THE PHASE-OUT OF NUCLEAR POWER IN GERMANY
Keywords:
nuclear power, Atomic Energy Act Germany, Fukushima power plant accident, German nuclear phase-out decision
Abstract
Over the past 20 years, political attitudes in Germany towards the nuclear industry have been characterised less by consistency than by some major policy shifts, and the same can be said for the legislation that emerged from these attitudes. Although a number of these about-turns were predictable, others were less so because of their dependence on external factors.
What now looks likely to be the final1 decision to phase out the civil use of nuclear power in Germany by 31 December 20222 raises a whole host of legal questions. In particular, the procedure followed to implement this phase-out provides ample material for debates on questions of constitutionality. Further matters of jurisprudential interest include the agreements concluded with the nuclear industry before the final phase-out decision was taken and the chronologically close political about-face themselves. Finally, a degree of legal uncertainty still surrounds not only the as-yet still unresolved issue of final repositories but also the resurgent debate over the source of funding for the dismantling of nuclear power plants. After providing an overview of the initial situation and the problems arising in connection with Germany’s phasing out of the civil use of nuclear energy, this paper will place these issues in their proper legal context before evaluating them and highlighting the connection between these points of nuclear law and the current upheaval in German energy policy.
References
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Becker, P. (2011), supra note 3, p. 742; Radkau, J. (1983), supra note 3, p. 18 et seq.
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De Witt, S. (2012). Ist der Atomausstieg 2011 mit Artikel 14 GG vereinbar? [Is the 2011 nuclear phase-out compatible with GG Article 14?]. Munich: Umwelt und Planungsrecht (UPR), Verlagsgruppe Hüthig Jehle Rehm [in German]; for a detailed examination of whether residual electricity volumes from new power stations can be transferred to old power stations in order to extend their lifespans, see Mann, T. (2009). Rechtsfragen der Elektrizitätsmengenübertragung nach § 7 Abp. 1b Satz 2 Atomgesetz [Legal issues relating to the transfer of electrical volumes pursuant to section 7(1b) sentence 2 of the Atomic Energy Act]. Baden-Baden: Nomos-Verlag [in German].
Kloepfer, M. and D. Bruch (2011). Die Laufzeitverlängerung im Atomrecht zwischen Gesetz und Vertrag” [Lifespan extensions under the Nuclear Act – between law and contract]. Tübingen : Mohr Siebeck Verlag [in German].
Federal Government (2010). Energiekonzept für eine umweltschonende, zuverlässige und bezahlbare Energieversorgung [Energy Concept for an Environmentally Friendly, Reliable and Affordable Energy Supply]. bundesregierung.de. Retrieved from: www.bundesregierung.de/ContentArchiv/DE/Archiv17/_Anlagen/2012/02/energiekonzept-final.pdf [in German]; see also Fillbrandt, M. and M. Paul (2012), supra note 10, recital 11 [in German].
Elftes Änderungsgesetz vom 8. Dezember 2010 [Eleventh Amending Act of 8 December 2010]. BGBl 2010 I, p. 1814 [in German]; Bundestags-Drucksache (BT-Drs.) [Bundestag document] 17/3051, p. 1 [in German]; Energy Concept for an Environmentally Friendly, Reliable and Affordable Energy Supply (2010), supra note 13, p. 18.
Development Funds Agreement between the Federal Republic of Germany and the nuclear power plant operators and their group parent companies in Germany, dated 6 September 2010.
The Act on the Creation of a Special Energy and Climate Fund of 8 December [Das Gesetz zur Schaffung eines besonderen Energie – und Klimafonds vom 8. Dezember 2010]. BGBl 2010 I, p. 1807, later amended by Article 1 of the Act of 29 July 2011, BGBl 2011 I, p. 1702 [in German].
Nuclear Fuel Tax Act of 8 December 2010 [Kernbrennstoffsteuergesetz ab 8. December 2010], BGBl 2010 I, p. 1804 [in German].
