ABSTRACT
Too little attention is paid to the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons (TPNW)’s provisions on legal accountability for past and possible future detonations of these weapons. The treaty calls on each state party to “provide technical, material and financial assistance to States Parties affected by nuclear-weapon use or testing” and to “provide assistance for the victims of the use or testing of nuclear weapons or other nuclear explosive devices.” Rather than unwinnable debates on whether deterrence works and whether nuclear weapons would produce humanitarian catastrophe, the international society would gain clarity from knowing whether possessor states will take responsibility for remedying the consequences of their nuclear conduct if they survive.
