ABSTRACT
The precautionary principle, enshrined in the laws of various nations and the words of various international treaties, is heralded by its proponents as embodying a radically different approach to environmental decision-making. Given the importance accorded to it, the lack of uniformity regarding its formulation comes as a surprise. Versions of the precautionary principle are many, both in terms of wording and in terms of surface syntactic structure. 1 While it may seem obvious to all of the participants in environmental disputes what is meant by “the precautionary principle,” from the perspective of an outsider the content of the precautionary principle can be far from clear.
