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Full-Text Articles in Law

The Transatlantic Gmo Dispute Against The European Communities: Some Preliminary Thoughts, David A. Wirth Nov 2011

The Transatlantic Gmo Dispute Against The European Communities: Some Preliminary Thoughts, David A. Wirth

David A. Wirth

Any day now, a World Trade Organization panel is expected to rule in a dispute between the U.S. and the EU concerning market access for genetically-engineered foods and crops. This piece, written before the release of the WTO panel's report, analyzes novel systemic issues concerning the impact of WTO law on regulatory design, at both the national and international levels, that are raised by this dispute. These include (1) the application of WTO disciplines to regulatory schemes that require prior governmental approval to protect the environment and public health from newly-introduced products and substances; (2) the role of precaution as …


Through The Looking Glass Of Eminent Domain: Exploring The “Arbitrary And Capricious” Test And Substantive Rationality Review Of Governmental Decisions, Zygmunt J.B. Plater, William Lund Norine Oct 2011

Through The Looking Glass Of Eminent Domain: Exploring The “Arbitrary And Capricious” Test And Substantive Rationality Review Of Governmental Decisions, Zygmunt J.B. Plater, William Lund Norine

Zygmunt J.B. Plater

No abstract provided.


Acting Like An Administrative Agency: The Federal Circuit En Banc, Ryan G. Vacca Oct 2011

Acting Like An Administrative Agency: The Federal Circuit En Banc, Ryan G. Vacca

Ryan G. Vacca

When Congress created the Federal Circuit in 1982, it thought it was creating a court of appeals. Little did it know that it was also creating a quasi-administrative agency that would engage in substantive rulemaking and set policy in a manner substantially similar to administrative agencies. In this Article, I examine the Federal Circuit's practices when it orders a case to be heard en banc and illustrate how these practices cause the Federal Circuit to look very much like an administrative agency engaging in substantive rulemaking. The number and breadth of questions the Federal Circuit agrees to hear en banc …


Conflict Of Interest That Led To The Gulf Oil Disaster, Peter J. Honigsberg Apr 2011

Conflict Of Interest That Led To The Gulf Oil Disaster, Peter J. Honigsberg

Peter J Honigsberg

On April 20, 2010, British Petroleum’s Deepwater Horizon drilling rig in the Gulf of Mexico exploded, killing eleven people and spilling billions of gallons of oil into the gulf. In the days and weeks that followed, the media pointed to the Minerals Management Services (MMS), the regulatory agency responsible for managing offshore drilling, as being complicit with BP. The MMS issued permits for deepwater drilling in violation of its regulations; provided hundreds of exemptions to the regulations; maintained lax monitoring and enforcement procedures; allowed the companies to draft regulations that suited their interests and objectives; and engaged in inappropriate relationships …


From Bad To Worst: Assessing The Long Term Consequences Of Four Very Bad Fcc Decisions, Rob M. Frieden Jan 2011

From Bad To Worst: Assessing The Long Term Consequences Of Four Very Bad Fcc Decisions, Rob M. Frieden

Rob Frieden

Far too many major decisions of the Federal Communications Commission (“FCC”) rely on flawed assumptions about the current and future telecommunications marketplace. If the FCC incorrectly overstates the current state of competition, it risks exacerbating its mistake going forward if actual competition proves unsustainable, or lackluster. In many key decisions the FCC cited robust competition in current and future markets as the basis for decisions that relax restrictions on incumbents, abandon strategies for promoting competition, or apply statutory definitions of services that trigger limited government oversight. The Commission ignores the secondary and tertiary consequences of decisions that deprive it of …


An Introduction To The 2010 Model State Administrative Procedure Act, John L. Gedid Dec 2010

An Introduction To The 2010 Model State Administrative Procedure Act, John L. Gedid

John L. Gedid

No abstract provided.


Pennsylvania's 2008 Right To Know Law: Open Access At Last, John L. Gedid Dec 2010

Pennsylvania's 2008 Right To Know Law: Open Access At Last, John L. Gedid

John L. Gedid

No abstract provided.


Regulatory Overlap, Overlapping Legal Fields, And Statutory Discontinuities, Todd S. Aagaard Dec 2010

Regulatory Overlap, Overlapping Legal Fields, And Statutory Discontinuities, Todd S. Aagaard

Todd S Aagaard

Lawmakers and scholars alike criticize regulatory overlap on the ground that giving administrative agencies overlapping jurisdiction leads to duplicative or conflicting regulation which is inefficient and unduly burdensome. This Article challenges this orthodox account of regulatory overlap through examination of six case studies in which the Environmental Protection Agency and the Occupational Safety and Health Administration have managed their jurisdictional overlap so as to create regulatory synergy rather than dysfunction. Although this Article is not the first to argue that regulatory overlap may improve the effectiveness of regulatory programs, the case studies examined here highlight two important aspects of regulatory …