The aim of this study is to illustrate the role played by EC Courts in shaping the controversial precautionary principle which allows the adoption of protective measures in situations of scientific uncertainty. Called upon reviewing the legality of national and Community measures inspired by a...

This paper analyses the role that scientific experts and, more in general, scientific expertise play within European risk governance. While the first part of the paper looks at the way in which scientific expertise is integrated in the decision-making process, the second part examines how...

This article provides the first systematic analysis of the emergence of an embryonic EU lifestyle policy. Despite its limited competence in public health, the European Union has progressively recognized the impact of Non-Communicable Diseases – as prompted by the leading risk factors, such as...

According to WHO data, NCDs account for nearly 86% of deaths and 77% of the disease burden in Europe. These alarming rates have led the European Union to progressively acknowledge the impact of NCDs on the EU’s economy and the well-being of its citizens. Thus, despite its limited competence in...

At a time in which food taxes are causing controversy throughout Europe and discussed across the world, this article provides an analysis of the genesis, rationale, scientific evidence and legal implications stemming from the introduction of such fiscal schemes. By taking as a case study the...

Once more, while facing an analogous risk phenomenon affecting their predominantly homogeneous societal and economic interests, the US and EU authorities seem to adopt diverging stances. Amid the publication of several new studies and a set of EFSA scientific opinions linking the use of the...

This volume provides a contextual analysis of EU food law and policy by bringing together for the first time the viewpoints of academics, policymakers, industry representatives as well as those of food practitioners who are exposed daily to this emerging area of study and practice. It is timed...

At a time in which an increasing number of countries attempt to reduce the attractiveness of the packaging of unhealthy products, such as tobacco and food, the EFTA Court was asked to determine the legality of a set of measures aimed at standardizing the visual imagery, packaging and appeal of...

Impact assessment (IA) has gone from an innocuous technical tool typically used in the pre-legislative phase to an instrument at the heart of the European institutional machinery. However – in deviation from its roots as a tool governing delegated rulemaking in the US – most experience with...

Many democratic societies are experiencing a crisis of faith. Citizens are making clear their frustration with their supposedly representative governments, which instead seem driven by the interests of big business, powerful individuals and wealthy lobby groups. As a result, we increasingly feel...