the precautionary principle in international environmental law
TRANSCRIPT
I. Introduction
* Polluter Pays Principle
* Public Trust Doctrine, and
* Precautionary Principle
II. Approach Prior to the Precautionary
Principle
“When an activity raises threats of harm to
human health or the environment,
precautionary measures should be taken
even if some cause-and-effect relationship
are not fully established scientifically.”
-Wingspread Statement, 1998
“Where there are threats of serious or irreversible
damage, lack of full scientific certainty shall not
be used as a reason for postponing cost-effective
measures to prevent environmental degradation”.
- Principle, 15 of Rio Declaration on
Environment and Development 1992
“The precautionary principle applies where scientific evidence is insufficient,
inconclusive or uncertain and preliminary scientific evaluation
indicates that there are reasonable grounds for concern that the
potentially dangerous effects on the environment, human, animal or
plant health may be inconsistent with the high level of protection
chosen by the EU”.
-European Union’s Commission on The Precautionary Principle (EU, 2000)