Drawing on debates about Intangible Cultural Heritage (ICH) safeguarding at the local and international level, Intangible Cultural Heritage and Sustainable Development: Inside a UNESCO Convention, explores the theoretical and practical implications of the intertwinement between these policy fields. Considering how Sustainable Development (SD) priorities are influencing representations of ICH, the volume questions how they are expanding the frontiers of the heritage realm and unsettling accepted understandings of the social uses of heritage. The contributing authors, who hail (...) from a variety of different contexts and disciplinary backgrounds, explore these issues from a unique vantage point as both scholars and actors of the processes they analyze. Playing different roles in the implementation of the Convention, their positioning as insiders allows for a unique analytical perspective that is based on first-hand engagement with the practices of the Convention. Intangible Cultural Heritage and Sustainable Development: Inside a UNESCO Convention sheds light on the complexity, potential and consequences of combining ICH and SD at the policy-making level and in heritage practices on the ground. It will be of interest to academics and students working in heritage studies, development studies, anthropology, archaeology, international law, political science, international relations and sociology. (shrink)

South Africa is a country that is still in the transitioning process of providing an equal, equitable and just society for its previously disadvantaged people. The country faces several socio-economic developmental challenges, ranging from inadequate housing, high crime rates, violence against women and children, ineffectual health facilities, a slowing economy and high youth unemployment, which invariably affect the business community. If South Africa is to achieve sustainable economic transformation, the business community along with other stakeholders must participate in ensuring (...) social justice and socio-economic development for its previously disadvantaged people. This article contributed to the discourse on the assertion that social justice and socio-economic development are central for sustainable development in any society. The article called for the assistance and participation of other stakeholders, particularly the business community, to help build a just, healthy and robust environment, which translates into a strong community and portends a sustainable environment for businesses. Contribution: This article assessed the effectiveness of legislating social justice and corporate social responsibility. The article adopted the European Union’s Better Regulation evaluation methods to evaluate the effectiveness of the country’s social justice and corporate social responsibility legislation and the influence of the legislations on the socio-economic developmental challenges affecting the country. (shrink)

Fifty years after the famous essay “The Problem of Social Cost” (1960) by the Nobel laureate Ronald Coase, Law and Economics seems to have become the lingua franca of American jurisprudence, and although its influence on European jurisprudence is only moderate by comparison, it has also gained popularity in Europe. A highly influential publication of a different nature was the Brundtland Report (1987), which extended the concept of sustainability from forestry to the whole of the economy and society. According to (...) this report, development is sustainable when it “meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs”. A key requirement of sustainable development is justice to future generations. It is still a matter of fact that the law as well as the theories of justice are generally restricted to the resolution of conflicts between contemporaries and between people living in the same country. This in turn raises a number of questions: what is the philosophical justification for intergenerational justice? What bearing does sustainability have on the efficiency principle? How do we put a policy of sustainability into practice, and what is the role of the law in doing so? The present volume is devoted to these questions. In Part One, “Law and Economics”, the role of economic analysis and efficiency in law is examined more closely. Part Two, “Law and Sustainability”, engages with the themes of sustainable development and justice to future generations. Finally, Part Three, “Law, Economics and Sustainability”, addresses the interrelationships between the different aspects. (shrink)

Graeme Laurie stepped down from the Chair in Medical Jurisprudence at the University of Edinburgh in 2019. This edited collection pays tribute to his extraordinary contributions to the field. Graeme has often spoken about the importance of 'legacy' in academic work and has forged a remarkable intellectual legacy of his own, notably through his work on genetic privacy, human tissue and information governance, and on the regulatory salience of the concept of liminality. The essays in this volume animate the concept (...) of legacy as lens of analysis for the study and practice of medical jurisprudence. In this light, legacy reveals characteristics of both benefit and burden, as both an encumbrance to and facilitator of the development of law, policy and regulation. Overall, the contributions reconcile the ideas of legacy and responsiveness and show that both dimensions are critical to achieve and sustain the health of medical jurisprudence itself as a dynamic, interdisciplinary and policy-engaged field of thinking. (shrink)

This article aims at a ‘green’ reading of Deuteronomy 20:19–20 with special reference to combat deforestation in Zimbabwe. The article relates to Sustainable Development Goal 15 (SDG 15) of the United Nations Agenda 2030, namely Goal 15 – Life and Land. The article demonstrates that the depletion of the natural environment in Zimbabwe is happening in a way unknown before. It argues that the government of Zimbabwe’s legislative framework for mitigating deforestation is proving to be unsuccessful. This is (...) a pointer that environmental conservation problems in Zimbabwe are also spiritual, hence the need to incorporate additional conservation strategies like biblical hermeneutics. The value addition of this article is the application of the Deuteronomic laws. From the perspective of the exegesis of Deuteronomy 20:19–20 and the surrounding texts, the article focuses on the deforestation in Zimbabwe and aims at the recovering of spiritual strategies of valuing human life without compromising the right of the natural environment. Applying the reading for recovery design, the study gathered data through extensive literature review and biblical exegesis. Contribution: The exegesis of Deuteronomy 20:19–20 is applied to desist from the disproportionate cutting down of trees even during the difficult times such as war, economic hardship and health pandemics. The article contributes to the SDG 15, namely Life and Land. The research envisions that Zimbabwean communities, with the support of the aforementioned exegesis will introduce a programme of deforestation. Trees ought to be considered as of equal value to human beings. The Bible continues to be not bound by space and time and can still be applicable to the contemporary needs of the believers. (shrink)

This anthology discusses important issues surrounding environmental law and economics and provides an in-depth analysis of its use in legislation, regulation and legal adjudication from a neoclassical and behavioural law and economics perspective. Environmental issues raise a vast range of legal questions: to what extent is it justifiable to rely on markets and continued technological innovation, especially as it relates to present exploitation of scarce resources? Or is it necessary for the state to intervene? Regulatory instruments are available to (...) create and maintain a more sustainable society: command and control regulations, restraints, Pigovian taxes, emission certificates, nudging policies, et cetera If regulation in a certain legal field is necessary, which policies and methods will most effectively spur sustainable consumption and production in order to protect the environment while mitigating any potential negative impact on economic development? Since the related problems are often caused by scarcity of resources, economic analysis of law can offer remarkable insights for their resolution. Part I underlines the foundations of environmental law and economics. Part II analyses the effectiveness of economic instruments and regulations in environmental law. Part III is dedicated to the problems of climate change. Finally, Part IV focuses on tort and criminal law. The twenty-one chapters in this volume deliver insights into the multifaceted debate surrounding the use of economic instruments in environmental regulation in Europe. (shrink)