Twelfth Amending Act of 8 December 2010 – Zwölftes Änderungsgesetz vom 8. Dezember 2010, BGBl 2010 I, p. 1818 [in German].
Kloepfer, M. (2012). Verfahrene Atomausstiegsverfahren [A deadlocked nuclear phaseout]. Minich: Verlagsgruppe Hüthig Jehle Rehm [in German]; Sauer, H. (2004). Kooperierende Rechtssetzung – Reaktionen einer herausgeforderten Verfassung [Co-operative law-making – the responses of a constitution under attack]. Berlin : Duncker & Humblot [in German].
Schorkopf, F. (2000). Die ‘vereinbarte’ Novellierung des Atomgesetzes [The “pre-agreed” Amendment to the Atomic Energy Act]. Munich : Verlag C. H. Beck [in German].
Morlok, M. (2003). Informalisierung und Entparlamentarisierung politischer Entscheidungen als Gefährdung der Verfassung? [The informalisation and deparliamentarisation of political decisions as a threat to the constitution?]. Berlin: De Gruyter Recht [in German]; Sauer, H. (2004), supra note 21, p. 572.
Schorkopf, F. (2000), supra note 22, 1112; Hellfahrt (2003), supra note 3, p. 102; Schoch, F. (2005). Entformalisierung staatlichen Handelns” [The deformalisation of state action]: Handbuch des Staatsrechts [Handbook of Constitutional Law] / Isensee, J. and P. Kirchhof. Heidelberg : F. Müller Verlag [in German]; for a different view, see Frenz, W. (2002). Atomkonsens und Landesvollzugskompetenz [Nuclear consensus and the federal states’ enforcement competencies]. NVwZ Vol. 21, p. 562 [in German], which refers to a binding obligation on the grounds of the detail and accuracy of the agreement, the way it was presented to the public and the political confidence established on this basis.
Langenfeld, C. (2000). Die rechtlichen Rahmenbedingungen für einen Ausstieg aus der friedlichen Nutzung der Kernenergie [The legal framework for a phase-out of the peaceful use of nuclear power]. Die öffentliche Verwaltung (DÖV). Vol. 53, p. 936 [in German]; Schorkopf F. (2000), supra note 22, p. 1112.
Motion for a resolution by the CDU/CSU and FDP coalition of 16 March 2011 [Beschlussantrag der Koalition CDU / CSU und FDP vom 16. März 2011]. BT-Drs. 17/5048, p. 2 [in German].
Draft of the 13th Act Amending the Atomic Energy Act [Entwurf des 13. Gesetzes zur Änderung des Atomgesetzes]. BT-Drs. 17/6070, p. 5 [in German]; Ziehm, C. (2012). Atomausstieg und Energiewende [The Nuclear Act and the Energy Revolution]. ZNER. Vol. 16. P. 221 [in German].
13th Act Amending the Atomic Energy Act of 31 July 2011 [13. Gesetz zur Änderung des Atomgesetzes vom 31. Juli 2011]. BGBl. 2011. I. P. 1704 [in German].
Draft law by the CDU/CSU and FDP groups [Gesetzesentwurf der CDU / CSU- und FDPGruppen]. BT-Drs. 17/6070, p. 5 [in German].
54% of those questioned in the same survey believed that a phase-out by 2022 was a good idea, and 27% wanted the date to be even earlier. Retrieved from: www.tagesschau.de/inland/deutschlandtrend1342.html.
Final report of the Ethics Committee, A Safe Energy Supply, p. 18 et seq.; BT-Drs.17/6070, supra note 28, p. 5.
