Law Commons^™

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 …

China's "Green Leap Forward" Toward Global Environmental Leadership, Robert V. Percival

Robert Percival

This article argues that China may be on the verge of a “Green Leap Forward” that could make it a global environmental leader. This article argues that two principal forces have contributed to this development. First, Chinese officials now realize that a global shift away from fossil fuels will create enormous business opportunities on a global scale. Chinese companies are now making enormous strides in the development of green technology, such as solar power, wind energy, and electric cars, with the active assistance of the Chinese government. Second, realizing that climate change severely threatens China, and stung by the criticism …

Public Health Legal Services: A New Vision, David I. Schulman, Ellen Lawton, Paul R. Tremblay, Randye Retkin, Megan Sandel

Paul R. Tremblay

In recent years, the medical profession has begun to collaborate more and more with lawyers in order to accomplish important health objectives for patients. That collaboration invites a revisioning of legal services delivery models and of public health constructs, leading to a concept we develop in this article, and call "public health legal services." The phrase encompasses those legal services provided by non-government attorneys to low-income persons the outcomes of which when evaluated in the aggregate using traditional public health measures advance the public's health. This conception of public health legal services has emerged most prominently from innovative developments in …

Building Public Health Law Capacity At The Local Level, Diane Hoffmann, Virginia Rowthorn

Diane Hoffmann

No abstract provided.

The Return Of Quarantinism And How To Keep It In Check: From Wishful Regulations To Political Accountability, Giovanni De Grandis

Giovanni De Grandis

The return of infectious diseases has brought back a series of techniques for controlling the spread of disease labelled quarantinist measures. Since such measures typically infringe individual rights or privacy their use is subject to legal regulations and ethical scrutiny. Yet in some circumstances they can be very effective. After considering some case studies that show how epidemics are unique, fluid and affected by a multitude of contingent factors, it is argued that the legal and ethical guidelines may not be the best approach to discipline the use of quarantinist measures. An alternative model based on ex-post political accountability for …

Epa's Iris Program: Evaluating The Science And Process Behind Chemical Risk Assessment, Rena I. Steinzor

Rena I. Steinzor

No abstract provided.

Learning From Our Past To Help Save Our Future: Historical Public Health Crises And How These Lessons Will Help Solve Obesity, Kate M. Emminger

Kate M Emminger

The obesity epidemic continues to plague the United States. Debates regarding strategies to solve the obesity crisis are constant but little has been accomplished by public health officials. Obesity is a multi-faceted, stigmatized problem, but it is not beyond the reach of public health. To prove that public health strategies must be utilized to solve the obesity crisis, this paper makes a comparative analysis between past successful public health campaigns and the obesity epidemic. Enlightening parallels exist between the bubonic plague, tobacco cessation and obesity. The bubonic plague parallels obesity because the plague lacked a pill or vaccine cure, was …

The Growing Consumer Exposure To Nanotechnology In Everyday Products: Regulating Innovative Technologies In Light Of Lessons From The Past, K Van Tassel, R Goldman

Katharine A. Van Tassel

Consumers in the United States are being exposed to steadily increasing levels of novel and untested substances as a result of their contact with consumer products containing nanoparticles. Hundreds of consumer products are being marketed for human consumption, including food, dietary supplements, cosmetics and sunscreens. This expanding market ignores the growing scientific understanding that nanoparticles can create unintended human health and environmental risks. This Article discusses the public health, regulatory, legal and ethical issues raised by the developing appreciation of the health risks associated with nanotech products and is arranged as follows. After this Introduction, this Article describes the present …

Special 301 Of The Trade Act Of 1974 And Global Access To Medicine, Sean M. Flynn

Sean Flynn

Since its inception in 1988, the United States Trade Representative’s “Special 301” adjudication of foreign intellectual property law standards has been used to promote policies restricting access to affordable medications around the world. President-elect Obama released a platform promising to “break the stranglehold that a few big drug and insurance companies have on these life-saving drugs” and pledged support for “the rights of sovereign nations to access quality-assured, low-cost generic medication to meet their pressing public health needs.” The 2009 and 2010 Special 301 reports, however, indicate that the Obama Administration has not yet implemented this pledge into administration trade …

The Affordable Care Act’S Preventive Services Mandate: Breaking Down The Barriers To Nationwide Access To Preventive Services, John Aloysius Cogan Jr.

John Aloysius Cogan Jr.

Alternatives To Criminalization Of Hiv Transmission And Exposure, Aziza Ahmed

Aziza Ahmed

No abstract provided.