Interpretation and Application of the Precautionary Principle: Australia's Contribution

Australia has been a leading jurisdiction in the adoption of the precautionary principle, with widespread policy and legislative incorporation. This has paved the way for the development of a substantial jurisprudence on the interpretation and application of the principle. The international derivation of the version of the precautionary principle adopted in Australia, together with the wide range of areas in which the principle has been applied, for example biodiversity protection, environmental impact assessment, climate change, public health, etc., means that judicial consideration of the principle in Australia has the potential to form a body of common law with national and international application. Accordingly, this article reviews the adoption, interpretation and application of the precautionary principle in Australian environmental law, with a view to drawing out the general lessons this experience offers for interpretation of the principle in other, international settings .     

国际法上的风险预防原则

风险预防原则已经成为国际和国内环境保护法律制度的一项重要的基本原则。该原则要求我们在进行任何的经济活动之前就对该活动可能会对自然环境和生态系统造成的影响进行风险预测,并相应采取针对性的措施,从而更好地保护自然环境和生态系统。但如何将该原则运用到危险废物越境转移领域,仍然有待我们进行理论上的探讨。应加强对危险废物越境转移中运用该原则等方面的探讨。     

Precautionary Maybe,but What's the Principle? The Precautionary Principle,the Regulation of Risk,and the Public Domain

The 'precautionary principle', originating in the field of environmental protection but now widely applied, is a major point for discussion in the regulation of risk. Though promising proactive and pre-emptive intervention to prevent potentially irreversible harm, its precise meaning remains somewhat unclear. Legal systems tend to view it as procedural rather than substantive, and debates abound regarding its 'stronger' or 'weaker' versions and, indeed, the very concept of 'risk'. It is also necessary to discuss how the principle operates in varying administrative and constitutional contexts but the key task is to clarify the principle's fundamental value base. If its essentially collective orientation is highlighted, it may better ensure that democratic and non-pecuniary interests are given due prominence in regulatory contexts otherwise dominated by economic interests and technological imperatives, and it may then play an important role in reasserting the values of the public domain in the face of powerful private interests.     

风险行政的预防原则

风险预防不同于危险防御,其适用于科学上不确定的风险行政领域,在我国具有法律原则的重要地位。为了更好地保护基本权利,国家可以根据预防原则设计风险预防机制,并在特定条件下采取一定的风险预防措施。但因为风险的不确定性,国家在采取风险预防措施时存在较大的裁量空间,也容易侵害经营自由、科研自由或引发贸易纠纷。故而,如果某产品有潜在的负面效果,经风险评估判明存在科学上的不确定性,方可决定采取风险预防措施。在采取措施时,国家应当遵守比例原则、平等对待原则等要求,应当说明理由,保障公众的参与机会,并根据情况变化在事后进行评估与调整,以提高措施的可接受性、充实风险信息。在风险预防措施的合法性引起争讼时,因存在科学上的不确定性而难以适用客观性举证责任,应由双方主体在各自的责任范围内举证说明,以帮助法院解明案情,适时作出裁判。     

论风险预警原则在WTO法律中的地位

在乌拉圭贸易谈判中,国际社会推出了一个新的多边货物协定,即<实施卫生与植物卫生措施的协定>(以下简称"SPS协定"),其中第5条第7款规定,"在有关科学证据不充分的情况下,一成员可根据可获得的有关信息,包括来自有关国际组织以及其他成员实施的动植物卫生检疫措施的信息,临时采用动植物卫生检疫措施.在此种情况下,各成员应寻求获得更加客观地进行风险评估所必需的额外信息,并在合理期限内据此审议动植物卫生检疫措施."     

Food Safety and the Precautionary Principle: the Legitimate Moderation of Community Courts

Abstract: The precautionary principle, though not defined in the Community Treaties, has been the subject of numerous attempts at doctrinal systematisation. These efforts have, for the most part, dealt with organising how to adopt measures banning products or methods of production. Associated with this rigorous approach to the precautionary principle are questions on moratoriums and reversal of the burden of proof. Following this logic, one must understand that the precautionary principle obliges the initiator of a project (or the producer of foodstuffs) to prove the innocuousness of its product before putting it on the market. However, this concept of the precautionary principle, while held by the larger part of doctrinal opinion, is not shared by the Community courts. These have largely developed Community law on this point with a progressive corpus of decisions that give an increasingly specific definition of the concept. This attempt at definition leads to a rational presentation of the precautionary principle as a means of dealing with scientific uncertainty and not as a way of rejecting science. The aim of this article is to show that the conception held by Community courts, while apparently less protective of human health than the doctrinal conception, has the advantage of being effective; that is to say capable of practical application, while the more rigorous interpretation leads only to a protective Utopian dead-end, which its defenders find themselves incapable of progressing beyond.     

The Precautionary Principle in General International Law: Combating the Babylonian Confusion

The purpose of this article is to contribute to the clarification of the legal scope of the precautionary principle. The primary focus is on general international law, so as to determine as accurately as possible what it is that 'the' precautionary principle entails. The legal development, status and implications of the principle pass in review. A definition is presented of a right and a duty of States to take precautionary action, which is deemed representative of the current state of customary international law. Several particularly controversial issues receive separate treatment, including the burden of proof, the role of uncertainty and the application of the precautionary principle to human health protection. Special attention is paid to the practical relevance of the various findings, which are placed in the context of recent developments.     

