Reluctant Rulers: Policy, Politics, and Assisted Reproduction Technology in Japan.

This article puts the spotlight on the world's largest artificial reproduction technology (ART) industry-that of Japan, seeking to explain the exceptional tardiness of the government there to install a comprehensive legal framework that regulates these practices. By relying on minutes from a conversation with an influential parliamentarian active in this area, as well as official documents, media reports, and an interview conducted with key physicians, the article reconstructs the historical trajectory leading to the enactment in December 2020 of the Assisted Reproduction Technology Act. The author contends that it is only on the background of an overview of what happened in the two decades preceding the promulgation of this Act that a sense can be made of why the latter came to be as scant and evasive as it is in terms of provisions, de facto leaving unaltered the socially and ethically undesirable situation of self-regulation in ART application by the Japanese doctors. This article adds credence to the hypothesis with regard to the issue of regulatory governance of emerging technologies more broadly that the direction of travel is toward soft, as opposed to hard, law.

"Children in the prison nursery": Global progress in adopting the Convention on the Rights of the Child in alignment with United Nations minimum standards of care in prisons.

BACKGROUND: Out of the 11 million detained in prisons globally, the female prison population of 740,000 has increased by 50 % since 2000. 410,000 children are in detention. 19,000 live in prison with their mother. OBJECTIVE: To conduct a socio legal assessment of global progress in adopting the Convention on the Rights of the Child since 2010, and alignment with United Nations (UN) normative standards of care in prisons. PARTICIPANTS AND SETTING: Children detained with their mothers at the global level. METHODS: A comprehensive search of all published Concluding Observation reports of the UN Committees on the Rights of the Child (CRC), Elimination of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW), Against Torture (CAT) and Human Rights (CCPR) since 2010 (n = 905). 316 CRC, 246 CEDAW, 173 CAT and 170 CCPR reports were scrutinised to examine the situation of children living with detained mothers against UN normative standards of care. RESULTS: 51 reports (24 CRC, 13 CEDAW, 12 CAT, 2 CCPR) representing 43 countries (majority in Africa) contained direct violations of the best interests of the child. These include the treatment of children as prisoners, difficulties in securing identity documents, poor detention conditions, exposure to violence, lack of access to child-appropriate healthcare, and lack of transparent data. Countries differed in durations of time permitting children to stay in prison (6 months to 8 years, with Eritrea observing no limit). CONCLUSIONS: Achieving a balance between protection of the child and punishment of the mother is inconsistent globally, and exacerbates the multiple vulnerabilities of the child.

Global climate governance: rising trend of translateral cooperation.

The transformation from the Kyoto Protocol to the Paris Agreement has been analyzed by international relations scholars, international law, and transnational governance theory. The international relations literature looks at the climate regime from a perspective of power distribution, state interests, institutions, and multilateral negotiations. International law theory focuses on legal analysis and design of international climate agreements. The transnational governance literature examines the participation of transnational actors at different levels of governance. However, each of these theories overlooks a bilateral trend of cooperation in a multilateral setting that arises as part of the construction or reconstruction of the international regime. Why do national and subnational public actors in global climate governance cooperate bilaterally when multilateral cooperation already exists? What type of bilateral cooperative agreements do these actors prefer, and why? Using qualitative methods, combining content analysis subsequent interviews, this research empirically demonstrates the role and importance of bilateral transatlantic cooperation and informal agreements between national and subnational actors in global climate governance. Using the EU-US case study, this research identifies a diagonal dimension of interaction between states and transnational actors. It introduces and defines the terms "translateral cooperation" and "translateral agreements" in the new climate regime. Supplementary Information: The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1007/s10784-022-09575-6.

EU mental health governance and citizen participation: a global governmentality perspective.

Over the last three decades, a system of European Union mental health governance (EUMHG) emerged, via instruments including strategies for action, joint actions, pacts and high-level expert groups. It sponsored multiple projects, initiatives and research, and involved state, non-state and European institutional actors. This paper attempts to understand how EUMHG operated and the structure of political relations within it, attending especially to opportunities for citizen participation. It adopts a global governmentality approach that focuses on practices and discourses. It finds that EUMHG practices including benchmarks, best practices and risk-thinking reinforced larger EU policy goals of market-optimisation, and that the central discourses of de-institutionalisation (DI) and community mental health (CMH) shifted meaning over time, first apprehending mental health as a public-health goal, then targeting mental ill-health as a burden to states. Finally, it finds that non-governmental organisations' (NGOs) work within EUMHG rendered them both objects and subjects of government. Through these dynamics, citizens usually were positioned outside governance, and NGO identities were altered, though CMH's transformative potential remained. Citizen participation in EUMHG was heavily conditioned. NGO and citizen power will need vigilant protection in any future EUMHG.

