Regulatory Institutions And Structures

Abstract

This article presents a legal perspective on regulatory institutions, procedures and processes. Analysis of legal instruments examines justi¢cations for regulatory interventions, and considers the inadequacies of private law remedies to instances of market failure (such as monopolies, inadequate or asymmetric information, externalities and co-ordination problems). A distinction is drawn between social and economic regulation: the former deals with such matters as health and safety, and environmental and consumer protection; and the latter is needed where there is insu⁄cient competition. Instruments of social regulation include prior approval, mandatory standards and information disclosure. A range of instruments of economic regulation is also assessed, including competition law, public ownership, price and quality regulation, and competitive public franchising. Analysis of regulatory processes focuses on regulatory rule-making, delegated regulation and self-regulation. Particular weight is given to di¡erent forms of accountability^¢nancial, procedural and substantive^which draws attention to the signi¢cance of the public interest dimension of regulatory systems.

Network regulation and regulatory institutional reform: Revisiting the case of Australia

“…their different roles) and the coordination mechanisms that underpin the mutual relations among these authorities. Earlier studies by Glachant and Finon (2000), Ogus (2002) and Niesten (2006) have clearly recognized the importance of specifying the rule makers, and the allocation of different regulatory tasks and powers among different regulatory authorities in the European electricity liberalization context.…”

The Social Licence as a Form of Regulation for Small and Medium Enterprises

“…Regulation has traditionally been defined as the sustained and focused control by a public agency over activities that are valued by a community. 20 This definition is formal and legalistic 21 and is predicated on the view that firms need to know what society's moral and social expectations of them are. 22 Firms are then thought to comply with regulations for instrumental reasons, 23 since compliance reduces the tensions that can arise from the conflicting interests of businesses and society.…”

Criminal law and regulation

“…An independent assessment of the 13 The character of agencies diff ers across jurisdictions and legal cultures, as a consequence of divergent approaches to administrative law: see above, n. 2. The civil law tradition is for agencies to be part of, or close to, central government; the common law tradition is of greater autonomy: Ogus (2002). application of the rules can reduce intertemporal inconsistency and hence error costs (Stephenson, 2006).…”