Universität zu Köln

Agelebe, Dennis Oghenerobor ORCID: 0000-0003-0552-7293 (2020). Application of the Precautionary Principle in International Trade: Implications and Legal Perspectives. PhD thesis, Universität zu Köln.

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Abstract

The Precautionary Principle: A Justified Incursion to International Trade? The precautionary principle is perceived by many scholars, lawyers, environmental activists and public officers in different ways and shades. It is one of the several principles international environmental law proffers, either as a solution, or mitigation, or prevention of present and future environmental damage. The principle is founded on the premise that action on issues affecting the environment should be promptly taken, and absence of enough scientific information on the perceived danger should not be an excuse to act in the contrary. Some see it as a valid protective approach against potential irreversible harms even in the absence of a scientific confirmation of the imminent danger. Others see it as an unnecessary and disguised obstruction to innovative development. Over the past two decades, the principle has seen a wider latitude of application beyond the traditional area of environment by different entities. International trade is one major but controverted area that has attracted the application of the principle, albeit with objections. The argument for and against the principle itself and particularly its application in international trade is directed at its status and its scope of application. International trade being global business activities organized under a multilateral regulatory regime that promotes liberal market ideologies, its interaction with the environment has increased theoretically, but legally nothing much has changed. Though there are trade-environment measures in some international trade related agreements that some experts have interpreted to mean a recognition of the precautionary principle in international trade, no judicial interpretation of those measures has expressly given any credible credence to such recognition. This research extensively examines the dynamics of international trade and legal scientific basis for the different perspectives that raises the claim of applying the precautionary principle to its activities. Several factors contribute to why the precautionary principle remains outside the ambit of international trade. But the major one is the level of interaction between environmental law and international trade law. As Globalization hitches forward, with the oppositions to it; the trade wars between top trading countries and the re-alignments in trade relationships, will the chance for increased interaction between trade and environment be higher or lower? With the intensity of the topic of climate change, will there be any difference in legal interpretations of the precautionary measures that can be deemed to be non-restrictive of trade?

Item Type:	Thesis (PhD thesis)
Creators:	Creators Email ORCID ORCID Put Code Agelebe, Dennis Oghenerobor dennisagels@gmail.com orcid.org/0000-0003-0552-7293 UNSPECIFIED
URN:	urn:nbn:de:hbz:38-302796
Date:	12 November 2020
Language:	English
Faculty:	Faculty of Law
Divisions:	Ehemalige Fakultäten, Institute, Seminare > Faculty of Law
Subjects:	Law
Uncontrolled Keywords:	Keywords Language Environment English Trade English Precaution English
Date of oral exam:	12 November 2020
Referee:	Name Academic Title Kirk, Junker Prof. Dr.
Refereed:	Yes
URI:	http://kups.ub.uni-koeln.de/id/eprint/30279