Nuclear Environmental Damage Crimes in Reggane: A Multidisciplinary Study of Law, Sharia, and Physics

Abstract

This article examines nuclear environmental damage crimes through a multidisciplinary lens, integrating Islamic Sharia, Algerian positive law, and nuclear physics. Using the French nuclear tests in Reggane (1960–1966) as a case study, it argues that the unique nature of nuclear harm demands a legal framework informed by physical evidence. The study finds that while Sharia provides a comprehensive moral foundation categorizing such acts as "Fasad" (corruption), Algerian legislation suffers from duplication and technical complexity that hinders effective application. Physical evidence—including isotopic fingerprinting, contamination mapping, and cytogenetic biodosimetry—emerges as indispensable for establishing the material act, proving causation, and demonstrating transgenerational harm. The article concludes with recommendations for unified environmental legislation, specialized environmental courts, and a national scientific commission to document the Reggane legacy.