摘要
预防原则爲国际环境法中发展出以处理关於具有科学不确定性的环境风险之权宜性指导方针。预防原则虽然立意甚佳，但因国际间对於环境议题所持之态度与立场有所不同，故对於预防原则之具体内涵、实践方式，甚至法律效果与法律地位等皆无共识，而引发不少争议。本文兹就国际环境法发展之重要概念与精神，与其对於预防原则之孕育，国际间透过多边环境协定对於预防原则之引用与法典化所作之努力，以及国际法院、国际海洋法法庭与世界贸易组织等涉及预防原则之争端案例，分别进行分析与介绍；以探讨预防原则在发展过程中受到之影响与牵制，并进而针对预防原则之争议性法律议题，以及其所涵盖之范围与应有之实质内涵与构成要件加以厘清。
Precautionary Principle is one of the major legal principles that developed in international environmental law in the last decade, and is aimed to deal with environmental risks or impacts with no scientific certainty. The concept of precautionary principle was built in the 1992 Rio Declaration and sold to the global accordingly. By far, precautionary principle has been applied and referred in several MEAs and international dispute cases. However, no uniform understanding of its meaning is reached, amongst states and commentators. The present paper therefore seeks to address the controversies of this very principle by means of exploring the background, i.e. the special features of international environmental law, for developing precautionary principle. Attentions will therefore be made to clarify the nature and scope of precautionary principle. It is suggested that precautionary principle should function as a guideline in the decision-making process of risk management. It is therefore the aim of the present paper to examine the legal interpretations and significance of precautionary principle and to propose a structure of the contents of precautionary principle, so as to identify the preconditions for applying, and major directions provided in, this principle.
