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Regulatory Domain and Regulatory Dexterity: Critiquing the UK Governance of ‘Fracking’
Author(s) -
Stokes Elen
Publication year - 2016
Publication title -
the modern law review
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.37
H-Index - 22
eISSN - 1468-2230
pISSN - 0026-7961
DOI - 10.1111/1468-2230.12226
Subject(s) - corporate governance , government (linguistics) , domain (mathematical analysis) , government regulation , work (physics) , political science , law and economics , order (exchange) , public domain , business , public administration , public relations , economics , law , engineering , finance , mechanical engineering , mathematical analysis , linguistics , philosophy , mathematics , theology , china
This article provides a critique of the UK government's regulatory response to ‘fracking’. It shows how government has adopted two distinct schemas of regulation, which may usefully be classified under the headings ‘regulatory domain’ and ‘regulatory dexterity’. These schemas rely on very different interpretive conventions and are in many ways contradictory. Yet, government uses both ‘domain’ and ‘dexterity’ arguments simultaneously in order to advance its policy in favour of fracking. The article explains how two seemingly different regulatory approaches work together towards the same policy goal, and highlights the role of law in facilitating technological development.