The Precautionary Principle And International Law The Challenge Of Implementation

Papers presented at the meetings facilitated by the Sanders Institute at the Faculty of Law of the Erasmus University Rotterdam and the Law School of the University of Hull.

The content and status of the precautionary principle remains highly debated and various questions arise, such as its status as a rule of customary international law, including its scope, addressee, triggering threshold, precautionary action measures, and eventually limits of the principle. Thus, this book examines the present state of affairs regarding the implementation of the principle in the law of the sea in different sectors, e.g. pollution of the marine environment, conservation and management of living marine resources, and transboundary transports of radioactive and hazardous wastes. In addition, it extracts evidence of its acceptance as part of customary international law, and indicates that below this level there is also an emerging practice of international law of applying the precautionary principle in a common way.

With the growing scarcity of fish resources, instruments of fisheries management become crucial. This publication suggests a legal approach to this isssue, and focuses on six case studies: Indonesia, Kenya, Namibia, Brazil, Mexico and the EU. The case studies are preceded by an analysis of the international law requirements concerning fisheries management, with a focus on fisheries in Exclusive Economic Zones. The final part of the book summarises the case studies and develops a proposal for a 'legal clinic' for fisheries management.

This challenging book takes a broad and thought-provoking look at the precautionary principle and its implementation, or potential implementation, in a number of fields. In particular, the essays within the book explore the challenges faced by public decision-making processes when applying the precautionary principle, including its role in risk management and risk assessment. Frameworks for improved decision making are considered, followed by a detailed analysis of prospective applications of the precautionary principle in a number of emerging fields including: nanotechnology, climate change.

The controversial question of whether or not at present the precautionary principle is to be considered a norm of customary international law is the key theme of this work, which treats the issue as part of a broader discussion of the principle's legal status on the international plane. This discussion, In turn, Is put in perspective by an account of the short but remarkable history of the principle in international environmental law and policy. The greater part of this study consists of the mapping and analysis of state practice in respect of the precautionary principle. Pertinent treaties, declarations, decisions of international organizations and domestic instruments pass in review. The book then applies the generally accepted principles governing the formation of customary international law to this body of state practice. This manuscript was awarded the François Prize 2001 by the Netherlands Society of International Law / Netherlands Branch of the ILA. `[The precautionary principle] has been cited in an increasing number of legal proceedings, including those in the International Court of Justice, The International Tribunal For The Law of the Sea And The WTO Appellate Body, As well as in the courts of a large number of states, including the supreme courts of India and Canada.' (from the Preface by the Series Editors)

In The International Seabed Authority and the Precautionary Principle, Aline L. Jaeckel offers an insightful analysis of the work of the International Seabed Authority and examines whether the Authority is implementing the precautionary principle in regulating and managing deep seabed minerals.

International Law and Sustainable Development: Past Achievements and Future Challenges is a collection of essays that cover some of the most important contemporary issues in contemporary law relating to sustainable development, the utilization of natural resources, and the protection of theenvironment. Written by well-known experts on these topics who include judges of the International Court of Justice and the International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea; legal advisers from international organizations such as the World Bank, the International Maritime Organization, and the Food andAgriculture Organization; and practitioners of international law, as well as some of the leading scholars writing on international environmental law and related subjects this book covers many of the major legal developments that have taken place since the United Nations Conference on EnvironmentalDevelopment held in Rio de Janeiro in 1992.The contributors bring new perspectives on sustainable development as a legal principle, the role of the International Law Commission in codifying international environmental law, the protection of the marine environment following the entry into force of the 1982 UN Convention of the Law of the Sea,and the revolution in international fisheries law. The editors have ensured that the book covers a wide range of topics from Antarctica to small whales and the book will be of particular interest to those teaching or practising law of the sea and international environmental law.