Role of the precautionary principle in the EU risk assessment process on industrial chemicals

2003 ◽  
Vol 75 (11-12) ◽  
pp. 2535-2541 ◽  
Author(s):  
J. de Bruijn ◽  
Bjorn Hansen ◽  
S. Munn

This paper discusses the practical implementation of the precautionary principle in the area of management of industrial chemicals in the European Union. An analysis of a number of recent cases where the precautionary principle was invoked shows that the main reason for doing so were the uncertainties in the risk assessment (or the underlying effects or exposure data), which were, according to the scientific experts, so high that the "normal" level of certainty could not be obtained. The challenge for the future is to try to develop general guidance or rules that will support the policymakers in their decision as to whether this uncertainty is so large that action is warranted or whether it is acceptable to wait until further information has become available.

2007 ◽  
Vol 4 (6) ◽  
pp. 455-467 ◽  
Author(s):  
Elen Stokes

AbstractThis paper focuses on the meanings attached to the "precautionary principle" in judgments passed down by the World Trade Organisation (WTO) and the European Community (EC) courts. It speaks to claims that, in response to WTO litigation, the EC courts are beginning to construe the precautionary principle in a manner that more closely resembles obligations arising from the Agreement on Sanitary and Phytosanitary Measures (the SPS Agreement). It illustrates that although disparities between interpretations in EC and WTO case law of legitimate precautionary intervention are growing to be less obvious, inconsistencies continue to exist.


2003 ◽  
Vol 75 (11-12) ◽  
pp. 2543-2545 ◽  
Author(s):  
J. Burger

Different governments and agencies are approaching the use of scientific evidence, weight of evidence, and the precautionary principle in different ways. The European community has used the precautionary principle in situations where the consequences are great, data are unavailable or will be costly (in terms of money and time) to obtain, or data are difficult or impossible to obtain. Other countries, such as the United States, have a risk assessment process that has built-in safety or uncertainty factors which are themselves precautionary. Risk management decisions can be made on the basis of adequate studies, risk assessment, weight-of-evidence approaches, and the application of the precautionary principle. While weight of evidence has been used in the United States for increased research funding and regulator action with respect to some chemicals that are hormonally active, the European community has applied the precautionary principle.


2015 ◽  
Vol 6 (1) ◽  
pp. 111-120 ◽  
Author(s):  
Christoph Klika

The adoption of the REACH regulation, setting out to reformchemicals policy of the European Union (EU), was accompanied by intense controversy over the role of the precautionary principle. Analysing decision making on so called Substances of Very High Concern (SVHCs), this article demonstrates that despite legal underpinning, precaution plays a limited role in the implementation of the REACH authorisation procedure. Due to ambiguous legislative provisions, the controversiesof the legislativeprocessare carriedover tothe implementationprocess.


2020 ◽  
Vol 2 (1) ◽  
pp. 1
Author(s):  
Rezandha Hutagalung

This journal aims to find out how to apply the precautionary principle of a bank as a custodian bank in Indonesian capital market. Whereas with the enactment of Law Number 1995 concerning the Capital Market, it is deemed necessary to enact a Bapepam Decision regarding the Custodian Bank's Report. In the context of carrying out Indonesia's economic development, of course the challenges are not insignificant for financial institutions, one of which is in banking institutions. The role of banking institutions that carry out the main task as a vehicle that can collect and distribute funds effectively and efficiently, requires continuous improvement in order to be able to have a comparative advantage. This journal is how about the application of the precautionary principle in the capital market in Indonesia. Custodian Bank is a commercial bank that has obtained the approval of the Financial Services Authority (OJK) to carry out business activities as a custodian. The object of legal research is legal norms, which have the aim of examining whether or not a regulation is appropriated and applied.


2020 ◽  
Vol 11 (3) ◽  
pp. 481-497
Author(s):  
Sophia PAULINI

This contribution analyses whether the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) provides clarifications on the normative implications that the precautionary principle entails in the context of Regulation 1107/2009, laying out the EU authorisation procedure for pesticides, in its recent judgement in Case C-616/17. In this judgement, which is a response to a request for a preliminary ruling by a French criminal court on the compatibility of certain aspects of Regulation 1107/2009 with the precautionary principle, the CJEU concludes that the questions of the referring court reveal nothing capable of affecting the validity of the regulation. According to the CJEU, to ensure conformity with the precautionary principle, the EU legislature must establish a normative framework that makes available to competent authorities sufficient information to adequately assess the risks to health resulting from the pesticide in question. However, the CJEU’s substantive analysis of the compatibility of the different aspects of Regulation 1107/2009 with the precautionary principle is not conducted concretely in light of this legal standard, but constitutes a mere testing of the general adequacy of Regulation 1107/2009. Furthermore, the CJEU’s judgement examines Regulation 1107/2009 in a vacuum without considering problems that have occurred in its implementation or application.


2003 ◽  
Vol 31 (3) ◽  
pp. 353-364 ◽  
Author(s):  
Robert Combes ◽  
Jennifer Dandrea ◽  
Michael Balls

In May, 2003, the European Commission published detailed proposals relating to its 2001 White Paper – Strategy for a Future Chemicals Policy. The White Paper described a new registration system called the REACH (Registration, Evaluation and Authorisation of Chemicals) system, for both new and existing chemicals. Subsequently, these detailed proposals were available for an eight-week consultation period for stakeholders to voice their views and concerns. In this paper, we describe our reactions to the Commission's more-detailed proposals. These include the creation of a European Chemicals Agency to implement the REACH system in conjunction with Competent Authorities (CAs) in Member States and the Commission itself. Unfortunately, many of our concerns and suggestions, previously voiced and shared with several other key stakeholders, remain unanswered, but are as relevant as when the White Paper was published. In particular, we are concerned about the lack of a clear and coherent strategy. There is no guidance for registrants on intelligent testing to maximise the use of non-animal approaches to safety testing, based on a combination of factors for estimating exposure levels, rather than mainly on production volumes. We are also concerned about the absence of a clear programme for the development, improvement and validation of new alternative methods, in conjunction with the Commission's own unit, the European Centre for the Validation of Alternative Methods, as well as other organisations with relevant expertise and experience, including FRAME. Finally, we explain why such measures should be introduced, together with clearer guidelines for the respective roles of the Agency, the CAs and the Commission in implementing and harmonising the REACH system at the European Union and Member State levels. A series of recommendations are made, to improve the situation and to improve the risk assessment process.


2013 ◽  
Vol 4 (2) ◽  
pp. 297-306 ◽  
Author(s):  
Maria Weimer

Reality is complex, and often does not lend itself to generalization or simplifying explanations. Yet at the same time, explaining reality often requires the shaping of notions and concepts of it through generalization and the reduction of complexity. This tension between complexity and particularity on the one hand and generalization and the search for abstracting explanatory patterns on the other is beautifully illustrated by two recently released publications on precaution and risk regulation in the United States and Europe, namely “The Politics of Precaution” by David Vogel1 and “The Reality of Precaution” edited by Jonathan Wiener, Michael Rogers, James Hammitt, and Peter Sand.Both books together can be seen as the latest significant contribution to the ongoing debate on the role of the precautionary principle in risk regulation in a comparative EU-US perspective. Both contributions are significant in that they consolidate the trend towards an empirically informed analysis of the actual practice of the application of precaution in risk regulation.


2020 ◽  
Vol 137 ◽  
pp. 109515
Author(s):  
Ermolaos Ververis ◽  
Reinhard Ackerl ◽  
Domenico Azzollini ◽  
Paolo Angelo Colombo ◽  
Agnès de Sesmaisons ◽  
...  

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