The precautionary principle and democratizing expertise: a European legal perspective

Abstract

The underlying rationale of the need to democratize expertise and the precautionary principle are closely interconnected. Democratizing expertise and, more broadly, achieving effective and legitimate governance in risk regulation require honest and objective assessment of substances, processes or activities that are potentially harmful, involvement of all interested parties and confidence in the control mechanisms. The precautionary principle informs, and is affected by, these three requirements. As a principle based on common sense, it provides both substantive and procedural rationality to the politics of risk regulation. Substantive rationality because it is the most appropriate decision-making tool to deal with situations of uncertainty, ignorance and lack of causality of identified potential harm. Procedural rationality because it facilitates the communication between, and the decision-making process of, risk assessors, risk managers and the public, thus enabling democratic societal choices about the level of acceptable risk to be respected.