The rulings of the Higher Administrative Court of Kassel of 27 February 2013 [Die Urteile des Oberverwaltungsgerichtshof Kassel 27. Februar 2013] – 6 C 824/11 and 6 C 825/11. Zeitschrift für Umweltrecht (ZUR). 2013, 367 et seq. in the actions brought by RWE AG (as operator of the switched-off nuclear power plants Biblis A and B) against the Federal State of Hessen. See also the interim judgment of the Higher Administrative Court of Kassel of 4 July 2012 – 6 C 824/11.T, ZUR 2012, 632 et seq [in German].
Federal Administrative Court [BVerwG], ruling of 20 December 2013 – 7 B 18.13, ZUR 2014, p. 236 et seq [in German].
We will suspend the recently adopted lifespan extensions for German nuclear power plants. This is a moratorium, and it will last for three months. [Wir werden die kürzlich verabschiedeten Verlängerungen der Lebensdauer deutscher Kernkraftwerke aussetzen. Dies ist ein Moratorium, das drei Monate dauern wird]. bundeskanzlerin.de. Retrieved from: www.bundeskanzlerin.de/nn_683698/Content/DE/Mitschrift/Pressekonferenzen/2011/03/2011-03-14bkin-lagejapanatomkraftwerke.html [in German].
Kloepfer, M. (2012), supra note 21, p. 45; Kloepfer, M. and D. Bruch (2011), supra note 12, p. 378.
Kloepfer, M. (2012), supra note 21, p. 45; Rebentisch, M. (2011), supra note 40, p. 536.
Ewer, W. and A. Behnsen (2011), supra note 40, p. 1183; Kloepfer, M. (2012), supra note 21, p. 45.
Huster, S. and J. Rux (2013). Grundgesetz Kommentar [Commentary on the Basic Law]: in Epping, V. and C. Hillgruber. Munich: C. H. Beck Verlag, [in German]; Sachs, M. (2011). Grundgesetz Kommentar [Commentary on the Basic Law]: in Sachs. Munich: C. H. Beck Verlag [in German]; Ewer, W. and A. Behnsen (2011), supra note 40, p. 1183.
Kloepfer, M. and D. Bruch (2011), supra note 12, p. 386; Papier, H. J., Die Zeit dated 17 March 2011.
This is a regulatory measure. This is not a deal, this is not an agreement, this is nothing of the sort. This is the application of the Atomic Energy Act in a new context.” Schmale, H. (17 March 2011), Die Atomwendekanzlerin – Kein Mangel an Chuzpe [The nuclear revolution Chancellor – no shortage of chutzpah], FR-Online. Retrieved from: www.fr-online.de/politik/dieatomwende-kanzlerin-kein-mangel-an-chuzpe.1472596,8238158.html [in German].
VGH Kassel, supra note 38, p. 369.
Schoch, F. (2008). Besonderes Verwaltungsrecht [Special administrative law]: in Schmidt- Aßmann, E. and F. Schoch. Berlin: De Gruyter Recht [in German]; Mann, T. 2012. Besonderes Verwaltungsrecht [Special Administrative Law]: in Tetinger, P.J., W. Erbguth, and T. Mann. Heidelberg : C. F. Müller Verlag[in German].
Federal Administrative Court, judgment of 19 December 1985 – 7 C 65.82 – Amtliche Entscheidungssammlung [Reports of Judgments and Decisions] (BVerwGE), Vol. 72, p. 300 [in German]; Schoch, F. (2008), supra note 51, chapter 2, recital 95; Mann, T. (2012), supra note 51, recital 478; Rebentisch, M. (2011), supra note 40, p. 534; in the same vein, see also the grounds put forward by the competent Federal Minister for the Environment and Reactor Safety on 18 March 2011, who regarded “the abstract prevention of risks and the mere suspicion of risk” as sufficient to establish that the requirements set out in AtG section 19(3) have been met.
VGH Kassel, supra note 38, p. 371; Kloepfer, M. and D. Bruch, supra note 12, p. 386.
Federal Constitutional Court, ruling of 8 August 1978 – 2 BvL 8/77 – Amtliche
Entscheidungssammlung [Reports of Judgments and Decisions] (BVerfGE), Vol. 49, p. 89 (142 f.) [in German].
