In April 1955, work had began on drafting the Statute of the IAEA with the participation of governmental representatives from Australia, Belgium, Canada, France, Portugal, South Africa, the UK, and the US. Later, in early 1956, the group expanded to include representatives from Brazil, the former Czechoslovakia, India, and the USSR. These historical events have been summarized in IAEA (1997b).

As well described by Fischer (2003), the IAEA’s founders held the view that there were three primary functions for the new Agency, namely:

1. To promote the peaceful use of nuclear energy throughout the world

2. To ensure that any nuclear plant, activity or information it works with, is used only for peaceful purposes

3. To ensure the safe use of any such plant, activity or information.

This perspective took root during the development of the IAEA Statute, which was formally approved on 23 October 1956 by the Conference on the Statute of the IAEA, held at the Headquarters of the UN.[23] Eighty-one nations voted unanimously to approve the IAEA Statute. Thereafter, the IAEA Statute entered into force 29 July 1957, by which time 26 States had deposited their instruments of ratification. Thus, the IAEA was established as an autonomous organization, independent of the UN through its own international treaty, the IAEA Statute; however, the IAEA reports to both the UN General Assembly and the UN Security Council.[24] In this regard, the IAEA’s relationship with the UN is regulated by special agreement dated 30 October 1959 (reproduced in INFCIRC/11) (IAEA, 1959). Organizationally, the IAEA comprises a Secretariat, headed by a Director General, together with two policy-making bodies: the 35-member Board of Governors and the General Conference which consists of all Member States.

On 29 July 2007, the IAEA officially turned 50. During the interim years, its Statute has been amended several times.[25]