Science and Risk Regulation in International Law
Cambridge Studies in International and Comparative Law Series

The regulation of risk is a preoccupation of contemporary global society and an increasingly important part of international law in areas ranging from environmental protection to international trade. This book examines a key aspect of international risk regulation - the way in which science and technical expertise are used in reaching decisions about how to assess and manage global risks. An interdisciplinary analysis is employed to illuminate how science has been used in international legal processes and global institutions such as the World Trade Organization. Case studies of risk regulation in international law are drawn from diverse fields including environmental treaty law, international trade law, food safety regulation and standard-setting, biosafety and chemicals regulation. The book also addresses the important question of the most appropriate balance between science and non-scientific inputs in different areas of international risk regulation.

1. Introduction - science and risk regulation in international law; 2. Global risk governance and its legitimacy; 3. Scientific rationality and risk in international law; 4. Competing risk regulatory paradigms: sound science and the precautionary principle; 5. Science and WTO regulation of SPS risk; 6. Case studies of science and risk regulation in international law; 7. Democratising global risk governance; 8. What role for science in international risk regulation?

Dr Jacqueline Peel is an Associate Professor of Law at the Melbourne Law School, University of Melbourne, Australia. Her research focuses on areas of domestic and international environmental law including climate change, the intersections between law and science, and the precautionary principle.