Gender equality is something that the human race has been struggling with since time immemorial. No country has achieved gender equality despite the legislative, social, and economic gains for women. Therefore, modern society likes to blame certain groups, such as religion for the gender inequalities which are faced, more than others. The main focus of this study is to evaluate the role of religious leaders in promoting gender equality through the legislation and religious texts in Zimbabwe. The study further (...) explores how certain religious norms and practices can be modified through religious texts to accommodate women in achieving gender equality. The paper acknowledges that religious leaders have a greater responsibility to standup, speak and act with and on behalf of those with less power, such as the marginalized and discriminated against, including exploited planet Earth. The paper seeks to foreground how certain traditional religious practices and norms have exacerbated gender inequality in Zimbabwe, despite the laws that have been enacted by the government of Zimbabwe to promote gender equality. The data for the paper was gathered through observations and semi-structured interviews conducted with both religious leaders and women to establish how religious norms and practices directly or indirectly affect women and how they can be modified to achieve gender equality in Zimbabwe. The data gathered was analysed through descriptive data analysis. The paper concludes by recommending that religious leaders should be thoroughly trained on how to promote gender equality through religious texts and legislation. Contribution: The article evaluated the role of religious leaders in promoting gender equality through legislation and religious texts in Zimbabwe. It argued that religious leaders have a higher need to support, advocate and act on behalf of individuals who are marginalised and subjected to discrimination on planet Earth. Hence, its contribution was in promoting gender equality through religious texts and legislation in Zimbabwe for sustainable development. (shrink)

The 2005 UNESCO Convention on the Protection and Promotion of the Diversity of Cultural Expressions provides an international policy lens for analysing broad debates on issues of cultural globalization and development. The interdisciplinary contributions in this volume offer a fresh understanding of these key issues whilst examining cultural globalization, which is conceived in terms of artistic expressions and entertainment industries and interpreted anthropologically as the rituals, symbols, and practices of everyday life. The broad gamut of theories, methods, and evidence (...) collected by the editors outlines UNESCO's accomplishments, shortcomings, and future policy prospects. This edited collection has a clear message: The Convention is a useful and important instrument in the debate on cultural diversity, but not broad enough or sufficient to confront major challenges concerning human rights, sustainability, and cultural diversity as a whole. (shrink)

Social scientists have paid insufficient attention to the role of law in constituting the economic institutions of capitalism. Part of this neglect emanates from inadequate conceptions of the nature of law itself. Spontaneous conceptions of law and property rights that downplay the role of the state are criticized here, because they typically assume relatively small numbers of agents and underplay the complexity and uncertainty in developed capitalist systems. In developed capitalist economies, law is sustained through interaction between private agents, courts (...) and the legislative apparatus. Law is also a key institution for overcoming contracting uncertainties. It is furthermore a part of the power structure of society, and a major means by which power is exercised. This argument is illustrated by considering institutions such as property and the firm. Complex systems of law have played a crucial role in capitalist development and are also vital for developing economies. (shrink)

Sustainable development has increasingly found its way into the context of environmental legislation. Russian environmental legislation is not effective for transitioning toward sustainable development. The main obstacle is ignoring traditional environmental values, which are not properly incorporated into laws and regulations. However, rich Russian traditions and culture imply a big potential to develop environmental legislation in accordance with sustainable principles. The paper explores areas where environmental regulations should be revised and implemented with (...) adequate legal mechanisms based on traditional values. This paper contributes to the discussion of improving environmental legal norms in any domestic legislation. (shrink)

This article advances sustainability towards a new logic that favors the flourishing of Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and well-being from North to South. It presents a Global Dual-Perspective (GDP) and a Dynamic Equilibrium Framework (DEF) that inform sustainability, management, and international business with a paradoxical view of the SDGs and a strengthened analysis that outlines the role of multinational enterprises (MNEs) in addressing the SDGs within and across the North–South. This article reveals that organizations will effectively unleash virtuous (...) cycles of SDGs and well-being when confronting and juxtaposing environmental, health, social, economic, and law-oriented goals. Furthermore, virtuous cycles will be more successful when splitting and integrating short- and long-term conflicting goals within and across the North–South to fuel systemic resilience and sustainable development. (shrink)

In this article we argue that sustainable development is not a socio-ecologically friendly principle. The principle, which is deeply embedded in environmental law, policymaking and governance, drives environmentally destructive neoliberal economic growth that exploits and degrades the vulnerable living order. Despite seemingly well-meaning intentions behind the emergence of sustainable development, it almost invariably facilitates exploitative economic development activities that exacerbate systemic inequalities and injustices without noticeably protecting all life forms in the Anthropocene. We conclude the (...) article by examining an attempt to construct alternatives to sustainable development through the indigenous onto-epistemology of buen vivir. While no panacea, buen vivir is a worldview that offers the potential to critically rethink how environmental law could re-orientate away from its ‘centered’, gendered and anthropocentric, neoliberal sustainable development ontology, to a radically different ontology that embraces ecologically sustainable ways of seeing, being, knowing and caring. (shrink)

According to the Standard Picture of how law works, the content of the law that is created by legal texts such as statutes and constitutional provisions is determined by the meaning of these texts. Most proponents of this picture claim more specifically that the relevant notion of meaning in play is the communicative content of legal texts and that communicative content is itself determined by considerations of the intentions of legal authorities. In recent years, the Standard Picture has become the (...) subject of heated philosophical debate. Focusing on statutes as the paradigmatic type of legal texts, this thesis aims to contribute to this debate in two central ways. First, it argues that the aforementioned ‘intention-based’ versions of the Standard Picture lack convincing responses to three important objections that have been raised by critics. First, they lack an adequate account of how legislative bodies can be reasonably ascribed the intentions that they would need according to such versions. Second, they fail to explain important aspects of legal practice. Third, they provide at best a parochial theory of the content of the law that is generated by statutes. The second contribution is to provide a more sustained defence of the Standard Picture by developing a new ‘commitment-based’ version of this view. This version is based on an alternative theory of communication and claims that communicative content is not determined by considerations of intentions but rather by the commitments that are incurred by means of communicative acts. It is argued that this version can deal with the objections that have been raised by critics and therefore provides a more robust version of the Standard Picture. (shrink)

