Arcuri, Alessandra --- "Risk Regulation" [2012] ELECD 438; in Van den Bergh, J. Roger; Pacces, M. Alessio (eds), "Regulation and Economics" (Edward Elgar Publishing, 2012)

Book Title: Regulation and Economics

Editor(s): Van den Bergh, J. Roger; Pacces, M. Alessio

Publisher: Edward Elgar Publishing

ISBN (hard cover): 9781847203434

Section: Chapter 6

Section Title: Risk Regulation

Author(s): Arcuri, Alessandra

Number of pages: 37

Extract:

6 Risk regulation
Alessandra Arcuri*



1. INTRODUCTION

In 2010, the Large Hadron Collider (LHC) started its operation at the
European Nuclear Research Centre (CERN) in Geneva (CERN, 2010). The
LHC is a subatomic particle accelerator that promises major scientific discov-
eries by running the biggest set of physics experiments in history. These
promises are, however, darkened by the grim predictions of some scientists
that the LHC entails the remote risk of destroying the Earth. For instance, it
has been argued that the LHC could create mini-black holes that would grow
and annihilate the Earth by swallowing it (Johnson, 2009: 840­42). Such
doomsday scenarios have been the subject of several lawsuits aimed at block-
ing the operation of the LHC.1 While most of the lawsuits were dismissed due
to lack of jurisdiction (Johnson, 2009: 860), the legal challenges unveiled
profound dilemmas facing contemporary lawyers and policymakers. How can
lawyers and policymakers assess whether a risk is plausible? How should they
decide what risks a society ought to bear? How to treat remote risks of cata-
strophic consequences? What weight is to be given to minority views in
science?
Even if policymakers, judges and lawyers seldom deal with cases involv-
ing risks such as those posed by the LHC, they are often confronted with
similar questions. The policymaking questions underlying the management


* The author would like to thank Alessio Pacces and the other editors of the
Encyclopedia of Law and Economics for insightful feedback. Thanks also to Jamaal
Mohuddy ...