Research On The Status Of The Precautionary Principle In International Law

The traditional decision-making method is required to be based on sufficient scientific information.With the transformation of the concept of environmental protection from damage result prevention to damage risk prevention,the decision-making stage goes further,which means that risk management must face the scientific uncertainty in decision-making.As a decision-making rule of risk management,the legal content of Precautionary Principle is that when the decision-maker is faced with risks,scientific uncertainty cannot be the reason for delaying the adoption of protective measures.In different treaties and laws,there are different definitions and understandings of Precautionary Principle.These definitions and understandings jointly reflect the four basic characteristics of Precautionary Principle,namely,risk characteristics,uncertainty characteristics,behavior characteristics and obligation characteristics.The status of Precautionary Principle in international law is not clear.From the perspective of practical analysis,the WTO considers that the principle has not yet become an international law;The International Court of justice is cautious about the principle and does not show the international legal nature of the principle;The International Tribunal for the law of the sea considers that this principle already belongs to a customary international law.The international law status of Precautionary Principle is mainly to examine whether it belongs to general legal principles or customary international law.In the investigation of the general legal principles of Precautionary Principle,whether it is the identification method based on comparative method,the identification method based on international law,or the manifestation of the moral connotation of the principle in international law,we cannot draw the conclusion that Precautionary Principle belongs to the general legal principle.The formation of a customary international law needs to meet the requirements of "state practice" and "legal certainty".Countries and regions have shown a certain degree of legal certainty in the practice of Precautionary Principle,but in state practice,Precautionary Principle is not universal,extensive and representative.International treaties can be used as auxiliary evidence to prove Precautionary Principle and customary international law.From the perspective of the development of Precautionary Principle,it is first produced in practice,and then concretized by international treaties.Although the identification method of customary international law based on two elements cannot draw the conclusion that Precautionary Principle belongs to customary international law,countries and regions have reached a consensus on Precautionary Principle,and its scope and acceptance are gradually expanding.It even has the essence of customary international law in a certain region,although it still does not belong to general legal principles or customary international law,However,it has gradually shown the characteristics of a perfect customary international law.Although China also has the practice of Precautionary Principle,it has no means to deal with scientific uncertainty in risk management.After nearly three decades of development,the connotation and applicable rules of Precautionary Principle have become more and more perfect.China can conditionally try to fully apply Precautionary Principle,which will help to improve the level of risk prevention and control and scientific decisionmaking.