Researchers' Activities

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This seminar was held at the S. Rajaratnam School of International Studies, Nanyang Technological University on Friday, 7 June 2024.

She was part of a panel on “Developing International Norms Addressing the Disposal of Nuclear Waste and Nuclear Governance at the International and Domestic Levels” where she gave a presentation on “Nuclear Governance and the Discharge of ALPs-treated Water from the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Station”.

This event was co-organised by the Centre for Strategic Energy & Resources, an independent think-and-do tank and non-profit organisation that seeks to provide thought leadership on issues related to energy transition and sustainability. Denise presented as part of the session on “Global Perspectives on nuclear energy and its implications for Asia Pacific”.

They participated remotely in this three-day hybrid meeting which was held in Geneva, Switzerland from 19 to 21 December 2022.

The dialogue brought together a select group of experts to discuss ways for states to implement their responsibilities in relation to nuclear weapons and/or radioactive materials in the maritime domain in the name of confidence building and risk reduction. The dialogue was guided by the BASIC-ICCS Nuclear Responsibilities Framework.

Nivedita presented as part of Working Group 3 on nuclear safety and regulation’s panel on international trade impacts. Her presentation was entitled “Governing the Dicephalus Beast – the Tale of Transportable Nuclear Power Plant” was co-authored with Senior Fellow Denise Cheong. Drawing on the research undertaken by the CIL Team, her presentation shared initial findings on legal and institutional issues relating to the governance of floating nuclear power plants (FNPPs), focusing primarily on the governance frameworks of both the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) and the International Maritime Organisation (IMO).

Head of Nuclear Law and Policy, Denise Cheong was invited to participate in the first-ever “International Conference on Nuclear Law: The Global Debate” organised by the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) from 25 to 29 April 2022 in Vienna, Austria. She presented as part of the roundtable titled “The Role of Nuclear Law in the Broader Context of Other Areas of Law”.

Drawing on her research experience, Denise’s presentation focused on how nuclear law could be conceptualised and what implications this may have on current approaches to higher education research and the requisite learning and skills for developing capacity within the research domain. Her presentation began with observations on the state of play within the research domain then focused on nuclear law at the international level, reflecting on its role, nature and ambit, given the realities of (i) “boundary interactions” with other branches of international law, and (ii) institutional “law making”.

Key takeaways from her presentation included: First, the need for a holistic conceptualisation of nuclear law in order to promote its objective of providing a legal framework that would adequately protect individuals, property and the environment. This should include nuclear law provisions in other areas of law as well as both hard and soft law. Second, nuclear law researchers, as part of broader research community, have an important part to play in helping to “discover” the breadth & depth of nuclear law and more research collaboration is needed to advance the objective of nuclear law, in light of the increasingly complex and multidisciplinary issues that nuclear law is being called on to address. Third, new learning, skills and support are needed to help nuclear law research fulfil this role effectively.

Further details of this conference are available on the IAEA’s conference page and programme.