The legal adviser of the IAEA: History, mission, processes, and key developments in the international nuclear legal framework

The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) is an international organization tasked with ensuring nuclear safety, security, safeguards, and the use of nuclear technology for peaceful purposes. This chapter provides a brief overview of the Organization and its history, before presenting its structure. This is followed by a discussion of the structure and roles of the IAEA’s Legal Adviser and Office of Legal Affairs: both play critical roles in all areas of the Organization’s work, including its critical role in the development of the broader international nuclear legal framework. The IAEA’s specific nature provides its Legal Adviser and Office with an expansive and varied set of tasks, which often require specialist knowledge and the development of solutions to politically sensitive or novel issues. The chapter turns to consider some emerging issues of this nature, including those surrounding the nuclear programme in Iran and the development of the IAEA’s Low Enriched Uranium Bank.