Basic Principle

Basic Principle (BP) is the highest level in the INPRO structure, which is a statement of a general goal that is to be achieved in an INS and provides broad guidance for the development of an INS (or a design feature thereof). The wording of an INPRO basic principle always utilizes the verb “shall” or “must”.
To achieve a sustainable INS, all BPs shall be taken into account in all areas considered within INPRO (economics, infrastructure, waste management, proliferation resistance, physical protection, environment, and safety). An example of a basic principle, taken from the INPRO area of safety, is that an INS shall incorporate enhanced defence-in-depth as a part of its fundamental safety approach and ensure that the levels of protection in defence-in-depth shall be more independent from each other than in existing installations. It should be noted that in some topic areas — primarily safety — even more general guidance compared with an INPRO basic principle is given in a General Objective. These General Objectives reflect a worldwide consensus and are valid for nnovative designs as well as for existing and evolutionary designs. They have been taken into account during the development of the INPRO basic principles.