ATOMIC ENERGY AUTHORITY

(1) There shall he established an Authority which shall be called the Atomic Energy Authority (hereinafter in this Act referred to as the ” Authority “).

(2) The Authority shall consist of not less than four and not more than seven members appointed by the Minister from among persons who appear to the Minister to have had experience and shown capacity in dealing with matters connected with atomic energy, administration or finance.

(1) Every member of the Authority shall hold and vacate his office in accordance with the terms of his appointment, but he may resign his office by letter addressed to the Minister. He shall, on ceasing to be a member, be eligible for reappointment.

(2) The Minister may, if he thinks it expedient to do so, remove from office any member of the Authority.

(1) The Minister shall appoint one of the members of the Authority to be its Chairman.

(2) The Chairman of the Authority shall hold and vacate his office in accordance with the terms of his appointment, but he may resign his office by letter addressed to the Minister. He shall, on vacating his office, be eligible, so long as he is a member of the Authority, for reappointment.

(a) shall be in the custody of such person as the Authority may from time to time determine ;

(b) may be altered in such manner as may be determined by the Authority; and

(c) shall not be affixed to any document except with the sanction of the Authority and in the presence of two members of the Authority who shall sign the document in token of their presence.

(1) The Authority may acquire, hold, take or give on lease or hire, mortgage, pledge and sell or otherwise dispose of any movable or immovable property.

(2) The Authority may appoint such officers and servants as may be necessary for the performance of the work of the Authority. The conditions of employment, including remuneration, of any officer or servant appointed under this subsection shall be determined by the Authority.

(3) The Authority may do such other things as are incidental or conducive to the attainment of its purposes.

(1) A member of the Authority who is directly or indirectly interested in a contract made or proposed to be made by the Authority shall, as soon as possible after the relevant circumstances have come to his knowledge, disclose the nature of his interest at a meeting of the Authority.

(2) Any disclosure made by a member of the Authority under subsection (1) shall be recorded in the minutes of the Authority and that member-

(1) The Authority shall undertake and make arrangements for the conduct of research and development activities relating to-

(2) The arrangements referred to in subsection (1) shall contain such provisions to protect health, to minimize danger from explosion and other hazards to life and property, and to require the reporting and to permit the inspection of work performed thereunder, as the Authority may determine.

(a) to produce, use and dispose of atomic energy and carry out and research into any matters connected therewith;

(b) to manufacture or otherwise produce, buy or otherwise acquire, store and transport any article which in the opinion of the Authority is, or is likely to be. required for or in connexion with the production or use of atomic energy or such research as aforesaid, and to dispose of any article manufactured, produced, bought or otherwise acquired by the Authority;

(c) to manufacture or otherwise produce, buy or otherwise acquire, treat, store, transport and dispose of any radioactive material;

(d) to do all such things (including the erection of buildings and the execution of works) as appear to the Authority necessary for the exercise of the aforementioned powers;

(e) to make arrangements with universities and other institutions or persons both in Sri Lanka and abroad and Government Departments for the conduct of research into matters connected with atomic energy or radioactive materials and, with the approval of the Minister given in consultation with the Minister in charge of the subject of Finance, to make grants or loans to universities and. other institutions or persons and Government Departments engaged in the production or use of atomic energy or radioactive materials or in research into matters connected with atomic energy or radioactive materials;

(f) to make available for use in connection with such research or production conducted or carried out by any institution or person other than the Authority such of the Authority’s equipment and facilities as the Authority may determine; and

(g) to distribute information relating to, and educate and train persons in matters connected with, atomic energy or radioactive materials.

(1) Any officer authorized in that behalf by the Authority may by written notice served on any person require such person to make such returns, at such times, and containing such particulars as may be specified in the notice, of all or any of the following:-

(2) Any person who –

shall be guilty of an offence.

(1) The Authority may by Order published in the Gazette make such provision as it thinks expedient for prohibiting or regulating, subject to such exceptions, if any, as may be made by or under the Order-

(2) Any person who contravenes or fails to comply with an Order made under subsection (1) shall be guilty of an offence.

(1) Regulations may be made, in consultation with the Minister in charge of the subject of Health, regarding-

(2) Any person who contravenes or fails to comply with a regulation made for the purposes of this section shall be guilty of an offence.

(1) With respect to any class or description of premises or places specified in the regulations, being premises or places in which any radioactive materials are manufactured, produced, treated, stored or used or any irradiating apparatus is used, provision may be made by regulations-

and the regulations may, in particular and without prejudice to the generality of this subsection, provide for imposing requirements as to the erection or structural alteration of buildings or the carrying out of works.

(2) With respect to the transport of any radioactive materials, regulations may be made to prevent injury being caused by such transport to the health of persons engaged therein and other persons.

