Statutes of the Commission on Radiological Protection of 8 August 2012

Section 1 Formation of the Commission on Radiological Protection and its emergency preparedness

(1) The Commission on Radiological Protection (SSK) shall be formed at the Federal Ministry for the Environment, Nature Conservation and Nuclear Safety (short: Federal Ministry).
(2) In the case of a nuclear or radiological event or corresponding exercises, the Commission on Radiological Protection shall set up an emergency advisory board (SSK emergency advisory board). If necessary, the SSK emergency advisory board shall be supplemented by appointed members of the SSK and its committees and working groups, mutually agreed by the Federal Ministry and the chair of the emergency supervisory board. The SSK emergency advisory board shall represent the Commission on Radiological Protection in the case of a nuclear or radiological event or corresponding exercise.

Section 2 Subject of consultation

The Commission on Radiological Protection shall advise the Federal Ministry on issues involving protection against dangers of ionising and non-ionising radiation.

Section 3 Composition

(1) As a rule, the Commission on Radiological Protection shall consist of 14 members. It shall be representative of the subject areas which are necessary for providing expert advisory services to the Federal Ministry on the issues mentioned in section 2. The members must guarantee the provision of competent and objective advice to the Federal Ministry. In order to ensure well-balanced advisory services, the members of the Commission on Radiological Protection shall be selected in such a way as to represent the whole spectrum of scientifically and technically justifiable views.
(2) The Commission on Radiological Protection shall in principle be representative of the following subject areas, in particular: radiation medicine, radioecology, radiobiology, radiological risk, radiological protection technology, emergency control, non-ionising radiation.
(3) The chair of the Commission on Radiological Protection and one of the representatives shall be permanent members of the SSK emergency advisory board. Furthermore, the SSK emergency advisory board shall include two experts for each of the following subject areas: event sequence analyses, emergency control, radioecology, radiological risk, radiation medicine and public relations. In order to ensure a continuous provision of advice in the case of a nuclear or radiological event, the SSK emergency advisory board may be extended by appointed members of the SSK and its committees and working groups.

Section 4 Membership of the Commission on Radiological Protection and the SSK emergency advisory board

(1) Membership of the Commission on Radiological Protection shall be a personal honorary position and members may not designate deputies. The members of the Commission on Radiological Protection shall be independent and not bound by instructions. They shall respect the scientific views of other members and observe the rules of scientific discourse.
(2) As a rule, the Federal Ministry shall appoint the members of the Commission on Radiological Protection for a period of three calendar years. Immediate reappointment shall only be admissible up to a total period of appointment of six years, unless a prolongation is required in individual cases for reasons of continuity.
(3) The Federal Ministry may remove any member from the Commission on Radiological Protection for particular reasons before the end of the period for which they were appointed. The member and the Commission on Radiological Protection must be informed of these reasons. This early removal must not be due to a scientific view.
(4) Before taking up their work, the members of the Commission on Radiological Protection shall be bound by the Federal Ministry to perform their tasks in a diligent and unbiased way, to maintain the confidentiality of the meetings (section 14 subsection (4)) and to observe secrecy on matters which are subject to a licensing or supervision procedure under atomic energy or radiation protection legislation and of which they obtain knowledge in their capacity as members of the Commission on Radiological Protection.
(5) Subsections (1) to (4) shall apply mutatis mutandis to membership of the SSK emergency advisory board. Subsections (1) and (3) shall apply mutatis mutandis to the additional members appointed pursuant to section 3 subsection (3) sentence 3. Subsection (2) shall apply with the proviso that in the case of an event the appointment may be made without formalities and that the period of appointment shall be set as necessary, whereby the total period of appointment pursuant to subsection (2) shall not be exceeded. In addition to members of the Commission on Radiological Protection, the SSK emergency advisory board as defined under section 1 subsection (2) can also include members of the committees referred to in section 6 subsection (1).