Legislation for dementia care needs to be continually rethought, if the rights of older persons and other persons with dementia are to be addressed properly. We propose a theoretical framework for understanding vulnerability and dependency, which enables us to problematize the currently prevailing legal conception of adults as always able — irrespective of health or age — to act autonomously in their everyday lives. Such an approach gives rise to difficult dilemmas when persons with dementia are forced to make (...) decisions on their own about basic living conditions, such as housing and care, without decision-making support. In Sweden, for example, such matters are frequently left to the person him- or herself to decide, often without any assistance from social workers, and with family members serving as caregivers of last resort.Using vulnerability theory as the framework for our discussion, we argue that policymakers should not apply a group-oriented approach (based on factors like age, legal status, or mental capacity) to persons suffering from dementia. The needs of such individuals are as complex and varied as they themselves are. We discuss our findings from an interdisciplinary (law/social work) research project in which we examine the dilemma that social workers face when they are required, under the terms of the Swedish Social Services Act, to determine whether persons with dementia are to be granted support.We argue further that a cross-disciplinary approach — in which vulnerability theory furnishes the framework — opens up for new ways of understanding and developing social welfare law and practice. This, we believe, can help us better address the rights, interests, and needs of people with dementia, of their families, and of professionals in the social welfare system. Finally, many of the problems faced by ageing societies in general can be understood on the basis of such an approach. (shrink)

Il apparaît qu’en France aujourd’hui, le modèle néoclassique de la concurrence inspire l’ essentiel de la réglementation de la concurrence. Or la théorie économique moderne, telle qu’elle est inspirée par Coase et Hayek notamment, tend à renverser les certitudes du modèle néoclassique et à admettre que la discrimination commerciale peut avoir un effet bénéfique sur l’efficacité économique. La distribution sélective prend tout son sens dans un contexte d’incertitude et d’ information imparfaite. C’est la confrontation de ces deux philosophies — celle (...) qui inspire le législateur français, le législateur allemand ou la doctrine communautaire européenne, et celle plus optimiste à l’égard des pratiques discriminatoires — qui est opérée dans cet article. Ainsi, la pratique des prix imposés, la franchise, la concession et la protection territoriale sont analysées dans le cadre de cette confrontation. De même, une critique de la doctrine communautaire est exposée. L’évolution du droit des contrats et du droit de la concurrence fait aussi l’objet d’une analyse mettant face à face les deux doctrines. C’est bien la vision du marché en tant que processus qui est au centre de cette analyse.The neoclassical model of competition seems to sustain today in France the main regulations about competition. However, modern economic theory, as initiated by Coase and Hayek notably, calls into question the certainties brought about by the neoclassical model and acknowledges the beneficial effects of commercial efficiency. Contractual discrimination takes its meaning in an open-ended world. The contrast between these two views — the one which inspires the French legislator, the German legislator, or the European Community doctrine, and the more optimistic one with respect to discriminatory practices — is put forward in this paper. Thus, imposed prices, franchising, concession and territorial protection are pratices discussed within this contrast. Moreover, a critique of the European Community doctrine is developed. The evolution of contract law and antitrust law is also examined by contrasting the two views. It is indeed the thesis of the market as a process which is underlined in the present analysis. (shrink)

Morality, ethics, and the law : an overview of the foundations of contemporary clinical ethical analysis -- Case studies : ethical and legal challenges in the care of the neurologically injured critically ill patient -- Civil law and liability : the law of medical malpractice -- Legal reasoning, legal process, legal proof, and why it is confusing to clinician scientists -- Regulatory law and the clinical practice of the neurosciences -- Digital medicine and the data revolution managing digital distraction and (...) EMR : liability while leveraging opportunities in teleneurology and telecritical care -- Developing and leading a sustainable high reliability high performing unit : theories of quality, teamwork, medical error, and patient safety -- Neurolaw and the integration of neuroscience, ethics, and the law : the new frontiers. (shrink)

How do we weigh the claims of current and future people when current exercise of rights to property conflict with sustainability? Are property rights over theseresources more limited due to the claims of posterity? Lockean property rights allow no right to degrade resources when doing so threatens the basic needs offuture generations. A stewardship conception of property rights can be developed, providing a justification for sustainable management legislation even whensuch law conflicts with the rights an owner would have, (...) were the resource under more full-blown ownership. A protection indicator can be developed that is sensitive to a range of empirical factors such as scarcity, renewability, importance of the resource, and seriousness and reversibility of potential harm. The stewardship conception of rights over environmental resources can be applied in policy settings, for example, in decisions over emissions limits and land-use patterns. Such harnessing of Lockean intuitions to argue for environmental protection is in sharp contrast to Locke’s usual employment by those keen to show that such protection violates owners’ rights. (shrink)

This Chapter studies legislative initiatives around sustainable finance deriving from the Action Plan: Financing Sustainable Growth (also called ‘Sustainable Finance Action Plan’, ‘Action Plan’ henceforth), published by the European Commission (‘Commission’) in 2018 (Communication 2018/97). I evaluate various instruments proposed in the Action Plan, using a reflexive law approach coupled with insights from business ethics and epistemology (De Bruin, 2013, 2015). I point to the challenges such an approach encounters, and offer suggestions how to address them. Reflexive (...) law approaches to legislation (Farber 1994, Hess 1999, Orts 1994, Farmer & Teubner 1994) acknowledge the limits of law as an instrument to realize social or political goals, and stress the need to encourage self-reflection and transparency among stakeholders through procedural rather than ‘command-and-control’ legislation. Typical reflexive law instruments involve disclosure, reporting, and labelling. Examining the Action Plan, I show that the main legislative instruments it puts forward are reflexive. I use empirical and theoretical work that challenges the effectiveness of some of these instruments. Drawing on recent work from behavioural economics I suggest that these problems may be overcome once we integrate more fully in reflexive law what it means for people ‘reflectively’ to recruit evidence and gather knowledge, and once we appreciate the value knowledge has over and above mere belief. My argument here is not so much to the effect that more interventionist regulatory tools are needed (they are dearly needed, but that is not the point here). Rather I argue that once a regulator opts for a reflexive law approach, a richer notion of information should be deployed. I call this ‘epistemic’ instead of ‘reflexive’ law. The Chapter gives some background information about the Action Plan, introduces the core ideas of reflexive law, shows how the Action Plan is reflexive law par excellence, considers the challenges, and offers a few modest suggestions. (shrink)

