Abstract
In this thesis, only the highest, what we called “disastrous nuclear accident,” grade 7 accident, just like the Chernobyl accident occurred on April 26, 1986, at the Chernobyl nuclear power plant (originally named after Vladimir Lenin) in Ukraine is concerned in our legal issue discussions. We firstly imagine that if the same accident happens to Taiwan, how well our legal support will be to minimize the loss of lives as well as properties for government’s first-time response according the principle of “rule by law,” to mitigate the impact caused by tremendous scale of mobilization and evacuations. Secondly, we discuss all legal issues of the penalties and liabilities put on the persons and organizations who should be responsible on the disasters. Because the claim of “non-nuclear homeland” is still in controversial state at Taiwan, our discussions will be started at which the “Environment Right” of people referred as the state’s protection obligations instead of Constitutional Right. We will discuss possible legal issues encountered at different stages of disastrous nuclear accident according to public and private substansive and litigation laws based on the type of damages. Part I of this thesis will describe the accident at the Chernobyl nuclear power plant and its environmental pollution consequences. In particular, it will address the lack of reasoning on decision makings caused by social psychological impacts. In Part II, the thesis examines problems with the legal remedies currently available. Part III of the thesis contains proposals to effectuating legal protection for private victims of radiation pollution caused by domestic or transboundary nuclear accidents.