Law, Science and Society – serie

Technologies like CRISPR and gene drives are ushering in a new era of genetic engineering, wherein the technical means to modify DNA are cheaper, faster, more accurate, more widely accessible, and with more far-reaching effects than ever before. These cutting-edge technologies raise legal, ethical, cultural, and ecological questions that are so broad and consequential for both human and other-than-human life that they can be difficult to grasp. What is clear, however, is that the power to directly alter not just a singular form of life but also the genetics of entire species and thus the composition of ecosystems is currently both inadequately regulated and undertheorized. In Gene Editing, Law, and the Environment, distinguished scholars from law, the life sciences, philosophy, environmental studies, science and technology studies, animal health, and religious studies examine what is at stake with these new biotechnologies for life and law, both human and beyond.

The relationship between hacking and the law has always been complex and conflict-ridden. This book examines the relations and interactions between hacking and the law with a view to understanding how hackers influence and are influenced by technology laws and policies. In our increasingly digital and connected world where hackers play a significant role in determining the structures, configurations and operations of the networked information society, this book delivers an interdisciplinary study of the practices, norms and values of hackers and how they conflict and correspond with the aims and aspirations of hacking-related laws. Describing and analyzing the legal and normative impact of hacking, as well as proposing new approaches to its regulation and governance, this book makes an essential contribution to understanding the socio-technical changes, and consequent legal challenges, faced by our contemporary connected society.

Despite their centrality to the operation of contemporary accredited zoo and aquarium institutions, the work of zoo veterinarians has rarely been the focus of a critical analysis in the social science and humanities. Drawing on in-depth interviews and observations of zoo and aquarium veterinarians, mainly in Europe and North America, this book highlights the recent transformation that has occurred in the zoo veterinarian profession during a time of ecological crisis, and what these changes can teach us about our rapidly changing planet.Zoo vets, Braverman instructs us with a wink, have "gone wild." Originally an individual welfare-centered profession, these experts are increasingly concerned with the sustainability of wild animal populations and with ecological health. The story of zoo vets going wild—in their subjects of care, their motivations, and their ethical standards, as well as in their professional practices and scientific techniques—is also a story about zoo animals gone wild, wild animals encroaching the zoo, and, more generally, a wild world that is becoming "zoo-ified." Such transformations have challenged existing veterinary standards and practices. Exploring the regulatory landscape that governs the work of zoo and aquarium veterinarians, Braverman traverses the gap between the hard and soft sciences and between humans and nonhumans.At the intersection of animal studies, socio-legal studies, and science and technology studies, this book will appeal not only to those interested in zoos and in animal welfare, but also to scholars in the posthumanities.

Despite their centrality to the operation of contemporary accredited zoo and aquarium institutions, the work of zoo veterinarians has rarely been the focus of a critical analysis in the social science and humanities. Drawing on in-depth interviews and observations of zoo and aquarium veterinarians, mainly in Europe and North America, this book highlights the recent transformation that has occurred in the zoo veterinarian profession during a time of ecological crisis, and what these changes can teach us about our rapidly changing planet.Zoo vets, Braverman instructs us with a wink, have "gone wild." Originally an individual welfare-centered profession, these experts are increasingly concerned with the sustainability of wild animal populations and with ecological health. The story of zoo vets going wild—in their subjects of care, their motivations, and their ethical standards, as well as in their professional practices and scientific techniques—is also a story about zoo animals gone wild, wild animals encroaching the zoo, and, more generally, a wild world that is becoming "zoo-ified." Such transformations have challenged existing veterinary standards and practices. Exploring the regulatory landscape that governs the work of zoo and aquarium veterinarians, Braverman traverses the gap between the hard and soft sciences and between humans and nonhumans.At the intersection of animal studies, socio-legal studies, and science and technology studies, this book will appeal not only to those interested in zoos and in animal welfare, but also to scholars in the posthumanities.

The use of new information and communication technologies both inside the courts and in private online dispute resolution services is quickly changing everyday conflict management. However, the implications of the increasingly disruptive role of technology in dispute resolution remain largely undiscussed. In this book, assistant professor of law and digitalisation Riikka Koulu examines the multifaceted phenomenon of dispute resolution technology, focusing specifically on private enforcement, which modern technology enables on an unforeseen scale. The increase in private enforcement confounds legal structures and challenges the nation-state’s monopoly on violence. And, in this respect, the author argues that the technology-driven privatisation of enforcement – from direct enforcement of e-commerce platforms to self-executing smart contracts in the blockchain – brings the ethics of law’s coercive nature out into the open. This development constitutes a new, and dangerous, grey area of conflict management, which calls for transparency and public debate on the ethical implications of dispute resolution technology.

