ABSTRACT
One of the most controversial issues in the final stages of negotiating the Cartagena Protocol on Biosafety was whether and in which way explicit recognition would be given to the precautionary principle. The mere existence of the protocol, and the prominence it gives to the precautionary principle, constitutes in itself an international recognition of the need for and legitimacy of applying precaution in a situation of scientific uncertainty about the potential risks associated with particular uses of biotechnology. The precautionary principle, however, while playing an important role in biodiversity-related matters, was referred to only in the preamble of the Convention on Biological Diversity. Reflecting the precautionary principle’s low priority in the negotiations, discussions about it focused more on its positioning in the protocol than on what should be its precise terms. The various and complementary references to precaution in the protocol should contribute to consolidating the status and relevance of the precautionary principle in both international and national law.
