Legislative and regulatory acts (hereafter jointly called “acts”) rarely exist in an isolated way. Therefore, it is important to fit them well into the overall regulatory architecture for the given sector or field. We examine in this howtoregulate article how best to position an act in the overall regulatory architecture. To that end, we need to look more closely at how acts relate to each other. Continue reading Regulatory architecture
Category Archives: All Articles
Caring about older persons in regulation
Good regulations for the care of older persons is critical for states where the share of ageing population is increasing quickly because the burden on aged services also exponentially grows. The population ageing process is a transversal issue that cuts across several policy areas and regulatory mechanisms, often requiring implementation several years in advance to address future demand. This howtoregulate article looks at best practices for regulating care for the aged in circumstances where the target group are working less, living longer and needing more. Continue reading Caring about older persons in regulation
Typology of referencing in regulations
Referencing in regulation is becoming more common in a globalised and interconnected world. Jurisdictions recognise that other bodies, or organisations both within and outside their jurisdiction, have more expertise in a given sector and so it makes sense to reference such bodies / organisations. In fact such referencing is justified based on efficiency, limited resources and consistency. However, some referencing has not been conceived well and so this howtoregulate article provides a roadmap of considerations that a regulator ought to take into account before making a reference, external to the piece of regulation. Continue reading Typology of referencing in 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
How to harmonise decision-making of authorities and conformity assessment bodies?
More than five years after dealing with harmonised decision-making in the Handbook “How to regulate?”, we now re-visit the topic of this article in a more analytical way. We present six key components for a strategy leading to more harmonised decision-making (A). These key components can be integrated into an operational action plan and workflow. Continue reading How to harmonise decision-making of authorities and conformity assessment bodies?
Referring to standards: never think there is no further alternative
In particular for technical sectors, regulators tend to refer to international or national standards as a means to set up requirements. This article examines some risks and downsides of (classic) direct and specific referencing, a referencing that makes the standards mandatory (A.). Furthermore it presents a matrix that can be used to generate dozens or hundreds of alternative techniques of referencing that avoid these risks and downsides and describes in more details a few favourite techniques (B.). Continue reading Referring to standards: never think there is no further alternative
Attributing legal personality to nature as an effective means for protection
Nature is increasingly being recognised as a holder of rights both in legislation and in court judgements. The relationship between regulations and nature has usually been one of protection, where regulations focus on prohibiting or regulating activities that pose threats to nature. This howtoregulate article explores the burgeoning regulatory landscape attributing legal personality to nature and suggests other regulatory requirements to strengthen the governance and administrative structure supporting legal personhood of nature. Continue reading Attributing legal personality to nature as an effective means for protection
Using regulation to ensure the well-being of children
Scientific evidence shows that child well-being investment pays off, particularly in early childhood, as those children become adolescents and those adolescents become adults who do well. Such adults have higher employment and earnings, better health, and lower levels of welfare dependence and crime rates than those adults who did not have such investment as children. Regulations, be they legislation or delegated rules, are a critical feature of any state seeking to ensure the well-being of children because it organises in a systematic way the responsibilities, enforcement, the budget and services that allow children to thrive. This howtoregulate explores good examples of child well-being laws from around the world. Continue reading Using regulation to ensure the well-being of children
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
Three new approaches to enforcement of product legislation
Classic product legislation currently reaches its limits in several ways. One is 3D-printing which has been the topic of a separate article1. But the main issue is that the many control systems, be they pre-market or post-market oriented, tend to fail in front of an ever increasing number of economic operators and products and rather decreasing resources of state authorities. This article explores three novel approaches. These approaches can and should be used to complement the classic pre- and post-market verification. Some of them might even become alternatives thereto. Continue reading Three new approaches to enforcement of product legislation