Der Atomkonsens als rechtsverbindlicher Vertrag

To evaluate the legal and political consequences of the German turn away from nuclear energy ("Energiewende") in the aftermath of Fukushima, one of the most important preliminary questions is whether the so-called "atomic consensus" – which was concluded between the Federal government and the energy supply companies in 2000 – had been concluded as a legally binding instrument or whether it involved no intention to be legally bound. This question was one of the main legal issues in the politically important ICSID arbitration case Vattenfall v. Germany, a case which found much public attention when it was argued within the World Bank in Washington, D.C. in October 2016. The paper that is now published had been presented to the tribunal as an expert opinion and was discussed during the public hearing; it analyzes the relevant questions concerning the parties' intention to be legally bound, and it comes to the conclusion that the atomic consensus it not a mere gentlemen's agreement, but a legally binding contract.