(3) Regulations made for the purposes of this section may provide for imposing requirements, prohibitions and restrictions on employers, employees and other persons.

(4) Any person who contravenes or fails to comply with a regulation made for the purposes of this section shall be guilty of an offence.

(1) The officers and servants of the Authority may, without any such licence, permit or approval as may be required by any other written law, maintain and use. on any premises lawfully occupied by the Authority for laboratory or experimental purposes, such installations, equipment, and materials as they may consider necessary or desirable for those purposes.

(2) The provisions of subsection (I) shall not be deemed to relieve the Authority of responsibility for taking reasonable precautions for the safety and protection of persons and property or for liability for the consequence of the acts of its officers and servants m the course of their employment.

(1) The Authority or any other persons shall not produce or develop, or cause the production or development of, any atomic weapon or part of an atomic weapon, or conduct or cause to be conducted experimental work with the intention that it shall lead to explosive nuclear assemblies for atomic weapons.

(2) Any person who contravenes the provisions of subsection (1) shall be guilty of an offence punishable with imprisonment not exceeding twenty years on conviction after trial by an appropriate court.

(1) The Secretary to the Ministry may, on the recommendation of the Authority, authorize in writing any person to enter at all reasonable hours any premises, (other than premises solely used for residential purposes), vehicle, vessel or aircraft for the purpose of ascertaining whether there has been committed, or is being committed, in or in connexion with the premises, vehicle, vessel or aircraft an offence under this Act.

(2) The Secretary to the Ministry may, on the recommendation of the Authority, authorize in writing any person to enter at all reasonable hours any premises where such person has reasonable grounds for believing that work is being carried out for the purposes of or in connexion with the production or use of atomic energy or research into matters connected therewith, or that there is any prescribed substance, or any plant designed or adapted for the production or use of atomic energy or research into mailers connected therewith, and may inspect the premises and any articles found therein, and make copies of, or extracts from, any drawing, plan or other document found in the premises and, for the purpose of making such copies or extracts, may remove any such drawing, plan or other document and retain possession thereof for a period not exceeding seven days.

(3) Any person who willfully obstructs any other person exercising powers conferred on that person by subsection (1), or subsection (2), shall be guilty of an offence.

(1) The Secretary to the Ministry may, on the recommendation of the Authority, and subject to and in accordance with the provisions contained in the Schedule to this Act, compulsorily acquire any plant designed or adapted for the production or use of atomic energy or research into matters connected therewith, and transfer the same to the Authority.

(2) In the case of any such plant affixed to any land as is compulsorily acquired under subsection (I), the Secretary to the Ministry may cause it to be severed from the land, and shall, if such severance is made, cause any damage caused by such severance to be made good.

(3) Such compensation in respect of the acquisition of any plant under this section shall be paid by the Secretary to the Ministry to the person who is the owner and to any other person who has an interest in the plant, as may be agreed upon between the Secretary to the Ministry and such person or persons with the approval of the Minister in charge of the subject of Finance or, in default of such agreement, as may be determined by an arbitrator mutually agreed upon by the Secretary to the Ministry and such person or persons or, failing such last- mentioned agreement, by an arbitrator appointed by the District Judge of Colombo. The arbitrator may, if he thinks fit, be assisted by not more than two assessors, and the fees of the arbitrator and assessors shall be payable by the Secretary to the Ministry or such person or persons in such proportion as the arbitrator determines.

(1) Notwithstanding anything to the contrary contained in the Code of Intellectual Property Act or any other law

(2) A copy of any notice served under paragraph (a), and of any communication addressed under paragraph (b) to an assignee of any rights in a patent or to a licensee under a patent, shall forthwith be transmitted by the Secretary to the Ministry to the Registrar within the meaning of the Code of Intellectual Property Act.

(3) Such compensation in respect of the acquisition of any rights to a patent under this section shall be paid by the Secretary to the Ministry to the holder, applicant, assignee, or licensee, hereinafter called a ” person interested in the patent “, as may be agreed upon between the Secretary to the Ministry and such person interested in the patent with the approval of the Minister in charge of the subject of Finance or, in default of such agreement, as may be determined by an arbitrator mutually agreed upon by the Secretary to the Ministry and such person interested in the patent or, failing such last-mentioned agreement, by an arbitrator appointed by the District Judge of Colombo. The arbitrator may, if he thinks fit, be assisted by not more than two assessors, and the fees of the arbitrator and assessors shall be payable by the Secretary to the Ministry or such person interested in the patent in such proportion as the arbitrator determines.

(1) The Secretary to the Ministry may, on the recommendation of the Authority, cause to be served on any person who is party to a contract relating to the production or use of atomic energy or research into matters connected therewith, not being a contract for the rendering of personal services, a notice in writing stating that on such date as shall be specified in the notice the rights and liabilities of that person under the contract will be transferred to the Authority.

