Disaster Risk Reduction in the Shadow of the Law

Law is a tool that can be used by interest groups to advance what they perceive to be their best interests, whether that is advocating for their right to build homes in hazard-prone environments or advocating against such development because of the social and economic costs of disasters. Identifying how interests are to be balanced, and responsibility for disaster risk reduction is to be shared, requires more than knowledge of local law. The allocation of responsibility must be negotiated with stakeholders, negotiation that takes place in the "shadow of the law," that is, with an expectation of what the law requires and how others may behave to comply with legal obligations.There are, however, some (reasonably) fixed legal rules that set the outer limits of possible negotiation. With reference to international law and the laws of Australia, the United Kingdom, and the United States (nations with a shared legal history based on the English common law), this chapter will identify some legal boundaries that help define the limits of shared responsibility. Identifying these boundaries helps to show where law's shadow falls, and so empowers stakeholders by helping define what is possible in the negotiations for a safer community.