Section 5 Chair and deputy

After consulting the Commission on Radiological Protection, the Federal Ministry shall appoint, usually for the period of one calendar year,

the chair
the deputy chair
a member of the Commission on Radiological Protection who, as the permanent representative of the chair, shall be in charge of the SSK emergency advisory board, and two deputies for this function.. In the case of a nuclear or radiological event the Federal Ministry may appoint further deputies after consulting the SSK emergency advisory board.

As a rule, the chair's term of office should not exceed a period of two consecutive years.

Section 6 Committees, working groups

(1) In agreement with the Federal Ministry or upon its request, the Commission on Radiological Protection shall establish committees for tasks that require continuous work and working groups for individual technical, multidisciplinary or project-related issues and define their mandates. On the recommendation of the Commission on Radiological Protection, the Federal Ministry shall appoint the members of the committees and working groups and their chairs. The chairs of the committees must be members of the Commission on Radiological Protection.
(2) The provisions of section 4 subsection (1), subsection (2), first sentence, subsections (3) and (4), of section 5 first sentence, of section 10, of section 11 subsection (5) and [6], of section 12 subsections (3) and (4) and of section 13 to 16 shall apply mutatis mutandis to the committees and working groups, unless their activities are covered by specific rules of procedure of the Federal Ministry and regulated according to the principles of these rules of procedure.

Section 7 Experts

In agreement with the Federal Ministry, the Commission on Radiological Protection, its committees, working groups and the SSK emergency advisory board may call in experts to join their meetings. The experts shall be bound by the chair to maintain the confidentiality (section 14 subsection (4)) of the content of the meeting.

Section 8 Secretariat

The Federal Ministry shall establish a scientifically independent secretariat for the Commission on Radiological Protection at the Federal Office for Radiation Protection. The secretariat shall support the Commission on Radiological Protection, the committees, working groups and the SSK emergency advisory board in performing their tasks, in particular in accordance with section 12 subsections (3) and (4) and with section 15.

Section 9 Advisory services

(1) The Federal Ministry shall request advisory services from the Commission on Radiological Protection. The Commission on Radiological Protection may also take up topics for consultation on its own initiative.
(2) In agreement with the chair of the Commission on Radiological Protection the Federal Ministry may request advisory services from a committee or working group, if the issue falls exclusively within the field of expertise of this particular committee or working group and if its significance does not require any discussion within the Commission on Radiological Protection.
(3) In the case of a nuclear or radiological event, the SSK emergency advisory board shall advise the Federal Ministry directly and continuously. The Federal Ministry shall determine when this advisory service shall end.

Section 10 Exclusion from advisory services on account of bias – compulsory notification

(1) Excluded from providing advisory services shall be any member of the Commission on Radiological Protection that

is party to a licensing or supervision procedure which is the item under discussion. Any person that may have an immediate advantage or disadvantage from his or her activity or from the decision of the authority on the matter pending discussion is equivalent to a “party”;
is employed with pay by any natural or legal person or association which belongs to the group of persons described under no. 1 or is a member of the managing board, the supervisory board or any body of the same kind; this does not apply to persons whose employing corporation is an interested party;
besides his or her activities in the Commission on Radiological Protection, has given an expert opinion for, has advised or worked for the applicant or the person that is subject to a supervision measure regarding the issue which is being discussed or pending discussion by the Commission on Radiological Protection.

(2) If a member of the Commission on Radiological Protection declares to be biased or if there are doubts as to whether the conditions defined in subsection (1) are met, the chair must be informed. The chair shall inform the Federal Ministry of the matter. The Commission on Radiological Protection shall decide on exclusion. The member concerned may not be involved in this decision.
(3) The excluded member may not be present at the consultations and at the time of decision-making; he or she may, however, be heard during the meeting.
(4) The members of the Commission on Radiological Protection are obliged to notify the Federal Ministry of any correspondence or talks about issues that are under discussion in the Commission on Radiological Protection which they have held in their capacity as members of the Commission on Radiological Protection with applicants or with persons that are subject to supervision measures.
(5) Subsections (1) to (4) shall apply mutatis mutandis to members of the SSK emergency advisory board.