(2) Where a notice under subsection (1) is served on any person, then, subject to any withdrawal of the notice under the succeeding provisions of this section, the contract to which the notice relates shall, as regards any rights exercisable, or liabilities incurred on or after the date specified in the notice in accordance with the provisions of subsection (1), have effect as if the Authority were a party to the contract instead of such person and as if for any reference in the contract to such person there were substituted a reference to the Authority.

(3) A notice under subsection (1) shall contain a statement to the effect that objections may be made thereto within such time and in such manner as shall be specified in the notice, and if any such objection is duly made and not withdrawn, the Secretary to the Ministry shall afford an opportunity to the person making the objections of appearing before and being heard by a person appointed by the Secretary to the Ministry for the purpose. The person so appointed shall make a report on such objections to the Secretary to the Ministry.

(4) After considering the objections duly made to a notice under subsection (1) and the report made on such objections under subsection (3), the Secretary to the Ministry may cause to be served on the person on whom that notice was served a further notice in writing withdrawing the original notice, and if the original notice has already taken effect, it shall cease to operate in relation to the contract to which it relates as regards any rights exercisable, or liabilities incurred, on or after the date on which the notice of withdrawal was served.

(5) Where the rights and liabilities of a party to a contract are transferred to the Authority under this section, the Secretary to the Ministry shall pay to that party such compensation in respect of any loss suffered by that party as may be agreed upon between the Secretary to the Ministry and that party with the approval of the Minister in charge of the subject of Finance or, in default of such agreement, as may be determined by an arbitrator mutually agreed to by the Secretary to the Ministry and that party or, failing such last-mentioned agreement, by an arbitrator appointed by the District Judge of Colombo. The arbitrator may, if he thinks fit, be assisted by not more than two assessors, and the fees of the arbitrator and assessors shall be payable by the Secretary to the Ministry or that party in such proportion as the arbitrator determines.

(1) Such sums as may from time to time be granted for the purposes of the Authority by Parliament shall form part of the funds of the Authority.

(2) The Authority may utilize its funds for defraying all expenditure incurred in the exercise of its powers and performance of its functions under this Act.

(3) Any expense incurred by the Secretary to the Ministry in the exercise of powers or the performance of functions under this Act shall be defrayed or paid out of the funds of the Authority.

(1) Any person who is guilty of an offence under this Act shall, on conviction after summary trial before a Magistrate, be liable to imprisonment of either description for a term not exceeding three months or to a fine not exceeding one thousand rupees or to both such imprisonment and such fine-

(2) Where any offence under this Act has been committed by a body corporate, every person who at the time of the commission of the offence was a director, general manager, secretary or other similar officer of that body, or was purporting to act in any such capacity, shall be deemed to be guilty of the offence unless he proves the offence was committed without his consent or connivance and that he exercised all such diligence to prevent the commission of the offence as he ought to have exercised having regard to the nature of his functions in that capacity and to all the circumstances.

(1) The Minister shall appoint an Advisory Committee consisting of such number of persons as may be determined by him. The members of such Committee shall be persons who have experience of all or any of the matters specified in subsection (1) of section 15. Such Committee shall advise the Authority on any such question relating to any of the aforesaid matters as may be referred to it by the Authority.

(2) Every member of the Advisory Committee shall hold and vacate his office as such member in accordance with the terms of his appointment, but he may resign his office by letter addressed to the Minister. He shall, on ceasing to be a member of such Committee, be eligible for reappointment.

(3) The Minister shall appoint one of the members of the Advisory Committee to be the Chairman of such Committee. Committee may

(4) The Advisory regulate its procedure.

(1) The Authority shall cause its accounts to be kept in such form and in such manner as the Minister may direct.

(2) The Authority shall cause its books to be balanced as on the 31st day of December in each year and shall, before the thirty-first day of March next, cause to be prepared an income and expenditure account and a balance sheet containing a summary of the assets and liabilities of the Authority made up to the first-mentioned date. The income and expenditure account and the balance sheet shall be signed by the Chairman of the Authority, and by such officer of the Authority as may be authorized by the Authority to do so.

(3) The Authority shall have its accounts audited each year by the Auditor- General. For the purpose of assisting him in the, audit of such accounts, the Auditor- General may employ the services of any qualified auditor who shall act under his (Direction and control.

(4) For the purpose of meeting the expenses incurred by him in auditing the accounts of the Authority the Auditor- General shall be paid from the funds of the Authority such remuneration as the Minister may determine with the concurrence of the Minister in charge of, the subject of Finance. Any remuneration received from the: Authority by the Auditor- General shall, after deduction of any sums paid by him to any qualified auditor employed by him for the purpose of such audit, be credited to the Consolidated Fund.

