Nuclear Installations Act 1965

Right to compensation in respect of breach of duty U.K.

12 Right to compensation by virtue of ss. 7 to 10. U.K.

(1) Where any injury or damage has been caused in breach of a duty imposed by section 7, 8, 9 or 10 of this Act—

(a) subject to sections 13(1), (3) and (4), 15 and 17(1) of this Act, compensation in respect of that injury or damage shall be payable in accordance with section 16 of this Act wherever the injury or damage was incurred;

(b) subject to subsections (3) and (4) of this section and to section 21(2) of this Act, no other liability shall be incurred by any person in respect of that injury or damage.

(2) Subject to subsection (3) of this section, any injury or damage which, though not caused in breach of such a duty as aforesaid, is not reasonably separable from injury or damage so caused shall be deemed for the purposes of subsection (1) of this section to have been so caused.

(3) Where any injury or damage is caused partly in breach of such a duty as aforesaid and partly by an emission of ionising radiations which does not constitute such a breach, subsection (2) of this section shall not affect any liability of any person in respect of that emission apart from this Act, but a claimant shall not be entitled to recover compensation in respect of the same injury or damage both under this Act and otherwise than under this Act.

[F1 (3A) Subject to subsection (4) of this section, where damage to any property has been caused which was not caused in breach of a duty imposed by section 7, 8, 9 or 10 of this Act but which would have been caused in breach of such a duty if in subsection (1)(a) or (b) of the said section 7 the words ”other than the licensee’ or in subsection (1) of the said section 10 the words ”other than that operator’ had not been enacted, no liability which, apart from this subsection, would have been incurred by any person in respect of that damage shall be so incurred except—

(a) in pursuance of an agreement to incur liability in respect of such damage entered into in writing before the occurrence of the damage; or

(b) where the damage was caused by an act or omission of that person done with intent to cause injury or damage.]

(4) Subject to section 13(5) of this Act, nothing in subsection (1)(b) [F2 or in subsection (3A)] of this section shall affect—

(a) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . F3

(b) the operation of the M1 Carriage by Air Act 1932, the M2 Carriage by Air Act 1961 or the M3 Carriage by Air (Supplementary Provisions) Act 1962 in relation to any international carriage to which a convention referred to in the Act in question applies; or

(c) the operation of any Act which may be passed to give effect to the Convention on the Contract for the International Carriage of Goods by Road signed at Geneva on 19th May 1956.

Textual Amendments

F1 S. 12(3A) added by Nuclear Installations Act 1969 (c. 18), s. 1

F2 Words inserted by Nuclear Installations Act 1969 (c. 18), s. 1

F3 S. 12(4)(a) repealed by Carriage of Goods by Sea Act 1971 (c. 19), s. 6(3)(b)(5)

Marginal Citations

M1 1932 c. 36.

M2 1961 c. 27.

M3 1962 c. 43.

13 Exclusion, extension or reduction of compensation in certain cases. U.K.

(1) Subject to subsections (2) and (5) of this section, compensation shall not be payable under this Act in respect of injury or damage caused by a breach of a duty imposed by section 7, 8, 9 or 10 thereof if the injury or damage—

(a) was caused by such an occurrence as is mentioned in section 7(2)(b) or (c) or 10(2)(b) of this Act which is shown to have taken place wholly within the territorial limits of one, and one only, of the relevant territories other than the United Kingdom; or

(b) was incurred within the territorial limits of a country which is not a relevant territory.

(2) In the case of a breach of a duty imposed by section 7, 8 or 9 of this Act, subsection (1)(b) of this section shall not apply to injury or damage incurred by, or by persons or property on, a ship or aircraft registered in the United Kingdom.

(3) Compensation shall not be payable under this Act in respect of injury or damage caused by a breach of a duty imposed by section 10 of this Act in respect of such carriage as is referred to in subsection (1)(a)(ii) of that section unless the agreement so referred to was expressed in writing.

(4) The duty imposed by section 7, 8, 9, 10 or 11 of this Act—

(a) shall not impose any liability on the person subject to that duty with respect to injury or damage caused by an occurrence which constitutes a breach of that duty if the occurrence, or the causing thereby of the injury or damage, is attributable to hostile action in the course of any armed conflict, including any armed conflict within the United Kingdom; but

(b) shall impose such a liability where the occurrence, or the causing thereby of the injury or damage, is attributable to a natural disaster, notwithstanding that the disaster is of such an exceptional character that it could not reasonably have been foreseen.

(5) Where, in the case of an occurrence which constitutes a breach of a duty imposed by section 7, 8, 9 or 10 of this Act, a person other than the person subject to that duty makes any payment in respect of injury or damage caused by that occurrence and—

(a) the payment is made in pursuance of any of the international conventions referred to in the Acts mentioned in section 12(4) of this Act; or

(b) the occurrence took place [F4 or the injury or damage was incurred] within the territorial limits of a country which is not a relevant territory, and the payment is made by virtue of a law of that country and by a person who has his principal place of business in a relevant territory or is acting on behalf of such a person,

the person making the payment may make the like claim under this Act for compensation of the like amount, if any, [F5 (subject to subsection (5A) of this section)], as would have been available to him if—

(i) the injury in question had been suffered by him or, as the case may be, the property suffering the damage in question had been his; and

(ii) subsection (1) of this section had not been passed.

[F6 (5A) The amount that a person may claim by virtue of subsection (5) of this section shall not exceed the amount of the payment made by him and, in the case of a claim made by virtue of paragraph (b) of that subsection, shall not exceed the amount applicable under section 16(1) or (2) of this Act to the person subject to the duty in question.]

(6) The amount of compensation payable to or in respect of any person under this Act in respect of any injury or damage caused in breach of a duty imposed by section 7, 8, 9 or 10 of this Act may be reduced by reason of the fault of that person if, but only if, and to the extent that, the causing of that injury or damage is attributable to any act of that person committed with the intention of causing harm to any person or property or with reckless disregard for the consequences of his act.

Textual Amendments

F4 Words inserted by Nuclear Installations Act 1969 (c. 18), s. 3

F5 Words substituted by Energy Act 1983 (c. 25, SIF 44:1), s. 27(3)

F6 S. 13(5A) inserted by Energy Act 1983 (c. 25, SIF 44:1), s. 27(3)

Modifications etc. (not altering text)

C1 S. 13(6) modified (E.W.)(N.I.) by Congenital Disabilities (Civil Liability) Act 1976 (c. 28), s. 3(4)

14 Protection for ships and aircraft. U.K.

(1) A claim under this Act in respect of any occurrence such as is mentioned in section 7(2)(b) or (c), 10 or 11 of this Act which constitutes a breach of a person’s duty under section 7, 8, 9, 10 or 11 of this Act shall not give rise to any lien or other right in respect of any ship or aircraft; and the following provisions of the M4 Administration of Justice Act 1956 (which relate to the bringing of actions in rem against ships or aircraft in England and Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland respectively), that is to say—

(a) section 3(3) and (4);

(b) section 47; and

(c) paragraph 3(3) and (4) of Part I of Schedule 1,

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . F7 , shall not apply to that claim.

(2) Subsection (1) of this section shall have effect in relation to any claim notwithstanding that by reason of section 16 of this Act no payment for the time being falls to be made in satisfaction of the claim.

Textual Amendments

F7 Words repealed by Merchant Shipping Act 1979 (c. 39, SIF 111), ss. 50(4), Sch. 7 Pt. 1

Marginal Citations

M4 1956 c. 46.