Strengthening the National Nuclear Legal Framework of the State of Qatar

The State of Qatar is in the process of strengthening its national nuclear legal framework established under the Radiation Protection Law No. 31 of 2002 and the National System for Account and Control of Nuclear Material Law No. 3 of 2018. In this context, the State of Qatar requested an IAEA Legislative Assistance Mission to the country.

The IAEA met with the drafting team from the Department of Radiation Protection of the Ministry of Environment and Climate Change in Doha from 29 April to 1 May 2024. The aim of the three-day meeting was to conduct a comprehensive review of Qatar's draft legislation as well as to inform about the elements of an adequate and comprehensive national nuclear law covering all areas of nuclear law for the safe, secure and peaceful use of nuclear energy and ionizing radiation.

The discussion focused on the different areas of nuclear law namely nuclear safety including the importance of adhering to the Joint Convention on the Safety of Spent Fuel Management and on the Safety of Radioactive Waste Management, security, safeguards and civil liability for nuclear damage including the Convention on Supplementary Compensation for Nuclear Damage of 1997 and the Protocol to Amend the Vienna Convention on Civil Liability for Nuclear Damage of 1997.

“The IAEA provided meaningful inputs which are extremely beneficial and will help us strengthening our national nuclear legal framework” said Abdulrahman Y. Al-Abduljabbar, Director of the Radiation Protection Department of the Ministry of Environment and Climate Change.

Furthermore, a bilateral meeting also gathered the representatives from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Civil Defence, the Ministry of Defence, the Ministry of Health and the Ministry of Environment and Climate Change.

This event was carried out within the framework of the IAEA Legislative Assistance Programme under the Interregional Technical Cooperation project for legislative assistance.