This valuable resource provides academic and student affairs practitioners with the tools to make informed legal and ethical decisions in their college and university contexts. Law is constantly changing and is interpreted differently from campus to campus based on institutional culture and history. This text provides higher education practitioners with tools to anticipate practical and responsible action, engaging readers in anticipatory and reflective practice. In this text, Boettcher and Salinas introduce the Institutional Intelligence Model, a helpful framework that guides practitioners (...) in examining a wide variety of campus issues. Throughout the book, readers can explore perspectives from current practitioners and utilize case studies to examine specific topics including admissions, academics, student living, confidential resources, and graduate student experiences. By using the strategies in this book, practitioners will be equipped to successfully navigate legal and ethical issues on their campuses. This text is ideal for graduate students, student and academic affairs professionals, and those in leadership positions responsible for working with and supporting students and staff teams. (shrink)

Cet ouvrage réunit des contributeurs du monde entier pour explorer l'enjeu du courage des alternatives dans le contexte actuel d'un changement paradigmatique où la complexité, le pluralisme et l'interculturalisme émergent comme nouveaux horizons de sens. "La vie n'est pas un vide à remplir. C'est une plénitude à découvrir". Oser la vie, oser l'Autre, s'ouvrir à soi-même, aux autres et au monde, voilà de grands défis éternels qui prennent toute leur actualité dans un contexte contemporain de globalisation qui exacerbe la tension (...) entre unité et diversité, tension qui peut se révéler destructrice ou au contraire extrêmement créatrice selon la manière dont on l'aborde. Les contributeurs à cet ouvrage invitent le lecteur à décaler son regard sur le monde en le faisant passer du "centre" vers les "marges". Ils explorent la richesse du monde tel qu'il apparaît dès lors que l'on accepte de sortir de l'univers de nos certitudes pour s'ouvrir au plurivers des possibles expérimentés ou esquissés dans la diversité humaine. Oser l'Autre, c'est oser s'ouvrir à la vie qui est transformation permanente et confronte constamment l'humanité, individuellement et collectivement, à ses limites tout en révélant ses potentialités cachées. Cette découverte ne peut se faire seule et appelle des approches interdisciplinaires et interculturelles. L'ouvrage articule ainsi des approches anthropologiques, philosophiques, juridiques, politiques, psychologiques et mobilise des points de vue d'Afrique, d'Amérique, d'Asie et d'Europe, non seulement pour décrire ou critiquer les situations et paradigmes dominants, mais aussi pour dégager de nouveaux horizons d'un vivre ensemble dans le dialogue et la complémentarité des différences. (shrink)

Since the end of the Cold War, two parallel developments took place in global governance: fragmentation in social/environmental legislations across countries, and an increasing uniformity (or 'globalisation') of economic/financial legislations. In the liberal democratic context of global governance, both of these developments are embodied in partnerships for sustainable development. Studying these partnerships in the context of private environmental governance and tracing the origin of the concept in business and law, can reveal the implications of 'privatisation of governance' on (...) sovereignty, authority, and global governance. Focusing on partnerships in the United Nations context, this paper examines the private environmental governance institutions in their historical economic context. (shrink)

This new edition of Law and Medical Ethics continues to chart the ever-widening field that the topics cover. The interplay between the health caring professions and the public during the period intervening since the last edition has, perhaps, been mainly dominated by wide-ranging changes in the administration of the National Health Service and of the professions themselves but these have been paralleled by important developments in medical jurisprudence.

The prevailing economic paradigm, in which a closed circular flow of production and consumption can be described in terms of 'natural laws ' of the equilibrium of market forces, is being challenged by our growing knowledge of complex systems, particularly ecosystems. It is increasingly apparent that neo-classical economics does not reflect social, economic and environmental realities in a world of limited resources. The best way to understand the problems implicit in the concept of 'sustainable development ' is provided (...) by Ecological Economics – a new synthesis in which the traditional virtue of thrift is justified using modern ideas from systems theory and thermodynamics. (shrink)

This paper connects to Jon Bing’s great vision of an integrated national legal information system. The intention of this paper is to variegate Bing’s vision of an integrated information system by shifting the focus to the lay users, thus to those, who are subject to the law. The modified vision is an integrated information system that supports intelligible access to law for the citizens. This presupposes however an unambiguous and transparent legal system. Accordingly, it is also stressed that intelligent legal (...) knowledge engineering has high potential to increase precision and rationality in law, and hence safeguard the predictability of law and legal certainty. The central hypothesis is that putting the person who is subject to the law at the centre provides more rational reason to aim for the greatest possible precision of law by exploiting the means and technologies of our time than to uphold strategic vagueness. On this basis, the paper proposes the development of a basic set of controllable and justiciable basic legal drafting standards on EU and on national level, and promotes a transparency by design approach for legal knowledge engineering in order to enhance precision, integrity, comprehensibility and accessibility of law. Similarly to Jon Bing’s vision, this modified vision of an integrated legal information systems is, most probably, also likely to remain unfulfilled. However, what would science be without visions and (science) fictions? (shrink)

The small- and medium-sized tourism and hospitality enterprises are the main forms of enterprises in Macao. This study put forward a new framework of survival and sustainable development from the perspective of competitive advantage and regional soft environment, which significantly holds theoretical and practical research value. The study obtained cross-sectional data of 317 small- and medium-sized tourism and hospitality enterprises in Macao through a large-scale questionnaire survey. This article used exploratory factor analysis and confirmatory factor analysis to test (...) the reliability and validity of each factor system and its measurement scale. The variance analysis is used to judge the differences between the elements. The regression analysis is used to verify the hypothesis of a causal relationship between factors. The structural equation analysis is used to fit the model and make necessary amendments. The results reveal that the government service environment has a significant positive impact on the ability of an entrepreneur. In addition, the regional soft environment significantly impacts the competitive advantage of small- and medium-sized tourism and hospitality enterprises in Macao. Contrary, the impact of laws of Macao on the acquisition of financial resources and the promotion of entrepreneur ability and innovation ability is found insignificant. In conclusion, the results showed that market of Macao lacks venture investors where enterprises cannot obtain funds through angel financing or risk financing. (shrink)

This study aims to map out the relationships that make up green innovation initiatives in Brazilian industry. The sample comprised 100 managers at manufacturing companies, most of them operating in the business of farm machinery and equipment and steel structures. To develop this study, Medeiros et al. study, mapping critical factors that drive the success of green product innovation and the paradigm of complexity, was used as a reference study. Based on the results, it was possible to identify that the (...) operational dynamic of the factors and variables that affect market success do not happen in an isolated or fragmented way; they occur systematically with different contingencies and structured basic and intermediate skills in order to meet the expectations of consumers, laws, and environmental legislation. Initially, the technological expertise factor was noted as very important for sustaining green product innovation. Furthermore, since proactive leaders are an important factor for successfully developing environmentally sustainable products, it must be added to technological expertise as the foundation for developing green innovation. After defining the basis for green product innovation, the intermediary conditions necessary for using the available technology appropriately were mapped out. In this sense, variables such as “elimination of cultural barriers,” “capacity for critical reflective analysis,” and “experimentation” are also very important. In addition, some of the variables of the cross-functional collaboration and market knowledge factors were a part of the structure that organizations need to transform potential into developing green products, which is the basis for the third level of the model. The fourth level of the model has the “meeting consumer expectations” and “following law and legislation” factors, which make up the main goals for developing environmentally sustainable products according to a number of surveys that were conducted. (shrink)