(5) For the purposes of this section, the expression ” qualified auditor ” means-

(6) The Auditor-General arid any person assisting him in the audit of the accounts of the Authority shall have access to all such books, deeds, contracts, accounts, vouchers and other documents of the Authority, as the Auditor-General may consider necessary for the purposes of the audit, and shall be furnished by the members or officers of the Authority with such information within their knowledge as may be required for such purposes.

(7) The Auditor-General shall examine the accounts of the Authority and furnish a report- –

(8) The Auditor-General shall transmit his report to the Authority.

(1) The Authority shall furnish to the Minister such information as he may call for from lime to lime in respect of the Activities and financial position of the Authority.

(2) The Minister may, from time to time, give the Authority general directions, and, after consultation with the Authority, give the Authority special directions, as to the exercise of the powers and the discharge of the duties of the Authority, and such directions shall be carried out by the Authority.

(1) The Authority shall annually prepare a written report of the Authority’s work and finances during the year completed, including any information furnished to, and directions given by, the Minister under section 33, and shall transmit to the Minister-

(2) The Minister shall lay copies of the reports and statements referred to in subsection (1) before Parliament.

(1) The Authority shall be exempt from the payment of any customs duty on any goods imported by the Authority if the Minister in consultation with the Minister in charge of the subject of Finance approves of such exemption.

(2) In the case of any instrument containing any agreement between the Authority and any other person and providing for making a payment to the Authority as a contribution to the general support of the Authority’s work, both the Authority and such other person shall be exempt from the payment of any stamp duty on such instrument.

(3) Any person making a payment to the Authority as a contribution to the general support of the Authority’s work, may claim the amount of the payment as a deduction from income, in the year in which the payment is actually made, for the purposes of computing liability for income tax, and the payment shall be deemed not to be a taxable gift for the purposes of the Inland Revenue Act, No. 4 of 1963, or the Inland Revenue Act (No. 28 of 1979).

(1) No suit or prosecution shall lie against any member, officer, servant or agent of the Authority for any act which in good faith is done or purports to be done by him under this Act or on the direction of the Authority.

(2) Any expense incurred by the Authority in any suit or prosecution brought by or against the Authority before any court shall be paid out of the funds of the Authority, and any costs paid to, or recovered by, the Authority in any such suit or prosecution shall be credited to the funds of the Authority.

(3) Any expense incurred by any such person as is referred to in subsection (I) in any suit or prosecution brought against him before any court in respect of any act which is done or purports to be done by him under this Act or on the direction of the Authority shall, if the court holds that such act was done in good faith, be paid out of the funds of the Authority, unless such expense is recovered by him in such suit or prosecution.

(1) The Authority may make regulations generally for the purpose of giving effect to the principles and provisions of this Act and particularly in respect of any matter which is stated or required by this Act to be prescribed, or for or in respect of which regulations are required or authorized by this Act to be made.

(2) No regulation made under this Act shall have effect until it is approved by the Minister, confirmed by Parliament, and published in the Gazette,

(1) If injury is caused to an employee of the Authority or to any other person by ionizing radiations from any material on any premises occupied by the Authority or from any waste discharged in whatever form on or from any such premises or from any material in the course of carriage on behalf of the Authority, the Authority shall be liable to pay compensation to such person in accordance with such scale as the Minister may specify by Order published in the Gazette :

Provided that the claim to such compensation shall be made, notwithstanding the provisions of any other law, within a period of thirty years, from the date of the occurrence which gave rise to the claim or where the occurrence was a continuing one or was one of a succession of occurrences, the date of the last event in the course of the occurrence or succession of occurrences to which the claim relates.

(2) If any person who has been employed by any employer in any process in which ionization radiation occurs, for a continuous period of not less than six months, contracts any prescribed disease, such employer shall be liable notwithstanding the provisions of any other written law to pay to such person compensation in the prescribed manner unless the employer proves that the disease had not arisen as a result of such employment:

Provided always that a claim for payment of such compensation shall be made to such employer whilst such person is in the employment of such employer or within thirty years from the dale on which such person ceased to be employed by such employer.

(3) If any person who has been employed by the Authority for a continuous period of not less than six months, contracts any disease specified by the Minister by Order, the Authority shall be liable to pay such person compensation specified by the Minister by Order unless the Authority proves that the disease had not arisen as a result of such employment:

Provided that the claim to such compensation shall be made while such person is in the employment of the Authority or within such time from the date on which such person ceased to be employed by the Authority as the Minister may specify by Order.

(4) The compensation referred to in subsections (1), (2) and (3) shall not be less than the sums payable for any corresponding injury under the Workmen’s Compensation Ordinance, and where a claim is not admitted by the Authority, compensation may be recovered, as far as may be, in the same manner as in the Workmen’s Compensation Ordinance.

(5) The provisions of this section shall not bar a person from recovering damages in a court of law, but, where damages are awarded the court shall take into consideration any compensation paid under this section.