The Government today launched legal proceedings against the UK under a UN maritime convention to shut down the Sellafield nuclear processing plant.
The case was launched before the Permanent Court of Arbitration in the Hague charging that the Sellafield complex in Cumbria threatens the ecology of the Irish Sea.
Led by Attorney General Rory Brady, the Government initiated the action against the UK under the UN Convention of the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) claiming that it has "violated numerous provisions" of the convention.
The action deals with radioactive discharges into the air and sea, and focuses on a controversial mixed oxide (MOX) nuclear waste retreatment plant at Sellafield.
Ireland claims the UK has not properly consulted them before giving the green light for the operation of the MOX plant. Ireland also claims the UK failed to carry out a proper environmental assessment of the MOX plant and associated transportation of radioactive materials through the Irish Sea.
Court officials said the hearings were expected to last three weeks, which both countries agreed to have heard at the Court after it was originally filed in October 2001 before the UNCLOS tribunal in Hamburg, Germany.
"It will be a full-blown action and I understand that the British side will be putting up a strong defence," the Minister for Communications, Marine and Natural Resources Mr Dermot Ahern told RTE radio this morning.
Mr Ahern said Irish concerns had been raised substantially because of the "less than convincing arguments" made by Sellafield in relation to protection of the complex against terrorist attack.
Britain said it would fight the case, claiming the MOX plant didnot generate any significant radioactive waste."The European Commission has made clear that the operation ofthe plant would not lead to any detrimental environmental impact onIreland, or indeed on any other member state of the European Union,"British Energy Minister Mr Brian Wilson said.
A legal expert following the case for the environmental organisation Greenpeace said the case is the first before international courts to deal with nuclear pollution and the dangers of transport. "It is a legal landmark for the simple reason that a small country is taking on a large country on nuclear matters," Mr Duncan Currie said.
He said the outcome of the case could affect other countries like France and Japan that also ship nuclear waste without consulting with other countries on the security arrangements.
AFP