A growing number of multinational companies (MNCs) report on their progress toward contributing to the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) in their annual reports, yet the amount and quality of the information they disclose varies significantly. The aim of this study is twofold: First, we investigate how transparent MNCs report on their SDG engagement and second, we study how the reported SDG engagement changed over time due to major shifts in sustainability reporting requirements. Using a dataset of the largest (...) German MNCs, we analyze their disclosure of SDG contribution reporting practices. Our results show that, overall, between 2016 and 2021 all German MNCs increased their SDG reporting activity and that the MNCs adopted four different practices to report their SDG engagement. We also found that the largest MNCs were more transparent and systematic in their SDG reporting than smaller MNCs, whose reporting was more heterogeneous. Our study contributes to legitimacy research and the role of transparency in corporate reporting as well as the debates on the efficacy of sustainability reporting legislation in the context of SDG engagement. Our findings imply that regulations on environmental and social regulation increase the transparency of sustainability reporting. (shrink)

Within their value chains of suppliers through customers, many businesses are becoming more aware of the environmental aspects and impacts of their organizations. Viewed as a continuum of behavior, business environmentalism can range from simply complying with the law to accepting and pursuing a goal of sustainable development. The point on the continuum at which an organization chooses to operate is reflected in its environmental mission, policies, and actions. Attributes of the various levels of behavior and classification of (...) some organizational mission statements are examined in this paper. (shrink)

This study aims to map out the relationships that make up green innovation initiatives in Brazilian industry. The sample comprised 100 managers at manufacturing companies, most of them operating in the business of farm machinery and equipment and steel structures. To develop this study, Medeiros et al. study, mapping critical factors that drive the success of green product innovation and the paradigm of complexity, was used as a reference study. Based on the results, it was possible to identify that the (...) operational dynamic of the factors and variables that affect market success do not happen in an isolated or fragmented way; they occur systematically with different contingencies and structured basic and intermediate skills in order to meet the expectations of consumers, laws, and environmental legislation. Initially, the technological expertise factor was noted as very important for sustaining green product innovation. Furthermore, since proactive leaders are an important factor for successfully developing environmentally sustainable products, it must be added to technological expertise as the foundation for developing green innovation. After defining the basis for green product innovation, the intermediary conditions necessary for using the available technology appropriately were mapped out. In this sense, variables such as “elimination of cultural barriers,” “capacity for critical reflective analysis,” and “experimentation” are also very important. In addition, some of the variables of the cross-functional collaboration and market knowledge factors were a part of the structure that organizations need to transform potential into developing green products, which is the basis for the third level of the model. The fourth level of the model has the “meeting consumer expectations” and “following law and legislation” factors, which make up the main goals for developing environmentally sustainable products according to a number of surveys that were conducted. (shrink)

1. Law and morals as two systems of norms, and the inner morality of law 2. Law as a value bearer and as a mere external indicator 3. The inner and external moral credit of legislator 4. The inner morality of law. As to the last paragraph, the most striking feature of the inner morality of law is that it is such a possible characteristic, surplus quality which is not a sine qua non, which law is conceivable without. However, it (...) is a question whether law can long do without it? In principle, the legislator is free in deciding on what legal consequence he attaches to what course of conduct14 and it is also desirable that legal concepts be freed from moral overtones. Nevertheless, the legal complex cannot be torn out of its social context, nor can it steadily conflict with other complexes (religions, moral, or political values, norms and ideologies) law is to develop in living interrelationship with. Otherwise, it is subject to danger that (I) law-observance in average cases is weakened; (2) the reified functioning of and approach to law are strengthened and make law alienated; and (3) it blurs the social objectives the law intends to serve and, especially in hard cases, makes its application rootless and floating. A pathological situation only becomes more pathological, if the pathology of contents is accompanied by the pathology of means. Or, it brings the promise of real solution closer, if the adequateness of means also provides, by the strength of publicity, for the direct mobilization of society. That explains why it is a topical question what I have proposed to term the inner morality of law. [For the text, see my L&Ph, 77–89] . (shrink)

The Book takes the approach of a critique of the prevailing international environmental law-making processes and their systemic shortcomings. It aims to partly redesign the current international environmental law-making system in order to promote further legislation and more effectively protect the natural environment and public health. Through case studies and doctrinal analyses, an array of initial questions guides the reader through a variety of factors influencing the development of International Environmental Law. After a historical analysis, commencing from the (...) Platonic philosophy up to present, the Book holds that some of the most decisive factors that could create an optimized law-making framework include, among others: progressive voting processes, science-based secondary international environmental legislation, new procedural rules, that enhance the participation in the law-making process by both experts and the public and also review the implementation, compliance and validity of the science-base of the laws. The international community should develop new law-making procedures that include expert opinion. Current scientific uncertainties can be resolved either by policy choices or by referring to the so-called „sound science.“ In formulating a new framework for environmental lawmaking processes, it is essential to re-shape the rules of procedure, so that experts have greater participation in those, in order to improve the quality of International Environmental Law faster than the traditional processes that mainly embrace political priorities generated by the States. Science serves as one of the main tools that will create the next generation of International Environmental Law and help the world transition to a smart, inclusive, sustainable future. (shrink)

The focus of this book is on the epistemological and hermeneutic implications of data science and artificial intelligence for democracy and the Rule of Law. How do the normative effects of automated decision systems or the interventions of robotic fellow 'beings' compare to the legal effect of written and unwritten law? To investigate these questions the book brings together two disciplinary perspectives rarely combined within the framework of one volume. One starts from the perspective of 'code and law' and the (...) other develops from the domain of 'law and literature'. Integrating original analyses of relevant novels or films, the authors discuss how computational technologies challenge traditional forms of legal thought and affect the regulation of human behavior. Thus, pertinent questions are raised about the theoretical assumptions underlying both scientific and legal practice. (shrink)

