Victoria University

Application of the precautionary principle during consenting processes in New Zealand: Addressing past errors, obtaining a normative fix and developing a structured and operationalised approach

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dc.contributor.advisor Iorns, Catherine
dc.contributor.author Scott, Dale
dc.date.accessioned 2016-07-29T03:01:07Z
dc.date.available 2016-07-29T03:01:07Z
dc.date.copyright 2016
dc.date.issued 2016
dc.identifier.uri http://researcharchive.vuw.ac.nz/handle/10063/5199
dc.description.abstract The precautionary principle is increasingly being adopted as a legal risk management tool in international environmental law and regulation, especially in the marine context. In fact, over the last 35 years it has been included, often as a central feature, in the vast majority of international law instruments relating to protection and management of the environment. This rise to prominence is largely driven by widespread recognition that the ability of environmental law to successfully avert long term and significant harm is very much contingent on the successful implementation and application of the precautionary principle (specifically, the decision-making and planning measures it advocates). Owing to the above, it is unsurprising that like many other countries New Zealand has incorporated the precautionary principle expressly and implicitly into domestic law and policy over the last 25 years. The most recent and arguably most notable instance of the incorporation of the precautionary principle in New Zealand law is in the Exclusive Economic Zone and Continental Shelf (Environmental Effects) Act 2012 (“EEZ Act”). Indeed, for reasons explained in this paper, the success of the EEZ Act will in large part depend on the successful application of the precautionary principle contained in the Act. Unfortunately, New Zealand’s incorporation and application of the precautionary principle to date has been problematic, with confusion and a variety of approaches taken to its core concepts, and arguably outright misapplication of it. For this reason, this paper seeks to take comprehensive stock of the precautionary principle, first to identify what is the likely cause of such confusion and misapplication, and second, to provide a foundational understanding to assist policy makers and the courts with the task of operationalising and applying it during legislative consenting processes. In doing so, this paper focuses on its operation in the marine setting, with a view to assisting with its interpretation and application under the EEZ Act. It argues that in order to secure consistent and proper application of the precautionary principle, significant work needs to be done to clarify definitional ambiguities embedded within the principle. It then argues that further work needs to be done to properly operationalise the New Zealand formulations of the precautionary principle (i.e. unpack the substantive content of the principle and pin down what such content requires of decision-makers in practice) so they can be consistently and correctly applied under New Zealand’s environmental risk management regimes. en_NZ
dc.language.iso en_NZ
dc.publisher Victoria University of Wellington en_NZ
dc.subject Precautionary en_NZ
dc.subject Principle en_NZ
dc.subject Application en_NZ
dc.title Application of the precautionary principle during consenting processes in New Zealand: Addressing past errors, obtaining a normative fix and developing a structured and operationalised approach en_NZ
dc.type Text en_NZ
vuwschema.contributor.unit School of Law en_NZ
vuwschema.type.vuw Awarded Research Masters Thesis en_NZ
thesis.degree.discipline Law en_NZ
thesis.degree.grantor Victoria University of Wellington en_NZ
thesis.degree.level Master's en_NZ
thesis.degree.name Master of Laws en_NZ
vuwschema.subject.anzsrcfor 160507 Environment Policy en_NZ
vuwschema.subject.anzsrcfor 180111 Environmental and Natural Resources Law en_NZ
vuwschema.subject.anzsrcfor 180116 International Law en_NZ
vuwschema.subject.anzsrcfor 180122 Legal Theory, Jurisprudence and Legal Interpretation en_NZ
vuwschema.subject.anzsrcseo 970118 Expanding Knowledge in Law and Legal Studies en_NZ


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