论预先防范原则在国际环境法中的地位

预先防范原则是在20世纪80、90年代出现在国际环境法领域的一种新的处理缺少确切科学证据的环境风险的主张.迄今已有至少八个国际环境条约载入了与预先防范原则有关的内容,虽然具体用词不尽相同;与预先防范原则有关的案例也已经有数个.以这些为研究对象,探讨预先防范原则在国际环境法上的地位.现在预先防范原则还没有形成国际环境法领域的习惯法,但很多国家愿意在处理缺少确切科学证据的环境风险时,使用与其相关的方法或措施.     

超越恐惧:基于老年死亡态度的视角

老年心理健康是老龄化社会的重要研究课题,而探讨老年心理健康离不开研究老年死亡态度。文章系统梳理了老年死亡态度的结构和特征、影响因素及其与心理健康的关系。分析了恐惧管理理论对老年死亡态度研究的影响。从轻视死亡接受、缺少理论整合、研究方法单一、忽视文化差异、逃避根本难点等五方面对老年死亡态度研究进行了评价。     

挫折与修正:风险预防之下环境规制改革的进路选择

风险预防作为基础性原则正在主宰着法律体系的变革路向和精神维度,引导着环境规制从危险规制向风险规制转变。在环境规制实践中,风险预防存在纲领规定模式、规范裁量模式和制度规范模式三种适用类型。环境规制的格局正围绕着它们不断地调整、改进,但也在规制立法和规制实施层面呈现出阶段性挫折的一面。这种挫折的根源在于当前的环境风险规制采取了一种封闭式的技术规范进路。对此,应借助商谈式程序进路对其进行修正和补充,确立以规制立法+规制决策+规制商谈为主轴的环境风险规制新范式。在风险预防之下,这种双重复合进路对我国的环境规制改革实践具有重要借鉴意义。     

The Precautionary Principle in EC Health and Environmental Law

Abstract:  Envisaging anticipatory preventive action in response to uncertainty, the precautionary principle represents an important milestone in risk reduction. The question is no longer merely how to prevent assessable risks, but rather how to anticipate risks pervaded by uncertainty. By leaving behind the realm of 'sound science', precaution necessarily gives rise to conflict. As regards the status and the implementation of that principle, the aim of this article is to explore some of the key issues arising in environmental and food safety cases brought before the Tribunal of First Instance, the European Court of Justice and the EFTA Court.     

浅析WTO框架内的风险预防原则——以《动植物卫生检疫措施协定》第5．7条为视角

作为国际环境法基本原则之一的风险预防原则,其精髓在于强调当有环境风险发生或发生之虞时,不应以缺乏科学确定性为由而限制必要措施的施行。在WTO框架内,风险预防原则主要体现在《SPS协定》第5．7条。实践中,第5．7条的适用需同时遵循程序及实质两方面的要件。从这些要件可以看出,《SPS协定》第5．7条不是单纯地反映了风险预防原则,而是对风险预防原则的具体化,其所规定的临时性措施是对风险预防原则具体适用的一项风险预防措施。WTO应以《SPS协定》第5．7条为基础,与国际环境法共同发展风险预防原则。这样既有利于贸易自由化对环境所造成的风险获得更有效的管理,又有利于WTO与国际环境法的协调。     

The Precautionary Principle: A Thrill Ride on the Roller Coaster of Energy and Climate Law

The International Energy Agency has reported that, in 2007, fossil fuels were the source of 66% of global energy production, while the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change has found that 60% of all anthropogenic greenhouse gas emissions in 2004 were carbon dioxide emissions from the stationary energy sector. This article relies on recent case law in Australia to assess the extent to which the precautionary principle is a relevant consideration for development consent authorities determining applications for energy-generation facilities, including coal-fired power stations, coal mines, wind farms and uranium mines. What emerges is that there is really no certainty that the precautionary principle will be applied consistently by Australian courts to determine the legal responsibilities of decision makers assessing energy projects. In this sense, the precautionary principle has taken a thrill ride on the roller coaster of energy and climate law in Australia .     

EU和WTO预防原则解释和适用比较研究

预防原则是国际法上重要的法律原则,其法律地位存在很大争议,不同国际组织对其认可和适用的程度不尽相同。欧盟的预防原则理念领先于其他国家和地区,在区域内的实践呈扩大的趋势。WTO框架内预防原则的实践则发展缓慢,由于宗旨的不同和背后利益集团的博弈,与欧盟的预防原则立法和实践存在较大差异。     

我国环境保护中风险预防原则的缺失及完善

科学技术的迅速发展给人类带来了惊喜的同时也带来了巨大的风险.在环境领域,科技发展的并发症已经使生态遭受严重破坏而难以回复,而潜在的环境风险则使人们感到害怕而又无奈.正是在这样的背景下,为了应对具有科学不确定性环境问题,风险预防原则应运而生.本文通过研究外国环境法中关于风险预防原则的法律制度和实践,分析了我国环境法中风险预防原则存在的问题,提出了完善该原则的相关建议.     

风险预防原则在我国环境法领域的有限适用研究

根据风险预防原则的含义与判断标准,我国应在气候变化、生物多样性保护、转基因食品安全等三个环境法领域适用风险预防原则。这既是我国在上述领域环境问题特殊性的要求,又是我国应尽的国际义务。