The development and status of the precautionary principle in the United Kingdom

Introduction

In Sweden the precautionary principle has, in one way or another, been a basic element of environmental and health protection for more than thirty years. It is firmly embedded in legislation and has been fleshed out, to a considerable degree, in preparatory works, case law and guidance documents. In the UK the story is very different. Even though precautionary decisions have, historically, been taken in various policy sectors in the UK, a more consistent approach, spanning all policy areas, was not considered until the early 1990s. Lacking reference in statutory instruments, the precautionary principle has been dealt with in documents of a policy nature. Following this development, the precautionary principle has tentatively been relied on before the UK courts. Since the precautionary principle has not been included in UK legislation, the sources for this chapter mainly include policy documents and relevant judgments of UK courts.

In this chapter the background, development and status of the precautionary principle in the UK will be analysed and discussed. As in the previous chapters, constituent elements of the precautionary principle, such as risk assessment and management, the role of scientific evidence and cost–benefit analysis are discussed separately.

Background and development

Where the precautionary principle in Sweden can be traced back to at least the late 1960s, a general precautionary mechanism in the UK is a much more recent concept.