International Control of the Uses of Nuclear Energy
| Published date | 01 December 1965 |
| Date | 01 December 1965 |
| DOI | http://doi.org/10.1177/002234336500200401 |
| Subject Matter | Articles |
INTERNATIONAL
CONTROL
OF
THE
USES
OF
NUCLEAR
ENERGY
By
MILAN
ŠAHOVI
C
Institute
of
International
Politics
and
Economy,
Beograd
I
It
has
often
been
emphasized
that
the
uses
of
nuclear
energy
call
for
new
methods
in
regulating
cooperation
among
states,
methods
more
appropriate
to
its
techno-
logical
character.
Einstein
is
often
cited
in
this
connection
as
having
said
that
the
dangers
of
destructive
power
of
nuclear
energy
are
so
vast
that
’a
new
way
of
thinking
is
necessary
if
we
want
to
survive’.1
The
British
experts
Webster,
Salter
and
Franks
(1948)
made
similar
statements
when,
having
discussed
the
problem
of
nuclear
energy
control
and
the
develop-
ment
of
international
organizations,
they
stated
that
’the
new
discovery
is
revo-
lutionary.
New
methods
are
needed
to
deal
with
it’.
And
as
a
solution
to
the
situ-
ation
in
which
’suspicion
and
fear
will
be
so
widespread
that
good
political
relations
will
be
impossible’,
due
to
the
uncontrolled
possession
of
nuclear
energy
on
the
part
of
individual
states,
they
proposed
the
estab-
lishment
of
a
special
organization
for
international
control.2
Hence,
the
problem
of
nuclear
energy
control
became
the
basic
issue
of
a
lengthy
discussion
which
continued
until
the
principle
of
interna-
tional
control
gradually
emerged
and
asserted
itself
in
a
clearer
form
in
the
light
of
practical
experience.
In
effect,
every
subsequent
proposal
concerning
cooperation
in
the
nuclear
field
which
is
debated
now,
takes
the
need
to
establish
international
controls
for
granted,
which
was
not
the
case
during
the
early
discussions
held
in
1946
in
the
United
Nations
Atomic
Energy
Commission.
It
is
well
known
that
the
Soviet
Union
at
that
time,
in
contrast
to
Western
powers,
failed
to
consider
this
control
a
vital
element
in
the
prohibition
of
nuclear
weapons
and
only
later
ac-
cepted
the
idea
of
the
creation
of
a
special
organization
for
armaments
control,
along
with
all
the
consequences
related
to
on-
the-spot
inspection.
This
method
of
con-
trol
has
also
been
accepted
in
principle
during
the
Geneva
talks
for
the
working
out
of
a
draft
agreement
concerning
a
nuclear
test
ban,
although
it
could
not
have
been
expressed
in
the
Moscow
Agree-
ment
on
the
Partial
Prohibition
of
Nuclear
Tests.
Since
similar
instances
can
be
found
in
a
number
of
bilateral
and
multilateral
agreements
on
cooperation
among
states
in
the
field
of
peaceful
uses
of
nuclear
energy,
the
international
character
of
this
control
reflects
one
of
the
principal
characteristics
of
the
novelties
which
the
existence
of
nuclear
energy
added
to
inter-
national
law.3
Due
to
the
unprecedently
great
dangers
that
might
arise
from
the
improper
uses
of
nuclear
energy,
some
countries,
in
the
interest
of
international
community,
gave
their
consent
to
the
idea
of
the
application
of
international
control
on
their
own
territory.
This
does
not
mean,
however,
that
solu-
tions
adopted
in
this
domain
were
uniform
in
all
cases
where
the
principle
of
inter-
national
control
was
accepted.
States
approached
the
organization
of
this
con-
trol
in
various
situations,
and
from
different
standpoints.
During
this
process
several
solutions
were
envisaged.
To
present
them
it
is
necessary
to
dwell
first
on
those
control
systems
that
were
adopted
in
the
field
of
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