Evolution and status of the precautionary principle in international law

Book abstract:

This book argues that the 'Precautionary Principle' has significant implications for the relationship between economics and the environment. Given how difficult, dynamic, and constantly evolving the principle is, however, it provides both an overview of its rise in international law and its current situation. In this respect, the introduction begins with a discussion of the problems and complexities concerned with differing interpretations of the term 'precautionary principle' itself.

Including the introduction, the book is structured into four sections. Section two deals with the evolution of the precautionary principle, its origins and history. Section three explores the legal status of the principle, and is broken down into the sub-sections on treaties, declarations of programmes of action, the practice of international organisations, United Nations resolutions, international judicial decisions, state practice at the domestic level, as well as offering some preliminary conclusions. This section also provides a discussion of Opinio Juris Sive Necessitatis and the issue of Customary International Law. Section four consists of extensive conclusions to the issues and problems discussed.

The book intends both to advance the cause of the precautionary principle itself and consolidate the analytical thinking that underpins new and established issues of environmental law and policy.