A UN maritime court has denied Ireland's request to halt the opening of the MOX plant at Sellafield next month.
However, the court ordered Britain to produce further information about possible pollution from the MOX plant and report back by December 17th, three days before it goes into commission.
The Government had called for next month's commissioning of the MOX plant to be halted, saying it breached Ireland's rights under the 1982 United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea.
Ireland argued that the convention obliged Britain to reduce pollution in the Irish Sea and to share information with Ireland about the plant. Britain argued that it had no obligations to Ireland under the convention and that the UN tribunal had no jurisdiction over the case.
The International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea, which rules on disputes regarding the 1982 convention, yesterday said it did have jurisdiction over the MOX plant case. The plant, which will produce fuel pellets from spent nuclear waste, is already the subject of a full hearing under the 1982 convention scheduled for early next year.
Ireland argued that a judgment in Ireland's favour in that case would be worthless because once operational, the MOX plant would irrevocably damage Ireland's rights guaranteed by the convention.
In a unanimous decision, the 21-member tribunal rejected Ireland's request to halt the commissioning of the MOX plant ahead of a full hearing. The MOX plant, once operational, would not produce significant pollution in the months ahead of a full hearing, the tribunal found. It also pointed out that if next year's hearing calls for it, the MOX plant could be decommissioned, though at great cost. They also accepted Britain's undertaking that there would be no shipments of hazardous nuclear waste to the plant until next October.
The judges called on Britain and Ireland to "devise measures to prevent pollution of the marine environment which might result from the operation of the MOX plant". Significantly, the tribunal expects a joint report three days before the plant is scheduled to open on December 20th.
The Irish legal team described the judgment as "historic".
Ireland argued in the case that Britain had been withholding important information on the environmental impact of the plant as well as its commercial viability. "Now Britain has to share more information with us about the operation of the plant and agree to measures to stop polluting the Irish Sea," said a source close to the Irish delegation.
Judge Alberto Szekely, the Mexican ad-hoc judge appointed to the tribunal by Ireland, said he "reluctantly" agreed with the judgment despite the "insensitivity and incomprehension of the tribunal" towards Ireland's evidence.
In a separate opinion, he said the tribunal "resembled more a diplomatic exercise than a judicial one".
Yesterday's judgment was welcomed by Mr Joe Jacob, Minister of State with responsibility for nuclear safety.
"We will continue to prosecute our case with vigour and energy and commitment to ensure that the United Kingdom permanently ceases to pollute the Irish Sea," he said.
The Government is challenging the MOX plant under another international convention and is considering a case before the European Court of Justice.
