1st Edition

Balancing between Trade and Risk Integrating Legal and Social Science Perspectives

    296 Pages
    by Routledge

    294 Pages 18 B/W Illustrations
    by Routledge

    The trade aspects of risk and the risk aspects of trade deserve more systematic and genuine interdisciplinary attention if we are to really understand the global, international and supranational dimensions of risk regulation. This book brings together legal and social science research on risk regulation from across the world to explore risk regulation in a trade context. The interdisciplinary collaboration provided in this book is needed to address the trade versus risk balancing act both in empirical and theoretical terms.

     Although it is obvious that legal, social, cultural and political matters interfere with risk regulation, analyses in which these interferences are adequately considered are lacking. In one way or another, all chapters in this book address the issue of scientific uncertainty, the governance arrangements around expertise or both. Issues such as transparency, trust, legitimacy and precaution also become particularly important given the political, multi-actor and multi-level governance characteristics of the balancing act between trade and risk regulation.

    This book highlights and examines these concerns, going on to provide a critical assessment of the EU regulation of trade and risk both from external and internal perspectives. This book’s exploration of the balancing act between trade and risk regulation will be increasingly important to students of law and social sciences as they move to a shared, interdisciplinary understanding.

    Introduction Tessa Fox, Marjolein B.A. van Asselt, Esther Versluis and Ellen Vos  Part 1: The European Union in Context  1. Regulating Food Trade in the Enlarged European Union Karolina Zurek  2. EU Risk Governance of ‘Cloned Food’: Regulatory Uncertainty between Trade and Non-Trade Maria Weimer  3. Risky Politics: A Socialogical Analysis of the WTO Panel on Biotechnological Products Renata C. Motta  4. Pre-Empting Precaution: GMO Trade Conflicts, Uncertainty Intolerant Risk Assessment and Precaution-Based Risk Management Boryana Ivanova and Marjolein B.A. van Asselt  Part 2: Risk Regulation in the European Union  5. Between Politics and Science: Accommodating National Diversity in GMO Regulation Vessela Hristova  6. The Politics of Risk Decision-Making: The Voting Behaviour of the EU Member States on GMOs Madjar Navah, Esther Versluis and Marjolein B.A. van Asselt  7. Regulating the Use of Bisphenol A in Baby and Children’s Products in the European Union: Trade Implications and of an Uncertain Risk Tessa Fox, Esther Versluis and Marjolein B.A. van Asselt  Part 3: Taking Stock of Policy Fashions  8. Agencies as Risk Managers? Exploring the Role of EU Agencies in Authorization Procedures Jinhee Kim, Christoph Klika and Esther Versluis  9. The Precautionary Principle in Court: An Analysis of Post-Pfizer Case Law Anne-May Janssen and Marjolein B.A. van Asselt  10. The Scientification of Participation Frank Rodrigues  11. Synthesis Marjolein B.A. van Asselt, Tessa Fox, Esther Versluis and Ellen Vos

    Biography

    Marjolein B. A. van Asselt is Professor of Risk Governance, Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences of Maastricht University, and member of the Scientific Council for Government Policy (WRR), The Hague.

    Esther Versluis is Associate Professor European Regulatory Governance at the Department of Political Science, Maastricht University.

    Ellen Vos is Professor of European Union Law at the Law Faculty of Maastricht University and co-director of the Maastricht Centre for European Law of Maastricht University.