International Convention for the Suppression of Acts of Nuclear Terrorism

The 2005 United Nations International Convention for the Suppression of Acts of Nuclear Terrorism (Nuclear Terrorism Convention) is a multilateral treaty

Treaty

A treaty is an express agreement under international law entered into by actors in international law, namely sovereign states and international organizations. A treaty may also be known as an agreement, protocol, covenant, convention or exchange of letters, among other terms...

open to the ratification

Ratification

Ratification is a principal's approval of an act of its agent where the agent lacked authority to legally bind the principal. The term applies to private contract law, international treaties, and constitutionals in federations such as the United States and Canada.- Private law :In contract law, the...

of all states designed to criminalize acts of nuclear terrorism

Nuclear terrorism

Nuclear terrorism denotes the use, or threat of the use, of nuclear weapons or radiological weapons in acts of terrorism, includingattacks against facilities where radioactive materials are present...

and to promote police and judicial cooperation to prevent, investigate and punish those acts.

It covers a broad range of acts and possible targets, including nuclear power plants and nuclear reactors; covers threat

Coercion

Coercion is the practice of forcing another party to behave in an involuntary manner by use of threats or intimidation or some other form of pressure or force. In law, coercion is codified as the duress crime. Such actions are used as leverage, to force the victim to act in the desired way...

s and attempt

Attempt

Attempt was originally an offence under the common law of England.Attempt crimes are crimes where the defendant's actions have the form of the actual enaction of the crime itself: the actions must go beyond mere preparation....

s to commit such crime

Crime

Crime is the breach of rules or laws for which some governing authority can ultimately prescribe a conviction...

s or to participate in them, as an accomplice

Accomplice

At law, an accomplice is a person who actively participates in the commission of a crime, even though they take no part in the actual criminal offense. For example, in a bank robbery, the person who points the gun at the teller and asks for the money is guilty of armed robbery...

; stipulates that offenders shall be either extradited or prosecuted; encourages States to cooperate in preventing terrorist attacks by sharing information and assisting each other in connection with criminal investigations and extradition proceedings; and, deals with both crisis situations, assisting States to solve the situations and post-crisis situations by rendering nuclear material safe through the International Atomic Energy Agency

International Atomic Energy Agency

The International Atomic Energy Agency is an international organization that seeks to promote the peaceful use of nuclear energy, and to inhibit its use for any military purpose, including nuclear weapons. The IAEA was established as an autonomous organization on 29 July 1957...

(IAEA).

Definition of the crime of nuclear terrorism

Article 2 of the convention defines the offence of Nuclear terrorism as follows:
At the same time, article 4 expressly excludes the application of the convention to the use of nuclear devices during armed conflicts, without recognizing though the legality of the use of nuclear weapons:

Definition of the crime of nuclear terrorism

See also

Further reading