He notes that parallel to this phenomenon have been developments in the common law of malpractice that give patients a better chance than ever of winning compensation. While these developments benefit patients, Dr. Chapman describes how they have also pointed out a major flaw in malpractice law: the enormous amounts of time and money it takes to bring such cases to court. To overcome these difficulties, Dr. Chapman maintains, the medical profession needs to reconsider the basic concepts on which its (...) ethics rest. No less important is a revision of malpractice law so that it finally begins to serve, fairly and equitably, the purposes for which it originally came into being. Literate, thoughtful, and thought-provoking, Physicians, Law, and Ethics is an important contribution to today's medical care debate. (shrink)

Few subjects provoke as much controversy or debate as that of medical care, and the law that governs such an emotive area finds itself with the near-impossible task of simultaneously trying to regulate the medical profession and healthcare provision whilst upholding the rights of the millions of people who use those services every year. Medical Law combines an accessible explanation of the complex and challenging legal rules of medical care in England and Wales with a stimulating examination of the social, (...) political and ethical arguments such care provokes. It examines a broad range of issues, from the structure and organisation of the NHS, through the rules of clinical negligence, as well as focussing on the legal and ethical concerns around such deeply contentious areas as surrogacy, organ donation, abortion and euthanasia. Written very much with newcomers to the area in mind, Leanne Bell lucidly outlines not just what the law is, but how it has developed over time and also provides insights as to how advances in medical technology and techniques may call for it to evolve in the future. (shrink)

Developed from a one-day symposium at the University of Tilburg, this collection of papers explores the semiotic foundations of legislation as viewed from jurisprudential, institutional and sociological perspectives. They pose such questions as: the audience of legislation; the relations between legislative and judicial discourse; the contributions of speech act theory; the effectiveness of legislation and its meaning in non-legal discourse; and the creation of a supra-national form of constitutional discourse, that of Europe.

Earth’s life-support system is facing megaproblems of sustainability. One important way of how these problems can be addressed is through innovation. This paper argues that responsible innovation that contributes to sustainable development consists of three dimensions: innovations avoid harming people and the planet, innovations ‘do good’ by offering new products, services, or technologies that foster SD, and global governance schemes are in place that facilitate innovations that avoid harm and ‘do good.’ The paper discusses global governance schemes based (...) on deliberation as a means to foster such responsible innovation. These schemes can provide voluntary soft-law regulations that complement and extend national and international hard-law regulations and facilitate collective innovation that contributes to SD goals. The article addresses the facilitative role of governments and international organizations in overcoming problems of deliberation and offers illustrative examples of such governance schemes. (shrink)

Food systems transformations require coherent policies and improved understandings of the drivers and institutional dynamics that shape (un)sustainable food systems outcomes. In this paper, we introduce the Chilean National Organic Agriculture Law as a case of a policy process seeking to institutionalize a recognized pathway towards more sustainable food systems. Drawing from institutional theory we make visible multiple, and at times competing, logics (i.e., values, assumptions and practices) of different actors implicated in organic agriculture in Chile. More specifically, (...) our findings identify five main institutional transformative logics underpinning the interests and actions of organic actors. However, we find that the Law was not motivated by these logics and did not advance them. Rather, the Law was designed to support a market niche targeted to elite consumers and to reinforce agricultural exports. As a result, the Law constrains rather than enables the practice of organic agriculture and access to organic food by consumers, especially at the domestic level. We note that attention to institutional logics in the analysis of food systems, and specifically food system transformation, is relevant to more comprehensive assessments of the transformational potential of food systems policies. We conclude that there is a need to further consider and make visible the way in which different drivers (i.e., laws) are constituted through and by diverse, and often competing, institutional logics. (shrink)

When property rights and environmental legislation clash, what side should the Rule of Law weigh in on? It is from this point that Jeremy Waldron explores the Rule of Law both from an historical perspective - considering the property theory of John Locke - and from the perspective of modern legal controversies. This critical and direct account of the relation between the Rule of Law and the protection of private property criticizes the view - associated with the 'World Bank (...) model' of investor expectations - that a society which fails to protect property rights against legislative restriction is failing to support the Rule of Law. In this book, developed from the 2011 Hamlyn Lectures, Waldron rejects the idea that the Rule of Law privileges property rights over other forms of law and argues instead that the Rule of Law should endorse and applaud the use of legislation to achieve valid social objectives. (shrink)

In Africa, the human person is the supreme force, the most powerful and dominant among all created beings. While this decreed power makes the lower beings subservient to humanity, it is only intended to be a source of harmony in the advancement of the hospitality and the joy of the human species. Today, however, the traditional lifestyles of Africans are threatened with virtual extinction by insensitive development over which the indigenous peoples have no participation. Africa has not only acquiesced (...) a scientific technology that has developed its own laws far removed from the known system of nature, it has no self-limiting principle in terms of size, speed and violence to nature and humanity. Consequent upon this incongruity, the machine has replaced the human person thus degrading the ecology and resources necessary for harmonious living. This chapter argues that, African endogenous knowledge is strategic heritage resource to salvage the technologically abused environment for sustainable agro-ecological living. The chapter argues further that African endogenous knowledge system encodes environmental management and policies for resource development in Africa’s complex and ageing ecological system. In doing this, we engage in conversation about current and potential land sovereignty work in African Indigenous communities. This will achieve food security and improved nutrition, promote sustainable agriculture and improved economic status of the African indigenous farmer. We conclude that, in seeking the whole from the units of the earth resources through cultivation of the soil, the African derives high credit balance of spiritual good, virtuous life, self-reliance, courage and moral integrity. (shrink)

To what extent should parents be able to choose the kind of child they have? The unfortunate phrase 'designer baby' has become familiar in debates surrounding reproduction. As a reference to current possibilities the term is misleading, but the phrase may indicate a societal concern of some kind about control and choice in the course of reproduction. Typically, people can choose whether to have a child. They may also have an interest in choosing, to some extent, the conditions under which (...) they do so, such as whether they have a child with a serious disability or disease. The purpose of this book is to explore the difficult and controversial question of the appropriate ethical and legal extent of reproductive autonomy in this context. The book examines ethical, legal and public policy issues in prenatal screening, prenatal diagnosis (PND), selective abortion and preimplantation genetic diagnosis (PGD). It explores the ethics of these selection practices and the ability of current ethical guidelines and legal mechanisms, including the law on selective abortion and wrongful birth, to deal with advances in genetic and other knowledge in these areas. Unlike in the United States, in England the relevant law is not inherently rights-based, but the impact of the Human Rights Act 1998 inevitably raises questions about the proper scope of reproductive autonomy in this context. The implications of the analysis are considered for the development of relevant law, public policy and ethical guidelines and will be of interest to academics in medical law and ethics, health professionals, lawyers, those working on public policy and students with an interest in these issues. (shrink)