Section 11 Advisory procedure

(1) As a result of its consultations, the Commission on Radiological Protection shall adopt scientific and technical recommendations or positions which shall be communicated to the Federal Ministry. It shall not provide legal assessments. Recommendations or positions have to be substantiated in a comprehensible way. The issues under investigation have to be clearly defined in the substantiation, the means of obtaining knowledge and of fact-finding have to be documented and the conclusions derived have to be backed up.
(2) If the Commission on Radiological Protection is not in a position to issue a recommendation or position, this shall be established by vote and the reasons stated.
(3) The authorities of the Federal Laender shall be notified of the recommendations and positions including the substantiations of the Commission on Radiological Protection. They may be made available to the public upon request. The Federal Ministry may publish them in the Federal Gazette.
(4) The committees and working groups shall develop proposals for recommendations or positions in preparation of the advisory services provided by the Commission on Radiological Protection. Positions of a committee or working group on advisory assignments of the Federal Ministry pursuant to section 9 subsection (2) shall be passed on to the Ministry and to the Commission on Radiological Protection.
(5) The SSK emergency advisory board shall be incorporated into the emergency preparedness of the Federal Ministry. With the agreement of the Federal Ministry, the advisory procedure may deviate from the procedure laid down in subsections (1) to (4).
(6) The Commission on Radiological Protection and the SSK emergency advisory board may not disclose positions or information to third parties without prior consent from the Federal Ministry.

Section 12 Preparation of meetings

(1) The Commission on Radiological Protection shall determine the date and venue of its meetings in agreement with the Federal Ministry, usually for one calendar year in advance.
(2) The Federal Ministry, the chair or at least one third of the members of the Commission on Radiological Protection may request that an extraordinary meeting be convened.
(3) The chair shall convene the meetings of the Commission on Radiological Protection. Invitations and the provisional agenda shall be prepared and sent out by the secretariat of the Commission on Radiological Protection on behalf of the chair and in agreement with the Federal Ministry; they shall be available to the participants in the meeting at least two weeks before the meeting. Proposals of the Federal Ministry shall be included.
(4) The chair may have the office of the Commission prepare written documents on advisory problems, documents serving as a basis for giving advice as well as drafts for decisions and possible alternative decision scenarios. The pertinent documents shall be made available to the members of the Commission on Radiological Protection, the Federal Ministry and, as far as they are affected, persons invited according to section 13 subsections (2) and (4) at least one week before the meeting.
(5) In the case of a nuclear or radiological event or a corresponding exercise, the Federal Ministry shall immediately convene the SSK emergency advisory board. The members of the SSK emergency advisory board shall be alerted by the Federal Ministry.

Section 13 Participation in meetings

(1) The meetings of the Commission on Radiological Protection shall be held in private.
(2) Upon request of the Federal Ministry, representatives of other Federal or Laender authorities may be invited to participate in the meetings. They must be invited if the item under discussion regards a licensing or supervision procedure under atomic energy legislation which is within their area of competence; their representatives are to be heard upon request; they are entitled to participate in the consultations on the items within their competence.
(3) Experts called in to a licensing or supervision procedure, expert representatives of the applicants and objectors as well as persons involved in the supervision procedure may be invited to the meetings by the chair of the Commission on Radiological Protection in agreement with the Federal Ministry, provided they commit themselves to maintain the confidentiality of the consultations. They are to be heard upon request of the Federal Ministry or the competent authority. They are entitled to participate in the discussions on the items within their competence.
(4) The experts called in by the Commission on Radiological Protection (section 7) shall participate in those items on the agenda of the meeting on which they are to be heard.
(5) Representatives of the Federal Ministry and of the secretariat shall participate in the whole meeting.
(6) When deciding on issuing a recommendation or position, besides the members of the Commission on Radiological Protection, usually only the representatives of the Federal Ministry, its subordinate agencies and the secretariat may be present.
(7) Subsections (1) to (4) shall apply mutatis mutandis to the advisory services of the SSK emergency advisory board.