BVerfGE, ruling of 5 April 1989 – 7 B 47/89, NVwZ 1989, p. 1170; VGH Kassel, supra note 38, p. 371.
VGH Kassel, supra note 38, p. 373.
VGH Kassel, supra note 38, p. 373; Battis, U. and M. Ruttloff (2013). Vom Moratorium zur Energiewende – und wieder zurück [From the moratorium to the energy revolution – and back again]. NVwZ. Vol. 32 p. 819 [in German].
See VGH Kassel, supra note 38, p. 373.
Rebentisch, M. (2011), supra note 40, p. 535; Battis, U. and M. Ruttloff (2013), supra note 57, p. 819.
VGH Kassel, supra note 38, p. 374.
Mann, T. (2009), supra note 11, p. 17 et seq.
In this respect, see also Schneehain, A.W. (2005), supra note 10; Di Fabio, U. (1999), supra note 3; Hellfahrt, D. (2003), supra note 3; Langenfeld, C. (2000), supra note 25; Koch H. J. (2000). Der Atomausstieg und der verfassungsrechtliche Schutz des Eigentums [The nuclear phase-out and the constitutional protection of property]. Neue Juristische Wochenschrift [NJW] – New legal weekly. Vol. 53, Verlag C. H. Beck, Munich, p. 1529 et seq. [in German]; Kruis, K. (2000). Der gesetzliche Ausstieg aus der Atomwirtschaft und das Gemeinwohl” [The legislative phasing out of the nuclear industry and the common good]. Gologne: Carl Heymanns Verlag [in German]; Rebentisch, M. (2002). Rechtliche Zweifelsfragen der gesetzlichen Beendigung der Kernenergienutzung durch Strommengenregelungen [Legal questions regarding the statutory discontinuation of the use of nuclear power on the basis of residual electricity volume regulations]. Festschrift für Jürgen F. Baur, Nomos Verlag, Baden-Baden, p. 623 et seq.’[in German]; Wagner, H. (2001). Atomkompromiss und Atomausstiegsgesetz [Nuclear compromise and the Nuclear Phase-Out Act]. NVwZ. Vol. 20, Verlag C. H. Beck, Munich, p. 1089 et seq. [in German].
Mann/Sieven, Verwaltungsarchiv [Administrative archive]. 106 (2015), p. 184 et seq. [in German].
Case numbers 1 BvR 2821/11 (E.ON), 1 BvR 321/12 (RWE) and 1 BvR1 456/12 (Vattenfall) [in German].
Ziehm, C. (2012), supra note 28, p. 225.
Energy Charter Treaty (1994), 2080 UNTS 95. Buntenbroich, D. and M. Kaul (2014). Transparenz in Investitionsschiedsverfahren – Der Fall Vattenfall und die UNCITRALTransparenzregeln [Transparency in investment arbitration proceedings – the Vattenfall case and the UNCITRAL transparency rules], Zeitschrift für Schiedsverfahren (SchiedsVZ) – Arbitration Journal. Vol. 12, p. 2 [in German].
Buntenbroich, D. and M. Kaul (2014), supra note 157, p. 2.
Winter, G. (2013). The Rise and the Fall of Nuclear Energy Use in Germany: Processes, Explanations and the Role of Law [Der Aufstieg und Fall der Kernenergienutzung in Deutschland: Prozesse, Erklärungen und die Rolle des Rechts]. Journal of Environmental Law – Zeitschrift für Umweltrecht, Oxford University Press, Oxford, Vol. 25, p. 117 et seq. [in German]; Buntenbroich, D. and M. Kaul (2014), supra note 157, p. 2.
VGH Kassel, supra note 38, p. 634.
