New risks have required a new set of environmental principles, emerging from a combination of public fears, science, ethics and established legal practice. This book examines how environmental law is formed, in particular the polluter pays principle, the preventive principle and the precautionary principle.
PART I: GENERAL INTRODUCTION; THE POLLUTER PAYS, PREVENTION AND PRECAUTIONARY PRINCIPLES: THREE APPROACHES TO ENVIRONMENTAL RISK; 1. The Polluter-Pays Principle; 2. The Principle of Prevention; 3. The Precautionary Principle; CONCLUSIONS OF PART ONE; PART II: THE LEGAL STATUS AND ROLE OF THE POLLUTER-PAYS, PREVENTIVE AND PRECAUTIONARY PRINCIPLES: A SHIFT FROM MODERN TO POST-MODERN LAW; INTRODUCTION; 1. Theoretical Presentation of Modern and Post-Modern Principles; 2. The Evolving Function of Environmental Directing Principles in the Transition from Modern to Post-modern Law; 3. The Legal Status of the Directory Principles of Environmental Law: From Political Slogans to Normative Principles; 4. Environmental Directing Principal v Free Trade; CONCLUSIONS OF PART TWO; FINAL CONCLUSIONS
This book is a formidable feat of legal scholarship ... likely to remain a milestone for years to come and one which no-one working in this field can ignore. Chris Miller, Environmental Law Review De Sadeleer's Environmental Principles is a tour de force, a showpiece of legal as well as contextual analysis, a constant proof of the author's sharp intellect, a reference book. Geert van Calster, International Environmental Agreements: Politics, Law and Economics (2004) Environmental Principles is an exciting and passionate book. ... it is an important work and it will, without a doubt, become a touchstone for debate in this area. Liz Fisher, Yearbook of European Environmental Law ... de Sadeleer's book is an impressive contribution to environmental law scholarship and a step forward in thinking about the nature and functions of the environmental principles. ... It communicates complex ideas with clarity. It deserves to be widely read. Michael G. Doherty, King's College Law Journal (2003) This book constitutes a veritable font of knowledge and facilitates access to both continental and Anglo-Saxon doctrine spanning the last 20 years. Its efforts at achieving a synthesis of the various theories and opinions prevailing in the field of environmental law must be duly commended. For all these reasons, Nicolas de Sadeleer's is a requisite reading of everyone interested in the development of modern law. Leiden Journal of International Law ... will undeniably prove useful to a great number of actors involved in the field (such as policy-makers, civil society representatives, members of the scientific community, and so on) ... one finds here an original conceptual frame as well as a careful effort at defining principles of environmental law, which too often suffer from vagueness in their apprehension or formulation. Leiden Journal of International Law ... brings a fresh and original perspective to the study of international law. Leiden Journal of International Law ... impressively-researched ... This book can be warmly recommended to anyone with an interest in the theory, development and practical working of environmental law ... it is well written and logically structured, with clear section headings as useful signposts to the direction of argument. Journal of Environmental Law Environmental Principles is a tour de force, a showpiece of legal as well as contextual analysis, a constant proof of the author's sharp intellect, a reference book. I would unreservedly recommend acquisition. And not just by lawyers. European Environmental Law Review