Section 14 Organisation of the meetings of the Commission on Radiological Protection

(1) The meetings shall be chaired by the chair.
(2) The final version of the agenda shall be determined by the Commission on Radiological Protection in agreement with the Federal Ministry at the beginning of each meeting.
(3) The summary minutes of the previous meeting shall be adopted by the Commission on Radiological Protection.
(4) The meetings of the Commission on Radiological Protection and the SSK emergency advisory board are confidential. The participants in the meeting must not disclose information on statements of individual members, on votes or the content of the summary minutes to third parties.

Section 15 Summary minutes – Recording the progress of the meeting

(1) The secretariat of the Commission on Radiological Protection shall prepare the summary minutes of each meeting in agreement with the chair. The summary minutes shall contain:

an outline of the items under discussion,
the wording of the decisions (recommendations and positions) and, if necessary, their substantiation with potential dissenting opinions pursuant to section 16 subsection (3),
a list of the written documents taken as a basis for the consultations and for decision-making,
significant pieces of information presented orally, provided that they were significant for the decision-making process,
a list of participants in the meeting,
a statement of the voting results in an annex.

(2) In order to facilitate the preparation of the summary minutes, the secretariat shall record the meeting on sound storage media; it shall give members of the Commission on Radiological Protection and representatives of the Federal Ministry the opportunity to listen to the recordings. The recordings shall be deleted after one year at the latest.
(3) The summary minutes shall be signed by the chair of the Commission on Radiological Protection and by an authorised representative of the secretariat.
(4) The secretariat shall transmit the summary minutes and the annexes with the statement of the voting results to the members of the Commission on Radiological Protection and to the Federal Ministry. Upon request of the Federal Ministry, other authorities shall receive the summary minutes on those agenda items to which they were invited. After the summary minutes have been adopted by the Commission on Radiological Protection (section 14 subsection (3)), these authorities may transmit the excerpts to experts called in by them or to applicants and objectors as well as persons involved in a supervision procedure, provided that they are affected by the results of the consultations.
(5) In the case of a nuclear or radiological event or corresponding exercise, the results of the consultations of the SSK emergency advisory board shall be documented in the records of the Federal Ministry.

Section 16 Decision-making

(1) The Commission on Radiological Protection shall take its decisions with the majority of the votes of the appointed members. In exceptional cases, decisions may also be taken by circular letter. If a member explicitly objects to this procedure, it is deemed to have failed. The Commission on Radiological Protection shall then take its decision at its next meeting.
(2) A majority of at least two thirds of the votes of the appointed members shall be required for recommendations on the site or design of a nuclear installation and on its commissioning.
(3) All members shall have equal voting rights and shall jointly bear the responsibility for the decisions of the Commission on Radiological Protection. Members that have been outvoted may make use of their right to have their dissenting opinion expressed in the summary minutes or in publications of recommendations or positions.
(4) The SSK emergency advisory board shall take its decisions based on a simple majority of the votes of the members present, subsection (3) shall apply accordingly.

Section 17 Annual report

By 31 March of each year, the chair of the Commission on Radiological Protection shall prepare a written activity report of the Commission on Radiological Protection and the SSK emergency advisory board, covering the past calendar year. The secretariat shall support him/her in this undertaking. The activity report must be adopted by the Commission on Radiological Protection. The adopted activity report shall be made accessible to the public.

Section 18 Remuneration of activities in the Commission on Radiological Protection

(1) In consultation with the Commission on Radiological Protection, the Federal Ministry shall set the remuneration for activities of the members of the Commission on Radiological Protection, the SSK emergency advisory board, the committees and working groups, as well as experts that were called in.
(2) The remuneration comprises a fee for scientific services, the reimbursement of travel expenses and an attendance fee. Additional expenses in particular cases may be reimbursed.

Section 19 Entry into force

These statutes shall enter into force on 8 August 2012 (Federal Gazette AT 27.08.2012 B2). They shall replace the statutes of the Commission on Radiological Protection of 21 December 2009 (Federal Gazette 2010, p. 289).