The unbearable lightness of nuclear jurisprudence

摘要

The nature of nuclear law as a peculiar legal discipline has been discussed in academic scholarship since the early 1960s. A special system of principles has emerged in this field, which clearly distinguishes nuclear law from other areas of law. At the same time, there is a tacit consensus in legal academia that nuclear law represents a special (sub)discipline of energy law. Reflecting the current debate, discussing (a claimed) 'immaturity' of energy law, this contribution argues that energy law is obviously composed of several (sub)disciplines which are in various stages of development and different degrees of academic recognition. Thus, this article argues that rather than perceiving energy law as a coherent discipline, we must consider it an amalgam of various (sub)disciplines governing different sources of energy.