Greenpeace to organise panel discussions on Nuclear Liability Rules Campus discussions planned in NLSIU Symbiosis and WBNUJS and other law schools

International organisation Greenpeace shall be conducting a series of panel discussion at various law schools across the country in the coming weeks. The theme of the panel discussion shall be the Civil Damages for Nuclear Liability Rules, 2011 (Rules)..Speaking to Bar & Bench, Nuclear Campaigner Janhavi Naidu said that they had selected law schools as a forum since they wanted to centre the discussion on “legal arguments”. “We wanted to introduce the liability debate in law schools….[we felt that] law students would be better equipped to take legal action” said Janhavi..With respect to the format of the discussions, Janhavi stated that it would essentially comprise of the panellists exchanging their views and allowing for student interaction. Janhavi also stated that the reason for holding these discussions now was the fact that the Rules would most likely be up for discussion in the Monsoon Session of Parliament. “We are trying to create an atmosphere which pushes for greater discussion”, notes Janhavi..The three law schools which have confirmed their participation are:.1. National Law School of India University, Bangalore (July 16, 2012).2. Symbiosis Law School, Pune (21 July, 2012).3. WB National University of Juridical Sciences, Kolkata ( July 25, 2012).Panellists at the NLSIU discussion will include environmental lawyer, Arpitha Kodiveri, and economist Vikas Kumar. The idea behind getting individuals from different fields was to ensure that the debate was not restricted to the legal field alone..When asked about Greenpeace’s own stand on the Rules, Janhavi clarified that the organisation is against the Rules which offer limited liability acting as a subsidy to the nuclear industry. Janhavi said, “We fought very hard for a stringent Nuclear Liability Act with quite a few landmark provisions, such as the inclusion of supplier liability. Now the Rules threaten these provisions. We therefore want the Rules to comply with the Act, instead of diluting it.”.However, she also said that the panel discussions were not meant to push a particular agenda. “There is no foregone conclusion here, we want students to come up with their own conclusions”, she said. And as for her expectations on the consequences of these exercise, Janhavi says that “If there is any action taken by the students, it will probably be a petition to the Law Minister. But if the students want to get more creative then, of course, we will support them in whatever way we can.”.Interested parties may contact Janhavi at janhavi.naidu@greenpeace.org.