Health and health care are vitally important to all of us, and academic interest in the law regulating health has, over the last 50 years, become an important field of academic study. An analysis of the development of, changes in, and scope of Health Law and Ethics to date, is both timely and of interest to students and scholars alike, along with an exploration of its likely future development. This work brings together contributions from leading and emerging scholars (...) in the field. Each contributor has been invited to select and analyse a 'leading work', which has for them shed light on the way that Health Law and Ethics has developed. The chapters are both autobiographical, reflecting upon the works that have proved significant to contributors, and also critical analyses of the current state of the field. This collection also includes a specially written Introduction and Conclusion, which critically reflect upon the development of Health Law and Ethics and its likely future developments in the light of the reflections by contributors on their chosen leading works. The book will be of interest to students, teachers and researchers in Health Law and Ethics, as it provides critical discussions and assessments of some of the leading scholarship in the field. (shrink)

Marine ecosystems are in serious troubles globally, largely due to the failures of fishery resources management. To restore and conserve fishery ecosystems, we need new and effective governance systems urgently. This research focuses on fisheries management in ancient China. We found that from 5,000 years ago till early modern era, Chinese ancestors had been constantly enthusiastic about sustainable utilization of fisheries resources and natural balance of fishery development. They developed numerous rigorous policies and regulations to guide people to (...) act on natural laws. Being detailed and scientific, the legal systems had gained gratifying enforcement, due to official efforts and folks’ voluntary participation in resource management. In-depth analyses show that people’s consciousness of ecological conservation was derived from the edification of kinds of ancient eco-ethical wisdom, such as totemism, nature worship, Zhou Yi , Taoism, Buddhism, Confucianism, Mohism, etc. All this Chinese classical wisdom have the same cores: “Nature and Man in One” spirit, frugality and “All things are equal” concept. The findings show that eco-ethical thinking is never inconsistent with social ethic systems, and it’s of great importance to give legal effect to usual ecological moral claims and eco-ethical requirements of the public in protecting the environment. The eco-ethical wisdom is efficient in assisting and urging people to fulfill humans’ obligation for nature. Finally, it’s believed that present world fisheries management will benefit a lot from all these ancient Chinese thoughts and practices. People are expected to make the most of the eco-ethical wisdom, strengthen fishery legislation and fully stimulate their voluntary participation in both marine fishery resources conservation and fishery cyclic economy. (shrink)

How well the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) are achieved will greatly influence the lives of today’s children and decisively shape the rest of the 21st century. Yet, children were largely excluded from opportunities to influence the selection of SDGs and their associated targets and indicators, and major barriers to meaningful child engagement remain. However, child-focused agencies have found that when children are intentionally enabled to participate in seeking accountability, they can influence their families, communities and governments to value (...) their contributions and increase their well-being. In furthering its strategy of building brighter futures for children, World Vision implements Citizen Voice and Action (CV&A), a strategic social accountability approach, into communities where children are severely impoverished. Drawing on empirical evidence from children’s CV&A experiences, this paper enquires into the circumstances under which children are empowered to seek accountability for SDGs. This article identifies shared processes which they and others use to strengthen children’s participation in seeking social justice through social accountability. This paper argues that children possess under-recognised research capabilities to think and reflect systemically, critique, understand, and pursue socially just and equitable outcomes conducive to the SDGs, which under the right circumstances, can influence practices, policies, laws and systems. (shrink)

In lieu of an abstract, here is a brief excerpt of the content:Contradiction and Legislation Regarding the Right to LifeKevin L. Flannery, S.J.Unborn Human Life and Fundamental Rights: Leading Constitutional Cases under Scrutiny. Edited by Pilar Zambrano and William Saunders, with concluding reflections by John Finnis. Berlin: Peter Lang, 2019.The most fundamental principle of law is the principle of non-contradiction. This is Thomas Aquinas's position in the seminal article on the natural law, Summa theologiae I-II, question 94, article 2, (...) where, citing Aristotle, he formulates the principle as, "One should not simultaneously affirm and negate." Lafter in the same article, Thomas offers a practical formulation of the same principle, "Good is to be done and pursued and evil avoided"; but in law, since it is contained in propositions (airmations and negations) as distinct from ideas regarding the pursuit of goods, the prior formulation is the more immediately relevant of the two.The book under review is important in that, by going through the legal history regarding abortion and related issues in a number of different countries—the United States, Canada, Italy, Spain, Poland, Ireland (Eire), Costa Rica, Argentina, Chile, Mexico, and Peru—it causes to emerge any number of times the realization that legislation and judicial decisions in favor of abortion "rights" invariably infect a legal system with contradictions and inconsistencies of various sorts. The present essay is, therefore, not your typical book review. Its objective is simply to list some of the legal contradictions and inconsistencies identified by the book's various authors as they describe the legal status of the unborn in their respective nations. [End Page 1323]William Saunders's very clear and comprehensive first chapter is entitled, "Judicial Interference in the Protection of Human Life in the United States: Actions and Consequences." In it, he describes, among other things, the Human Cloning Prohibition Act passed by the U.S. House of Representatives in 2003, which prohibited "any person or entity, public or private" from performing human cloning (23). He speaks also of a bill proposed in the U.S. Senate once the Human Cloning Prohibition Act had passed in the House of Representatives. This Senate bill (which was entitle, "The Human Cloning Ban and Stem Cell Research Protection Act") would have prohibited "any person or other legal entity" from conducting human cloning, even while allowing nuclear transplantation, which it defines as "transferring the nucleus of a human somatic cell into an oocyte from which the nucleus... ha[s] been... removed or rendered inert." The problem here, as Saunders explains, is that this latter definition "is the very definition of cloning" (25). In other words, in the same year, two pieces of legislation were considered in the Congress of the United States, both purporting to ban human cloning, one of which would have permitted what the other described (correctly) as human cloning and so prohibited.In the second chapter, "Whither United States Abortion Law?" by Gerard V. Bradley, discussed, among other things, is the inconsistency between the United States Supreme Court's pro-abortion decision Roe v. Wade and various laws, both state and federal, prohibiting feticide. Bradley says of the 2004 federal Unborn Victims of Violence Act that, "in pertinent part it says that 'whoever' 'causes the death of or bodily injury to,' a 'child who is in utero' is guilty of an offense apart from any accompanying offense against the woman carrying the child." The penalty for such an act is the same as would be imposed if the act were inflicted upon the unborn child's mother: if, for instance, the mother was killed. "A child in utero," reports Bradley, "is defined as a member of the species homo sapiens, at any stage of development, who is carried in the womb'" (37).The problem here is that prosecutable under this law are acts identical with those performed legally by abortionists. Bradley mentions two cases in which a woman's male partner—in one case the woman's husband—effected by stealth the abortion of her child. In one case, the male purchased abortion pills and affixed to their container a pharmacy label indicating that it contained a common antibiotic; in the other, the husband obtained the same type of... (shrink)

