental protection and public safety in the context of nuclear energy. Prof. Dr Mirjana Drenovak-Ivanović emphasised the importance of high environmental-protection standards as an integral part of nuclear law, while Prof. Dr Marko Jovanović presented the private international-law aspects of nuclear damage.
The forum’s interdisciplinary structure demonstrated that nuclear law cannot be reduced to technical questions. It encompasses risk prevention and assessment, protection of people and the environment, liability for damage, transboundary consequences and the establishment of effective institutional and procedural mechanisms.
The conclusions emphasised the need to connect science, law and practice and to develop and present nuclear law further in educational programmes and legal regulation. Cooperation with the Directorate and the experience presented at the forum contributed to the professional environment in which the new master’s course in Nuclear Law was prepared for the next accreditation cycle on the basis of teaching and research materials developed during JMC EECL.