The Governance of Unmanned Aircraft Systems (UAS): Aviation Law, Human Rights, and the Free Movement of Data in the EU.

The paper deals with the governance of Unmanned Aircraft Systems (UAS) in European law. Three different kinds of balance have been struck between multiple regulatory systems, in accordance with the sector of the governance of UAS which is taken into account. The first model regards the field of civil aviation law and its European Union (EU)'s regulation: the model looks like a traditional mix of top-down regulation and soft law. The second model concerns the EU general data protection law, the GDPR, which has set up a co-regulatory framework summed up with the principle of accountability also, but not only, in the field of drones. The third model of governance has been adopted by the EU through methods of legal experimentation and coordination mechanisms for UAS. The overall aim of the paper is to elucidate the ways in which such three models interact, insisting on differences and similarities with other technologies (e.g. self-driving cars), and further legal systems (e.g. the US).

Normas vinculantes y no vinculantes en gobierno corporativo: un análisis para la asamblea de accionistas / Hard and soft law in corporate governance: an analysis for the shareholders' meeting / Normas vinculantes e não vinculativas na governança corporativa: uma análise para a assembleia de acionistas

Resumen Este estudio analizó la aplicación de algunas normas vinculantes y no vinculantes de gobierno corporativo en la asamblea de accionistas (frecuencia de las reuniones, antelación en la convocatoria, información previa entregada, decisiones sobre estatutos, dividendos y elección del revisor fiscal) en una muestra de 202 empresas colombianas obtenida a través de una encuesta respondida por correo electrónico. Se usó la prueba Z para comparar proporciones en la aplicación de dichas normas entre empresas familiares y no familiares y entre diferentes tipos de sociedades. Se concluye que los esfuerzos realizados por entidades que promueven el gobierno corporativo aún están lejos de tener una gran acogida en las empresas colombianas. Este trabajo plantea la necesidad de concentrar más y mejores esfuerzos para garantizar que las empresas cumplan al menos con las normas vinculantes, dado que dichas normas terminan siendo débiles en alguna de sus dimensiones (precisión de la norma, obligatoriedad en el cumplimiento, delegación para su interpretación e implementación en un tercero). De igual forma, es deseable mejorar los estándares de gobierno corporativo mediante la adopción de prácticas recomendadas en las normas no vinculantes, que en muchos casos son más rigurosas que la norma vinculante. Clasificación JEL: M10, G30, G34.

Abstract This study analyzed the application of some hard and soft law of corporate governance in the shareholders' meeting (frequency of meetings, advance notice in the call, prior information delivered, decisions on bylaws, dividends and election of the fiscal auditor) in a sample of 202 Colombian companies. The sample was obtained through a survey answered by email. The Z test was used to compare proportions in the application of these standards between family and non-family businesses and between different types of companies. It is concluded that the efforts made by entities that promote corporate governance are still far from having a great reception in Colombian companies. This work raises the need to concentrate more and improve efforts to ensure that companies comply at least with binding standards (hard law). given that these laws end up being weak in some of their dimensions (accuracy of the law, mandatory compliance, delegation for their interpretation and implementation in a third party). Likewise, it is desirable to improve corporate governance standards by adopting practices recommended in soft laws, which in many cases are more stringent than the hard law. JEL Classification: M10, G30, G34.

Resumo O estudo analisou a aplicação de algumas regras vinculantes e não vinculantes de governança corporativa na assembleia de acionistas (frequência das reuniões, aviso prévio na convocação, informações prévias prestadas, decisões estatutárias, dividendos e eleição do auditor fiscal) em uma amostra de 202 empresas colombianas obtidas por meio de uma pesquisa respondida por correio eletrônico. O teste Z foi utilizado para comparar proporções na aplicação desses padrões entre empresas familiares não familiares e entre diferentes tipos de empresas. Conclui-se que os esforços de entidades que promovem a governança corporativa ainda estão longe de ter uma grande receptividade nas empresas colombianas. Este trabalho plateia a necessidade de focar mais e melhores esforços para garantir que as empresas cumpram pelo menos os padrões vinculantes, dado que esses padrões acabam sendo fracos em algumas de suas dimensões (precisão de padrão, cumprimento obrigatório, delegação para sua interpretação e implementação em terceiros). Da mesma forma, é desejável melhorar os padrões de governança corporativa adotando práticas recomendadas em padrões não vinculantes, que em muitos casos são mais rigorosos do que a norma vinculante. Classificações JEL: M10, G30, G34.

