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Herwig, Alexia; Joerges, Christian --- "The precautionary principle in conflicts law perspectives" [2013] ELECD 629; in Van Calster, Geert; Prévost, Denise (eds), "Research Handbook on Environment, Health and the WTO" (Edward Elgar Publishing, 2013) 3

Book Title: Research Handbook on Environment, Health and the WTO

Editor(s): Van Calster, Geert; Prévost, Denise

Publisher: Edward Elgar Publishing

ISBN (hard cover): 9781847208972

Section: Chapter 1

Section Title: The precautionary principle in conflicts law perspectives

Author(s): Herwig, Alexia; Joerges, Christian

Number of pages: 38

Abstract/Description:

In this contribution, we pursue two objectives. The first is to explore a new potential of the conflicts law approach which has first been developed at the European University Institute in Florence and in the context of two interdisciplinary projects and proffered as the appropriate constitutional form for transnational law. The second is to discuss in an exemplary way instances of a conflicts law approach or a lack thereof in the jurisprudence of World Trade Organization (WTO) dispute settlement bodies and in European law dealing with the precautionary principle or with legal norms reflective of precautionary thinking. We do not aim to give an exhaustive overview of how the relevant laws and tribunals deal or have dealt with the precautionary principle or norms based on it. This, however, does not mean that the cases were selected at random. The cases we discuss are of exemplary systemic relevance for how the balance between trade and nontrade (health and environmental) concerns was struck in the legal texts under consideration.