Precautionary Principle in International Environmental Law: Rule of Customary International Law

Precautionary principle is one of the important approaches in international environmental law accepted by the international community. But, its consideration as a rule of customary international law is still dividing the actors of international community as well as scholars. The main goal of this article is to analyze the current status of the precautionary principle in international law and outline the tendencies of its development into a rule of customary law. The methods of comparative and systematic analysis are used in this paper. The article concludes that although there are many state practices of this principle, it still lacks unity because its application remains subjective and differs from one State to another depending on their own interpretation of precautionary principle for this principle has many definitions. Also, the reluctance of some States and the doubt of international tribunals and court may show the lack of conviction (opiniojuris) of States and international community to accept this principle as rule of customary international law. However, reference to the precautionary principle as a rule of customary law and current developments in international law demonstrate that this international “approach†is moving toward an international “principle†, even looking forward to entering into the core principles of international law.