Drawing on Sir Ian Kennedy's extensive experience in healthcare law, ethics and public policy-making, this book explores vital issues in the law surrounding healthcare and regulation. The book contains a range of published and unpublished essays and speeches with the addition of notes and commentaries by the author that bring the pieces up to the present day. Those who want to understand developments, from transplants to confidentiality, from COVID-19 to public inquiries to regulation will find a rich seam of rigorous, (...) informed analysis. The author's unique range of experience allows him to share insights on a variety of issues; from the conduct of the disgraced breast surgeon, Ian Paterson, to research at Porton Down, to the economics of innovation in drug development at NICE. His abiding interest in the welfare of children informs his trenchant forensic examination of how children fare in the NHS. Those involved in or with an interest in law, moral philosophy, and public policy will find much food for thought. (shrink)

In 1935, when the U.S. Supreme Court’s new building opened and displayed the phrase “Equal Justice Under Law,” racial segregation was commonplace, as were barriers limiting opportunities for men and women of all colors to participate in economic and political life. The justices on the Court and the lawyers appearing before them reflected those facts; almost all were white men. Today, the Supreme Court’s inscription has become its motto, read as if it always referenced an understanding of equality that has (...) become central to the identity and the legitimacy of courts. The judiciary “looks” somewhat different than it did and, in a sense, has become more “representative” of the range of people appearing in courts. Given the role that courts had played in sustaining discrimination, the impression that courts ought to welcome everyone is a major achievement. Yet, to assess the impact of new judicial demographics requires analysis of other major alterations in U.S. courts—the influx of diverse litigants newly entitled to pursue legal claims; the economic barriers facing many claimants; the emergence of judiciaries as agency-like promoters of agendas; and the displacement of public adjudication through the privatization of dispute resolution. Studies of women as judges focus mostly on their rulings, but probing the “difference that difference makes” requires looking beyond judicial opinions. Courts in the United States have developed structural capacities to propose rules and legislation, create education programs, commission research and task forces, and lobby for resources. When women of all colors and men of color became lawyers and judges, they created affinity organizations and pressed courts to research court-based bias and to revise rules of ethics, doctrine, and practice. Those changes are part of the impact of diversification within the legal profession, as is the backlash against affirmative efforts to reform practices. Another difference of the last decades is that new rights have brought into court many claimants with limited means. Participatory participation remains elusive, while the “justice gap” is pervasive. Worse yet, in some jurisdictions, courts have served as “revenue centers,” using court-imposed assessments as income. Failure to pay “legal financial obligations” can result in suspension of driver’s licenses, the loss of voting rights, and other sanctions levied disproportionately on people who are poor and of color. Instead of being seen as fonts of fairness, courts are coming to be identified as sites of inequality. In addition, many courts have embraced alternative forms of dispute resolution that make both processes and outcomes less visible to the public. Through doctrine and rules, U.S. courts have shifted their own practices as well as enforced mandates imposed on consumers and employers that push them out of court and out of class or joint actions. In sum, the new faces on the bench ought not to obscure that the project of representation, inclusion, and equality is far from complete. The vivid inequalities in courts are problems for courts because such disparities undermine their ability to be places of justice. (shrink)

This book explores the scope, application and role of medical law, regulatory norms and ethics, and addresses key challenges introduced by contemporary advances in biomedical research and healthcare. While mindful of national developments, the handbook supports a global perspective in its approach to medical law. Contributors include leading scholars in both medical law and ethics, who have contributed specially commissioned pieces in order to present a critical overview and analysis of the current state of medical law and ethics. Each chapter (...) offers comprehensive coverage of longstanding and traditional topics in medical law and ethics, and offers dynamic insights into contemporary and emerging issues in this heavily debated field. Topics covered include: Bioethics, health and human rights Medical liability Law and emerging health technologies Public health law Personalized medicine The law and ethics of access to medicines in developing countries Medical research in the genome era Emerging legal and ethical issues in reproductive technologies This advanced level reference work will prove invaluable to legal practitioners, scholars, students and researchers in the disciplines of law, medicine, genetics, dentistry, theology, and medical ethics. (shrink)

By presenting original research into British legal history, this volume emphasises the historical shaping of the law by ideas of authority. The essays offer perspectives upon the way that ideas of authority underpinned the conceptualisation and interpretation of legal sources over time and became embedded in legal institutions. The contributors explore the basis of the authority of particular sources of law, such as legislation or court judgments, and highlight how this was affected by shifting ideas relating to concepts of (...) sovereignty, religion, political legitimacy, the nature of law, equity and judicial interpretation. The analysis also encompasses ideas of authority which influenced the development of courts, remedies and jurisdictions, international aspects of legal authority when questions of foreign law or jurisdiction arose in British courts, the wider authority of systems of legal ideas such as natural law, the authority of legal treatises, and the relationship between history, law and legal thought. (shrink)

Hailed as the “foundation of the next industrial revolution,” nanotechnology is reshaping the landscape of technological innovation and creating hope around the world. Some believe that nanotechnology can address the critical needs of developing countries, but others are less optimistic. At one end of the spectrum, scientists predict that, among other accomplishments, nanotechnology can alleviate poverty, provide safe drinking water, and cure diseases. At the other end, skeptics warn that nanotechnology can further widen the gap between the rich and the (...) poor, contributing to an already imbalanced global landscape. What can nanotechnology bring to the 21st century? How and in what ways should it intersect with law, public policy, and the plight of the developing world?This article argues that the international community can harness nanotechnology to create sustainable development, particularly in the field of water remediation and treatment, but it must learn from its past missteps and adopt a strategy that combines two competing theories: instrumentalism and contextualism. Instrumentalism is the concept that technology is superb and stakeholders can easily transfer it from one application to another. In contrast, contextualism places technology in a socioeconomic context and conditions technological success on the stakeholders’ ability to meet local needs. (shrink)