Precautionary Regulation of Environmental Risks and the Principle of Proportionality

2020 Fiscal Year Final Research Report

• Project/Area Number: 18K12696
• Research Category: Grant-in-Aid for Early-Career Scientists
• Allocation Type: Multi-year Fund
• Review Section: Basic Section 05070:New fields of law-related
• Research Institution: Hosei University
• Principal Investigator: YOKOUCHI MEGUMI 法政大学, 人間環境学部, 准教授 (40632708)
• Project Period (FY): 2018-04-01 – 2021-03-31
• Keywords: 環境リスク / リスク / 科学的不確実性 / 比例制 / 比例原則 / ドイツ / 遺伝子技術法 / 予防原則

Outline of Final Research Achievements

When environmental risks, which are presupposed to have scientific uncertainties, are put under legal control, the precautionary principle and the principle of proportionality could come into conflict with one another. Procedural decisions have been adopted to permit activities and uses of materials that could pose such environmental risks; however, their suitability with the proportionality principle is considered problematic.
In response to these issues, this study achieves the following two main results by clarifying to a certain extent: (1) how the court can review the decisions made by administrative agencies to treat risks, and how the principle of proportionality can be applied to the process; (2) how, when specific laws dealing with environmental risks adopt a new concept of risk, the new concept relates to the principle of proportionality, referring to the German law on genetic engineering.

Free Research Field

環境法

Academic Significance and Societal Importance of the Research Achievements

本研究は、ドイツの遺伝子技術法における新たなリスク概念と比例原則との関係を本研究において本格的に検討したことにより、予防原則と比例原則の両立可能性、実体論と手続論との接合という、リスク法制の理論的基盤を構築することに資するものである。また、本研究は、予防的なアプローチと比例原則とが両立し得るリスク制御のあり方を見出したが、それはわが国の様々な環境リスク関連制度の構築に資するものである。