CONSTITUTIONAL PROVISIONS - PEACEFUL USE OF NUCLEAR-ENERGY AND MANAGEMENT OF RADIOACTIVE-WASTE

In its ruling of July 12, 1993, the German Federal Administrative Cour t decided on the lawfulness of the Emsland Nuclear Power Station and, in this process, also dealt with the question whether the peaceful uti lization of nuclear power must be criticized under constitutional aspe cts because of the current absence of a repository for radioactive was te. The court assumes that legislators should be able to have confiden ce in the problem of waste management safety being solved. For the con stitutional permissibility of the peaceful utilization of nuclear powe r it was sufficient, under the aspect of waste management safety, that work was being done in the exploration and construction of repositori es for radioactive waste. This court ruling provokes a more detailed e xamination of the provisions in the constitution about matters of radi oactive waste disposal. In this context, it must be borne in mind that statements in the constitution about the permissibility of the peacef ul utilization of nuclear power with constitutional objections based o n the aspect of waste management safety.