Hessischer VGH zu Kernkraftwerk Biblis Abschalten war rechtswidrig (27 February 2013) [Hessian VGH on Biblis nuclear power plant shutdown was illegal (27. Februar 2013]. Legal Tribune Online – Legal Tribune Online. Retrieved from: www.lto.de/recht/nachrichten/n/hessischer-vgh-urteil-6-c-824-11-t-biblis-atomkraftwerk-abschaltung-rechtswidrig/ [in German].
Eon fordert Schadenersatz für Atom-Moratorium (15 April 2014) [Eon damage compensation for nuclear moratorium (15. April 2014)]. Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung (FAZ) – Frankfurt General Journal. Retrieved from: www.faz.net/aktuell/wirtschaft/wirtschaftspolitik/eon-fordert-schadenersatz-fuer-atom-moratorium-nach-fukushima-12897078.html [in German].
VGH Kassel, supra note 38, p. 634 et seq.; Battis, U. and M. Rutloff (2013), supra note 57, p. 823.
VGH Kassel, supra note 38, p. 373 et seq.
Wagner, G. (2011). Entschädigung der Energieversorgungsunternehmen wegen des Kernenergieausstiegs 2011 – Verfassungsrechtliche Rahmenbedingungen und legislatorische Optionen [Compensation for the energy supply companies in connection with the 2011 nuclear phase-out – constitutional framework and legislatory options]: Kernenergieausstieg 2011 [Nuclear phase-out 2011] / Durner, W., U. Di Fabio and G. Wagner. Baden-Baden : Nomos-Verlag [in German].
Bruch, D. and H. Greve (2011), supra note 32, p. 794.
Atomausstieg: Energieriesen fordern 15 Milliarden Schadensersatz (13 June 2012) [Nuclear phase-out: energy giants are demanding 15 billion in damages (13. Juni 2012]. Spiegelonline. Retrieved from: www.spiegel.de/wirtschaft/unternehmen/atomausstieg-energieriesenfordern-15-milliarden-euro-schadensersatz-a-838527.html [in German].
Battis, U. and M. Ruttloff (2013), supra note 57, p. 824.
Federal Constitutional Court ruling of 6 February 2016 – 1 BvR 2821/11, 1 BvR 321/12, 1; BvR 1456/12 –, BVerfGE, Vol. 143, p. 246.
16th Amendment to the AtG (§§ 7e – 7g AtG) from 10.07.2018, BGBl. I S. 1122.
Fiscal Court of Hamburg, ruling of 16 September 2011 [Fiskalgericht Hamburg, Urteil vom 16. September 2011] – 4 V 133/11, ZUR 2012. Baden-Baden: Nomos-Verlag. Vol. 23. p. 54 et seq.; Fiscal Court of Munich, ruling of 5 October 2011, ref.: 14 V 2155/11, ZUR 2012, Vol. 23, p. 255 et seq. [in German].
Fiscal Court of Hamburg, ruling of 29 January 2013 [Fiskalgericht Hamburg, Urteil vom 29. Januar 2011] – 4 K 270/11, Zeitschrift für das gesamte Recht der Energiewirtschaft (EnWZ) – Journal for the entire law of the energy industry. 2013, C. H. Beck Verlag, Munich, Vol. 2, p. 422. Proceedings are pending before the Federal Constitutional Court under case number 2 BvL 6/13 and before the ECJ under case number C 5/14 [in German].
Fiscal Court of Hamburg, ruling of 11 April 2014 [Fiskalgericht Hamburg, Urteil vom 11. April 2014] – ref.: 4 V 154/13, Entscheidungen der Finanzgerichte (EFG) 2014 [Decisions by the Fiscal Courts 2014]. Bonn : Stollfuß Medien GmbH. Vol. 53, p. 1172 et seq. [in German].
Published
2020-09-17
How to Cite
Mann, P. D. T. (2020). THE PHASE-OUT OF NUCLEAR POWER IN GERMANY. Administrative Law and Process, (1(28), 30-52. https://doi.org/10.17721/2227-796X.2020.1.03
Section
Special administrative law
