Safeguards Ordinance (SaO) (SaO)
English is not an official language of the Swiss Confederation. This translation is provided for information purposes only, has no legal force and may not be relied on in legal proceedings.
Art. 24 Subject matter
1 Inspections may be carried out to assess the implementation of safeguards. 2 The following may be assessed in particular: a. in an inspection relating to the implementation of safeguards in accordance with Section 2, whether: 1. the facility corresponds to the submitted design information, 2. the location corresponds to the submitted supplementary information, 3. the accounting has been carried out properly, 4. the inventory of material in accordance with Article 2 paragraph 1 letter a corresponds to the information in the reports under Article 10; b. in an inspection relating to the implementation of safeguards in accordance with Section 3, whether: 1. the reporting has been carried out properly, 2. no material in accordance with Article 2 paragraph 1 letter a is present, 3. the structure of the facility and the subdivision of the material balance areas are suitable for implementing safeguards. 3 In addition, the notifications in accordance with Articles 15–22 and the information in
Art. 25 Responsibility
1 Inspections shall be carried out by the SFOE, where necessary together with IAEA inspectors. 2 The SFOE may arrange with the safeguards officer for the inspections under Article 24 paragraph 2 letter a to be carried out by IAEA inspectors without the participation of the SFOE. 3 The SFOE may call on other federal authorities, specialised organisations and experts. Experts and the personnel of specialised organisations shall be obliged to observe official secrecy in accordance with Article 320 of the Swiss Criminal Code.
Para. 3 — SR 311.0
Art. 26 Tolerance and cooperation
The persons entitled to authorise access to land and buildings that are subject to this Ordinance shall tolerate inspections by the SFOE and the IAEA and cooperate with the inspectors. They shall in particular: a. grant access even without advance notice: 1. in the case of facilities under Article 2 paragraph 1 letter b: to the SFOE and the IAEA inspectors, 2. in the case of facilities under Article 2 paragraph 1 letter c: to the SFOE; b. provide information about: 1. the location that is being inspected, 2. the activities carried out there, 3. the safety measures required for the inspection, and 4. the associated administration and logistics; c. provide telecommunications equipment, premises with electricity supply and means of transport within the location, insofar as this is required for carrying out the inspection; d. permit the carrying of information technology equipment, insofar as this is necessary for the proper conduct of the inspection.
Art. 27 Principles
1 The SFOE shall take the precautions required for carrying out an inspection. It shall in particular: a. create the conditions necessary to ensure that operations in the inspected areas are disrupted as little as possible; b. ensure the protection of confidential data and installations; c. ensure the unambiguous classification of the information that becomes accessible. 2 It shall decide after consulting the person entitled to authorise access to land and buildings that are subject to this Ordinance whether the IAEA inspectors are allowed access to sensitive information. 3 It shall ensure if requested by the person entitled to authorise access to land and buildings that are subject to this Ordinance that sensitive information is not removed from the inspected area.
Art. 28 Powers
In the course of inspections, the following activities are authorised, in particular: a. land and buildings may be inspected and checked during normal operating and business hours; b. material in accordance with Article 2 paragraph 1 letter a may be verified; c. seals may be applied and removed; d. monitoring and measurement instruments may be installed, maintained and removed; e. visual examinations may be carried out; f. photographs may be taken; g. samples of materials specified in Article 2 paragraph 1 letter a and environmental samples may be taken; h. radiation measuring equipment may be used; i. operating reports and documents may be examined.
Art. 29 Restrictions
1 The SFOE may restrict the activities of the IAEA inspectors in order to: a. ensure compliance with the provisions governing workplace safety, radiation protection or nuclear security; b. protect sensitive information. 2 It may deny the IAEA inspectors access to the facilities if: a. the IAEA does not provide the required documents in due time, in particular the personal data relating to the inspectors, or if it has not made the required clarifications; b. regulations governing workplace safety or radiation protection would be violated.
Art. 30 Advance notice of inspection
1 The SFOE shall notify the persons concerned of the time, the inspection location, the subject matter of the inspection and the participants in an inspection. 2 In the case of unannounced inspections, access shall be granted to the facility within two hours of the arrival of the inspectors.
Art. 31 Refund of costs, support for compensation claims
1 Ongoing costs, in particular for data transmission, or extraordinary costs that arise as the result of a request by the IAEA, shall be refunded by the IAEA provided the person or company concerned has requested a refund and the IAEA has declared its readiness in advance to refund such costs. The relevant requests shall be submitted to the SFOE. 2 In the event that any person should be harmed during an inspection, the Confederation shall support the person concerned in asserting his or her legal rights within the limits of its own legal powers. 3 Liability for loss or damage incurred due to unlawful conduct by representatives of the Confederation is governed by the Government Liability Act of 14 March 1958.
Para. 3 — SR 170.32