The Board of the State Nuclear Regulatory Inspectorate of Ukraine (SNRIU) has discussed and approved a bill restructuring it as the National Nuclear Regulatory Commission. The bill says the commission will be established as a government agency regulating nuclear and radiation safety and replacing the State Nuclear Regulatory Inspectorate.

"The bill envisages the establishment of the National Nuclear Regulatory Commission as a permanent collegial central executive authority with a special status," SNRIU said. The government will form the commission and will appoint its members, it said.

The commission will have a chairman and four members to be appointed as a result of an open tender and serve for five years in this capacity. One of the commission members will be the Ukrainian chief state inspector for nuclear and radiation safety. In contrast to the National Nuclear Regulatory Commission, SNRIU is not a collegial body with a special status, although it is a central executive authority.

SNRIU does not have inspection members in its management. "The special status is bound to protect the commission from being subordinated to any ministry," SNRIU said.

Ukraine will thus meet its obligations as a member of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) and a party to international conventions, which prescribe the functional detachment of regulatory bodies from the bodies and organisations with duties and interests that may improperly influence the decision-making of the commission, SNRIU added.

The bill defines primary tasks and functions of the commission enshrined in Ukrainian laws, IAEA documents and EU legal acts with regard to functions of a regulatory body.

"The establishment and operation of the commission as an independent professional body of state regulation of nuclear and radiation safety will contribute to the provision of nuclear and radiation safety in Ukraine and Ukraine's image as a country capable of meeting international obligations and providing nuclear and radiation safety," SNRIU said.

The SNRIU Board has approved the bill on the National Nuclear Regulatory Commission and has decided to put it to public hearings.