Dorbeck-Jung, Bärbel; Amerom, Marloes van --- "The Hardness of Soft Law in the United Kingdom: State and Non-State Regulatory Activities Related to Nanotechnological Development" [2008] ELECD 310; in van Schooten, Hanneke; Verschuuren, Jonathan (eds), "International Governance and Law" (Edward Elgar Publishing, 2008)

Book Title: International Governance and Law

Editor(s): van Schooten, Hanneke; Verschuuren, Jonathan

Publisher: Edward Elgar Publishing

ISBN (hard cover): 9781847207272

Section: Chapter 8

Section Title: The Hardness of Soft Law in the United Kingdom: State and Non-State Regulatory Activities Related to Nanotechnological Development

Author(s): Dorbeck-Jung, Bärbel; Amerom, Marloes van

Number of pages: 22

Extract:

8. The hardness of soft law in the
United Kingdom: state and non-
state regulatory activities related to
nanotechnological development
Bärbel Dorbeck-Jung and Marloes van Amerom

1. INTRODUCTION

In the past three years regional and national regulators have become aware
of the huge governance challenges of emerging nanotechnologies.1
Nanotechnologies refer to technologies of the very small, with dimensions
in the range of one to a hundred nanometers.2 Although there is much
concern about the risks of these new technologies, in most countries no
specific legal action has been taken to anticipate potential damage to
health, safety and the environment, and consumer protection. According
to a recent OECD review of regulatory development on the safety of man-
ufactured nanomaterials, the common regulatory approach includes stan-
dardization, research and development funding activities, the collection of
evidence on nanotechnological risks, evaluations of existing legislative
structures and the promotion of codes of conduct.3 Presently, soft law is
emerging at various levels of nanotechnological regulation. By soft law we
understand rules of conduct which in principle have no legally binding
force, but which nevertheless have effects in legal practice (Snyder 1995).
Soft law is playing an important role in non-state law, as well as in the
state's legislature. At the European level, for example, the European
Commission's Action Plan on Nanosciences and Nanotechnologies sets out
certain rules for the regulation of nanotechnologies.4 Other interesting
examples of soft law are the voluntary reporting schemes on nanotechno-
logical ...