Risks on the application of the precautionary principle in tort and environmental liability

Abstract

This article reviews the notion of risk; it assesses the preventive and the precautionary principles; it compares them with the standard of care and the causal link; and it analyses the impact of the precautionary principle on recent national and foreign court decisions on tort and environmental liability. It argues that the attempt for reinterpreting tort and environmental liability in the light of the precautionary principle entails the risk of distorting the GIST of fault and causation, which can lead to the imposition of a strict liability without legal basis.