Private control instruments in the European consumer, occupational health and safety, and environmental policies

Defence Date: 06 December 2010Examining Board: Fabrizio CAFAGGI (Supervisor, EUI), Christian JOERGES (former EUI/University of Bremen), Colin SCOTT (University College, Dublin), Jyrki TALA (University of Turku and National Research Institute of Legal Policy, Helsinki)European Union’s (EU) legislature allows for EU level private interest governments (PIGs): stakeholders, industry, professional and co-operative bodies; and control entrepreneurs (PriCEs) to complement regulatory strategies. However, governance studies have infrequently conducted cross-sector analysis on how they assist in implementing EU policies. This study conducts cross-sector analysis of private compliance instruments (PCIs) utilised as partial implementing strategy to EU’s business regulation across consumer, worker health, safety and environmental policies. It introduces several opportunities to learn from differences. PriCEs appear operational PCIs throughout several legislative and private regulatory frameworks; regulatory sectors; targeting sector- or business-specific compliance; and employing either command-and-control or reflexive/responsive regulatory modes. However, workable 'in-house' PCIs implemented by PIGs necessitate specific market architecture and legislative pressure. Within sectors of health and safety of consumers and workers specific conditions may support in-house PCIs, which control business-specific compliance within command-and-control mode. However, within environmental sector, such in-house PCIs appear unfeasible. The EU legislature has also architected PCIs, which somewhat equate to reflexive/responsive mode, to consumer and environmental policies, whilst it has abstained from introduction of such instruments to worker health and safety due to autonomous social dialogue. Generally, at EU level, the potential for using outfitted reflexive mode PCIs appears greater than employing command-and-control mode in CPIs