The objectives were to describe and discuss the current and proposed European occupational health policy on two categories of substances that pose serious effects: those potentially carcinogenic or genotoxic and those with toxic effects on reproduction. The precautionary principle was applied to setting standards for the workplace for those two categories of substances, to give an impression of...

A common misconception is that precautionary motives in public policy cannot be justified within the Bayesian rational-choice framework, and that decision criteria that appeal to ambiguity and pessimism are needed. This paper critically evaluates these claims, arguing that a rational policy process must be Bayesian in order to avoid paradoxical, even absurd, recommendations, such as policies th...

In democratic societies restriction of persons’ freedom by the state or any legal authority is justified only in highly limited contexts and for strictly specified purposes. Among these, the first (and for liberalist thinkers, the only legitimate) one is the prevention of unacceptable harm to entities worth of protection. Violation of the privacy right in any form requires also a strong evidenc...