Science and the Precautionary Principle in International Courts and Tribunals, by Caroline E. Foster. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2011, 400 pp., £70.00, Hardback.

Abstract

Beneath the calm and measured prose of Dr. Caroline Foster lies a tsunami for the field of risk assessment in international adjudication.Dr. Foster, a senior lecturer at the Faculty of Law, University of Auckland, looks boldly in the eye the difficult question of the influence of scientific evidence on international courts and tribunals. In an era where international law is endeavouring to come to terms with environmental protection, sustainable development, and public health and safety regulations and policies, international tribunals are called upon to adjudicate matters of extreme scientific complexity and, in this context, to understand the scientific approach to risk. One can no longer escape the realisation that judges and arbitrators on international tribunals rely on scientific expertise, and that this has a significant impact on their decision-making. This is one of the central tenets of Dr. Foster's book, and the basis for her analysis.