Includes bibliographical references and index.

Origin, status and effects of the precautionary principle / Nicolas de Sadeleer -- The precautionary principle in European Community health and environment law : sword or shield for the Nordic countries? / Nicolas de Sadeleer -- Denmark / Ellen Margrethe Basse -- Finland / Erki Hollo -- Iceland / Aðalheiður Jóhannsdóttir -- Norway / Hans Christian Bugge -- Sweden / Gabriel Michanek -- Legal status of precaution in the Nordic countries : a comparative analysis / Nicolas de Sadeleer -- The precautionary principle and Helsinki Commission / Minna Pyhälä ... [et al.] -- The precautionary approach and fisheries : a Nordic perspective / Tore Henriksen -- Uncertainty and precaution : challenges and implications for science and the policy of genetically modified organisms / Ann Ingeborg Myhr -- Genetically modified organisms in European Union law / Theofanis Christoforou -- Genetically modified organisms and precaution in Norwegian law / Ole Kristian Fauchald -- Genetically modified organisms and precaution in Finnish and Swedish law / Jussi Kauppila -- The precautionary principle and nature conservation law : Danish experiences / Helle Tegner Anker -- The precautionary principle in Swedish chemicals law and policy / Annika Nilsson -- Risks, costs and alternatives in European Community environmental legislation : the case of registration, evaluation and authorization of chemicals (REACH) / Gerd Winter -- The impact of registration, evaluation and authorization of chemicals (REACH) on the regulatory powers of the Nordic countries / Nicolas de Sadeleer -- The legacy of the precautionary principle in US law : the rise of cost-benefit analysis and risk assessment as undermining factors in health, safety and environmental protection / Nicholas Ashford -- Lessons from international, EU and Nordic legal regimes / Nicolas de Sadeleer.