France is probably one of the only countries to have written the precautionary principle into its Constitution, in 2005. The need to forestall any re-occurence of the "scandal of the contaminated blood" was one of the driving forces behind the reform. Attention has recently been drawn back to the issue by the excessive precautions taken against the swine flu that did not materialise, and again yesterday 21 June by the publication of a report on the past hasardous effects of an insecticide in the Antilles. Earlier this month, Parliament held a seminar bringing together lawyers, philosophers, academics and others to publicise and discuss the results of a parliamentary review of the implementation of this principle. Today, Parliament examined the report.
The 2005 constitutional amendment introduced a Chart of the Environment defining conditions (grave danger, uncertain scientific evidence) in which specific risk assessment procedures and conservatory measures should be used. The drafters of the review have noticed that the principle was being applied to a wider range of issues than initially foressen (on this see previous post on this blog) and call for a new text to further specify the conditions, stressing proportionality and insisting that precautionary measures should always be temporary. Good dossier on Vie-Publique.fr (in French.)
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