The position of national nuclear regulatory authorities according to international law and the Nuclear Regulatory Authority of Turkey

The concepts of nuclear safeguards, nuclear security and nuclear safety, which constitute the basic principles of peaceful, healthy and sustainable production of nuclear energy and the utilization of this energy, are found in both international and national law. While international law draws a framework for the regulation and supervision of this field, states also establish their own regulatory and supervisory institutions at the national level by enacting their own regulations for nuclear facilities and activities within their territory. The Turkish Atomic Energy Agency (TAEK) was the nuclear regulatory and supervisory authority for many years in Turkey. With the Decree Law No. 702 issued in 2018, a new institution, the Nuclear Regulatory Authority (NDK), was established, and the regulatory and supervisory powers, duties and responsibilities under TAEK's mandate were transferred to the NDK. In this study, basic concepts of nuclear energy will firstly be explained along with its historical institutional development and relevant international legal instruments and then afterwards, the position of and the necessary conditions required from national nuclear regulatory authorities will be discussed within the scope of Convention on Nuclear Safety, Joint Convention, International Atomic Energy Agency instruments and Euratom Directives. Secondly, the legal and regulatory nuclear energy frameworks of Switzerland and Turkey will be analysed in detail. Finally, NDK will be evaluated in the context of the Swiss model and related international legal instruments. Keywords: International Atomic Energy Agency, Nuclear Regulatory Authority, nuclear safety, nuclear security, nuclear safeguards