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The Precautionary Principle: Its Use Within Hard and Soft Law

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  20 January 2017

René von Schomberg
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Abstract

The precautionary principle in public decision making concerns situations where following an assessment of the available scientific information, there are reasonable grounds for concern for the possibility of adverse effects on the environment or human health, but scientific uncertainty persists. In such cases provisional risk management measures may be adopted, without having to wait until the reality and seriousness of those adverse effects become fully apparent. This is the definition of the precautionary principle as operationalized under EU law. The precautionary principle is a deliberative principle. Its application involves deliberation on a range of normative dimensions which need to be taken into account while making the principle operational in the public policy context. Under EU law, any risk management measures to be adopted while implementing the precautionary principle, have to be proportionate to ensure the chosen high level of protection in the European Community.

This article will illustrate the established practice concerning the release of genetically modified organisms into the environment and how the principle is implemented under hard law. The article also provides an outlook on what this may imply for the relative new case of nanotechnology and the use of precautionary principle within the context of soft law (use of codes of conduct).

Type
Symposium on the European Parliament’s Role in Risk Governance
Information
European Journal of Risk Regulation , Volume 3 , Issue 2 , June 2012 , pp. 147 - 156
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 2012

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References

1 Consolidated versions of the treaty on European Union and of the treaty establishing the European community, Official Journal of the European Union, C325, 24 December 2002, Title XIX, article 174, paragraph 2 and 3.

2 Communication from the European Commission on the Precautionary Principle, (COM 2000/001), Brussels.

3 De Vries, Gerard (ed.), Proceedings second international work CCRO workshop – Commission Genetic Modification (Bilthoven: 1999), pp. 125136Google Scholar.

4 Communication from the Commission on the Precautionary Principle, (COM 2000/001), Brussels (previously cited) and the European Council Resolution on the Precautionary Principle, 2000, Brussels.

5 Christoforou, Theofanis, “The Precautionary Principle and Democratising Expertise: A European Legal Perspective”, 30 Science and Public Policy (2003), pp. 205–213 CrossRefGoogle Scholar.

6 René Von Schomberg, René, “An Appraisal of the Working in Practice of Directive 90/220 Concerning the Deliberate Release of Genetically Modified Organisms in the Environment”, STOA report of the European Parliament (1998).

7 European Court of Justice, Greenpeace France and Others, Judgement C 6/99, 21 March 2000

8 Vos, Ellen, “Antibiotics, the Precautionary Principle and the Court of First Instance”, 11 Maastricht Journal of European and Comparative Law (2004), pp. 187–200 CrossRefGoogle Scholar.

9 See for example: Von Schomberg, René, (ed.), Science, Politics and Morality: Scientific Uncertainty and Decision Making (Dordrecht: Kluwer, 1993)CrossRefGoogle Scholar; Von Schomberg, René, Der Rationale Umgang mit Unsicherheit (Frankfurt am Main: Peter Lang, 1995)Google Scholar.

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11 Article 4 of European Communities, 2001, Directive 2001/18/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 12 March 2001 on the deliberate release into the environment of genetically modified organisms and repealing Council directive 90/220/EEC-Commission Declaration, Official Journal of the European Communities, L 106, 17 April 2001.

12 COGEM (Dutch Committee on Genetic Modification) (2004), The Hague: reference nr C/UK/94/M1/1 public register in the library of the Dutch Ministry for the Environment (VROM)

13 European Commission, Communication from the Commission to the Council, the European Parliament and the European Economic Committee: “Nanosciences and Nanotechnologies: An action plan for Europe 2005–2009: Second implementation report 2007 – 2009”, Brussels, 29.10.2009, COM (2009) 607 final.

14 European Commission, “Recommendation of 7 February 2008 on a code of conduct for responsible nanosciences and nanotechnologies research”, C(2008) 424.

15 Von Schomberg, René and Davies, Sarah (eds.), Understanding Public Debate on Nanotechnologies – Options for Framing Public Policy (Luxembourg: Publication Office of the European Union, 2010)Google Scholar.

16 Peter Van Broekhuizen and Astrid Schwarz, “European Trade Union and Environmental NGO Positions in the Debate on Nanotechnologies”, in René Von Schomberg and Sarah Davies (eds.), Understanding Public Debate on Nanotechnologies, supra note 15, pp. 81–108.

17 René von Schomberg, Angela Guimarães Pereira and Silvio Funtowicz, “Deliberating Foresight-Knowledge for Policy and Foresight- Knowledge Assessment”, European Commission, Directorate General for Research (2005).