Business associations and individual economic actors often lobby for “less regulation”. Politicians and officials often feel obliged to follow this call. In some jurisdictions, even entire regulatory policy departments have been created to limit the quantity and the heaviness of regulation. As a consequence, regulations sometimes become “light”, containing general provisions and leaving details out. In this article, we claim that businesses are partly shooting themselves into the foot by calling for “less regulation” instead of “less obligations”. We also state that we are all better served by more and more detailed provisions. Continue reading The tragedy of business lobbying for “less regulation”
Search Results for: lobbying
Countering unfair lobbying
It is natural and basically good that interest groups inform regulators on facts, concerns, and alternative solutions. However, lobbying can also go over the top, torpedoing good governance. This article investigates what can be done to counter unfair or disproportionate lobbying. Continue reading Countering unfair lobbying
How can regulation solve firearms problems?
Originally born as an instrument for the modernisation of armies, firearms have proliferated to become a contemporary global problem. Over 250,000 people were killed by firearms worldwide in 2019 and higher still, are those affected by firearms-related health problems, both physical and psychological. Strict regulation is required to combat indiscriminate sales to opposition groups, terrorists or criminals who undermine the rule of law, destabilise societies and perpetuate conflicts. With the aim of creating safer societies, lawmakers have established guidelines to regulate firearms. This howtoregulate article aims to cover the life cycle of firearms: manufacture, marking, possession, storage, destruction and deactivation. Continue reading How can regulation solve firearms problems?
Part 2: Drawing a clear health line under addictive products (alcohol, cannabis and tobacco) regulations
This Part 2 of addictive products (alcohol, cannabis and tobacco) regulation will focus on national reference regulation covering regulatory measures for demand reduction, supply reduction and harm reduction in both alcohol and tobacco regulatory frameworks. National reference regulation for cannabis regulation will be addressed separately at the end to highlight the range of regulatory controls of the, usually new, regulatory framework. This is in contrast to most alcohol and tobacco control regulation which amends legacy legislation. Continue reading Part 2: Drawing a clear health line under addictive products (alcohol, cannabis and tobacco) regulations
Part 1: Drawing a clear health line under addictive products (alcohol, cannabis and tobacco) regulations
According to the Lancet’s latest Global Burden of Disease Study, around 11 million global deaths are attributed to tobacco and alcohol consumption, over 11.5 million if you include illicit drug (opioids, cocaine, amphetamines and cannabis) use.1 This is more than the number of deaths from all cancers in the world.2 Lancet’s study shows that tobacco use is declining, albeit from a very high rate, highlighting the success of stricter tobacco control regulations worldwide. Consumption of alcohol and illicit drugs are, however, on the rise. This Part 1 howtoregulate article analyses techniques for regulating alcohol, cannabis and tobacco so that the regulatory control measures can effectively control the public health and welfare costs of the harms caused by these addictive products. Part 2 will look at reference regulations showing how such regulatory techniques operate in the jurisdictions that have implemented them. Continue reading Part 1: Drawing a clear health line under addictive products (alcohol, cannabis and tobacco) regulations
Beyond a destination and towards a culture: Corporate transparency regulations
The private sector plays a critical role in achieving economic and social goals through providing goods and services, employment and tax revenue. Corporate vehicles such as companies, trusts, foundations, partnerships, and other types of legal persons and arrangements, make up a large share of the private sector. Although corporate transparency is a standard business practice of most companies, other corporate vehicles have less transparency as revealed by the International Consortium of Journalists in the Panama Papers. Corporate transparency regulations need always to balance measures aimed at catching bad actors with measures that encourage voluntary transparency, to avoid overly burdensome rules. This howtoregulate article focuses on good examples of corporate transparency regulations and highlighting opportunities for improvement. Continue reading Beyond a destination and towards a culture: Corporate transparency regulations
Restoring trust: using regulations to protect the impartiality of decisions and research in the public interest
This howtoregulate article focuses on using regulations to protect the impartiality of decisions and research in the public interest. All too often we see stories breaking about the alleged impropriety of important decisions or research that served a narrow interest at odds with the public interest. Sobering indeed, is the phenomenon of scientific deniers or the rejection of scientific evidence as a basis for government decisions and policy. Impartiality is an important factor in public trust of democratic and scientific institutions, such as universities and government departments. In using regulations to protect the principle of impartiality we look at some examples of how this is done at the international and national level, ending with some recommendations to improve regulatory measures. Continue reading Restoring trust: using regulations to protect the impartiality of decisions and research in the public interest
Regulating online safety and tackling online harms
When Tim Berners-Lee invented the World Wide Web in 1990, he envisaged a decentralised environment of free exchange of ideas and information. Fast forward to 2019, almost 30 years later, and that online environment has been polluted by disinformation, manipulation, harassment and privacy breaches. The growth of online pollution has prompted various regulatory responses such as the European Union’s General Data Protection Regulation1, Germany’s Network Enforcement Act2, Australia’s Abhorrent Violence Amendment Bill3 and California’s Consumer Privacy Act4, each one responding to an online safety problem. In a world first, however, the UK has signalled it will regulate online safety in a single and coherent way, including creating a statutory duty of care for online safety. This howtoregulate article will analyse the UK’s regulatory approach outlined in its April 2019 Online Harms White Paper, which is open for public consultation until July 2019, and propose ways to improve on regulatory enforcement of online safety. Continue reading Regulating online safety and tackling online harms
Infectious diseases: how to regulate an agile system equipped for the unknown
This howtoregulate article explores the regulation of infectious diseases, an issue of global importance noting that an outbreak from any infectious disease is just a plane ride away. Global climate change has contributed to increases in vector-borne diseases1 and zoonotic diseases2, as animals move to populated areas in search of food. The World Health Organisation even has a placeholder for future unknown diseases (Disease X) on its list for determining which diseases and pathogens3 to prioritise for research. Evidently, effective public health regulations are critical for the effective surveillance, early detection and prevention of infectious diseases. Continue reading Infectious diseases: how to regulate an agile system equipped for the unknown
Tobacco control regulations: Combating the world’s leading preventable cause of death
Tobacco remains the leading preventable cause of death in the world today and accounts for around 12% of all adult deaths worldwide (more than 7 million people)1. Its effects are far-reaching and have implications along the supply chain: from the land used to grow tobacco instead of food, often in countries where food security is a concern, to the 63% of children of tobacco-growing families involved in child labor, to the environmental effects of smoke expelled into the air, the bystander and the smoker’s health2. This howtoregulate article focuses on tobacco control and regulations for the emerging tobacco alternative electronic cigarettes. Continue reading Tobacco control regulations: Combating the world’s leading preventable cause of death