Regulating Pollution A UK and EC Perspective

About this book

This book aims to provide a comprehensive picture of UK and EC pollution regulation. Although written by a lawyer, it adopts an interdisciplinary approach to regulation, which seeks to move beyond the sociological and economic frameworks within which pollution regulation has typically been analysed in the UK. The UK and EC regulatory systems are examined within the context of `regulatory federalism'. The aim of this is to explore how and why regulatory decisions concerning pollution are taken at different levels of a federal regulatory hierarchy.

The book begins with a discussion of the essentials of pollution regulation, including traditional economic justifications for regulation and non-economic ones based on environmental ethics. It goes on to examine subsidiarity and the appropriate level for regulation - a particularly topical issue in the light of recent devolution within the UK. Models of regulatory decision-making are then addressed, comparing the rigours of `ecologism' with the cost-benefit based alternative of `economism' and the more participatory style of `republicanism'. Other chapters include a comparison of the various regulatory techniques in terms of the values of accountability, equality, certainty, efficiency and effectiveness, and an examination of regulatory enforcement, covering issues such as accountability for enforcement decisions, corporate liability, strict liability and a critical analysis of the so-called `co-operative' approach.

Contents

Regulatory essentials - what is regulation?, why regulate?, who regulates?; privatisation, liberalisation and deregulations - privatisation, liberalisation, deregulation; choosing the level - regulation and federalism - the theoretical case for federal regulation, practice in the EU and UK, devolution in the UK; the institutional legitimacy of pollution regulations - legitimacy of the institutional arrangements for pollution regulation in the UK, legitimacy of the institutional arrangements for pollution, regulation in the EC, accountability; deciding regulatory goals - models of decision-making, UK and EC law and policy, conclusion; regulatory techniques - introduction, command-and-control, economic regulatory instruments, voluntary mechanisms, cost-effectiveness, equality, equity, effectiveness, certainty, conclusion; enforcement I - enforcing national command-and-control regulation - criminal offences, strict liability, cause, knowingly cause and knowingly permit, corporate liability, liability of employees, liability of directors, monitoring, enforcement tools, styles and approaches, descriptive explanations for the co-operative approach, normative arguments for the co-operative approach, enforcement policies, accountability for enforcement decisions; enforcement II - enforcing EC regulation and alternative instruments - enforcing EC regulations, enforcing alternative instruments; pollution regulation and growth - debates over growth, sustainable consumption, instruments for tackling A and P, conclusion.

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Biography

Chris Hilson is Professor of Law at The University of Reading.