A aplicação judicial das normas da organização mundial da saúde no Brasil: in Dubio pro salute / Legal enforcement of the World Health Organization norms in Brazil: in dubio pro salute principle

A empresa Acumuladores Ajax Ltda., uma das maiores fabricantes de baterias automotivas do Brasil, violou ao longo das últimas décadas normas de segurança no trabalho, ambientais e sanitárias, promovendo a contaminação do ar e do solo em áreas residenciais próximas à sua fábrica, localizada no município de Bauru (SP). O chamando “caso Ajax” possui, além da esfera administrativa, ao menos três frentes judiciais: a cível, a trabalhista e a fiscal. O caso Ajax chegou ao Superior Tribunal de Justiça sob a forma de um recurso relativo à execução fiscal de uma multa aplicada à empresa. O acórdão daí resultante evoca, entre outros, um tema raramente discutido no meio jurídico brasileiro, qual seja o alcance do direito da Organização Mundial da Saúde (OMS) no Brasil. Em 2002, um inquérito epidemiológico indicou que 314 crianças residentes no entorno da fábrica apresentavam taxas de plumbemia (presença de chumbo no sangue) superiores às que a OMS considera “aceitável”. A empresa argumentou que o padrão da OMS não encontra respaldo na legislação brasileira. O relator do processo, Ministro Herman Benjamin, afirmou que, na ausência ou na manifesta desatualização dos padrões brasileiros, a contaminação e o consequente dano se caracterizam quando se constata o desrespeito aos padrões de instituições internacionais das quais o Brasil seja membro ou partícipe, aplicando o princípio in dubio pro salute. Segundo o relator, é dever do juiz fazer prevalecer a norma que melhor assegure a saúde, seja ela branda ou dotada de sanção, seja ela internacional ou interna.

Acumuladores Ajax Ltd., one of the largest automotive battery manufacturing company in Brazil, violated environmental, health and labour safety laws the past decades, causing air and soil contamination in residential areas that is in the vicinity of the factory located in Bauru, São Paulo, Brazil. The Ajax judicial case will be investigated in at least three legal instances – civil, labor, and tax – in addition to the administrative level. The Ajax legal case reached the Brazilian Court of Appeals in the form of an appeal related to the tax enforcement of a fine applied to the company. The resulting court ruling evokes a topic rarely discussed in the Brazilian legal community: the scope of the World Health Organization (WHO) rulings in Brazil. In 2002, an epidemiological survey indicated that 314 children living in the vicinity of the factory presented plumbemia levels (existence of lead in blood) higher than those considered “acceptable” by the WHO. The company argued that the WHO standards are not enforced by the Brazilian law. The rapporteur of the case, Minister Herman Benjamin, stated that in the absence or manifest outdating of Brazilian standards, the contamination and the resulting damages are characterized by the disrespect for international institutions standards of which Brazil is a member or participant, applying the in dubio pro salute principle. According to the rapporteur, it is the duty of the judge to enforce the norm that best ensures public health using either mild rules or those enforced with national or international sanctions.

Relocating health governance: personalized medicine in times of 'global genes'.

To date, governance questions related to personalized medicine - the consideration of the genetic and genomic determinants of varying drug response in patients - have been primarily addressed in terms of ethical implications. However, an analysis of the governance of personalized medicine should reach further. At present, governance issues arise in the context of an ongoing dispersion of national regulatory power. Due to the growing complexity of society, it has become impossible to govern society from a single center or by means of a single privileged governance mechanism. Governing increasingly includes the active participation of nongovernmental and individual actors by means of creating informal norms of conduct. Personalized medicine, due to its core concepts, fosters the emergence of new alliances (private and public, regional and global, for-profit and for-health) and thereby bears the promise to bridge some traditional dichotomies. Much rather than the quest for individualized drugs, it is this characteristic of personalized medicine that attracts so much attention from outside the medical and life science field.