This book presents a legal genealogy of biodiversity – of its strategic use before and after the adoption of the Convention on Biological Diversity, 1993.This history of ‘genetic gold’ details how, with the aid of international law, the idea of biodiversity has been instrumentalized towards political and economic aims. A study of the strategic utility of biodiversity, rather than the utility of its protection under international law, the book’s focus is not, therefore, on the sustainable or non-sustainable use of biodiversity as a natural resource, but rather on its historical use as an intellectual resource. Although biodiversity is still not being effectively conserved, nor sustainably used, the Convention on Biological Diversity and its parent regime persists, now after several decades of operation. This book provides the comprehensive answer to the question of the convention’s continued existence.Drawing from environmental history, the philosophy of science, political economy and development studies, this book will be of interest to advanced undergraduate and postgraduate students in Environmental Law, International Law, Environmental Studies, and Ecology.

This book develops a sociological account of lie detection practices and uses this to think about lying more generally. Bringing together insights from sociology, social history, socio-legal studies and science and technology studies (STS), it explores how torture and technology have been used to try to discern the truth. It examines a variety of socio-legal practices, including trial by ordeal in Europe, the American criminal jury trial, police interrogations using the polygraph machine, and the post-conviction management of sex offenders in the USA and the UK. Moving across these different contexts, it articulates how uncertainties in the use of lie detection technologies are managed, and the complex roles they play in legal spaces. Alongside this story, the book surveys some of the different ways in which lying is understood in philosophy, law and social order. Lie Detection and the Law will be of interest to STS researchers, socio-legal scholars, criminologists and sociologists, as well as others working at the intersections of law and science.

This collection of essays explores the different ways the insights from complexity theory can be applied to law. Complexity theory – a variant of systems theory – views law as an emergent, complex, self-organising system comprised of an interactive network of actors and systems that operate with no overall guiding hand, giving rise to complex, collective behaviour in law communications and actions. Addressing such issues as the unpredictability of legal systems, the ability of legal systems to adapt to changes in society, the importance of context, and the nature of law, the essays look to the implications of a complexity theory analysis for the study of public policy and administrative law, international law and human rights, regulatory practices in business and finance, and the practice of law and legal ethics. These are areas where law, which craves certainty, encounters unending, irresolvable complexity. This collection shows the many ways complexity theory thinking can reshape and clarify our understanding of the various problems relating to the theory and practice of law.

The Regulation of Animal Health and Welfare draws on the research of scientists, lawyers, economists and political scientists to address the current and future regulatory problems posed by the issues of animal health and disease. Recent events such as the outbreak of mad cow disease, epidemics of foot and mouth disease, concerns about bluetongue in sheep, and the entry into the food chain of the offspring of cloned cattle, have heightened awareness of the issues of regulation in animal disease and welfare. This book critically appraises the existing regulatory institutions and guiding principles of how best to maintain animal health in the context of social change and a developing global economy. Addressing considerations of sound science, the role of risk management, and the allocation of responsibilities, it also takes up the theoretical and practical challenges which here – and elsewhere – attend the co-operation of scientists, social scientists, lawyers and policy makers. Indeed, the collaboration of scientists and social scientists in determined and regulatory contexts such as that of animal disease is an issue of ever-increasing importance. This book will be of considerable value to those with interests in this issue, as well as those concerned with the law and policy relating to animal health and welfare.

Uncertain Risks Regulated compares various models of risk regulation in order to understand how these systems shape the relationship between law and science, and how they attempt to overcome public distrust in science-based decision-making. The book contributes to the ongoing debate relating to uncertainty and risks - and the difficulties faced by the European Union in particular - in regulating theses issues, taking account of both national and international constraints. The term 'uncertain risk' is comparable with notions of hazard and indeterminate risk, as deployed within the social sciences; but it also aims to capture the modern regulatory reality that a non-quantifiable hazard must still be addressed by society, law and its regulators. Decisions must be taken in the face of uncertainty. And, whilst it is not possible to provide clear cut models of risk regulation, in focusing on regulatory practices at a national, EU and international level, the contributors to this volume aim to use fact finding as a core instrument of learning for risk regulation.

Offering a novel, transdisciplinary approach to environmental law, its principles, mechanics and context, as tested in its application to the urban environment, this book traces the conceptual and material absence of communication between the human and the natural and controversially includes such an absence within a system of law and a system of geography which effectively remain closed to environmental considerations.The book looks at Niklas Luhmann's theory of autopoiesis. Introducing the key concepts and operations, contextualizing them and opening them up to critical analysis. Indeed, in contrast to most discussions on autopoiesis, it proposes a radically different reading of the theory, in line with critical legal, political, sociological, urban and ecological theories, while drawing from writings by Husserl and Derrida, as well as Latour, Blanchot, Haraway, Agamben and Nancy.It explores a range of topics in the areas of environmental law and urban geography, including:environmental risk, environmental rights, the precautionary principle, intergenerational equity and urban wastediscourses on community, nature, science and identity. The author redefines the traditional foundations of environmental law and urban geography and suggests a radical way of dealing with scientific ignorance, cultural differences and environmental degradation within the perceived need for legal delivery of certainty.

The relationships between knowledge, technologies, and legal processes are central to the constitution of contemporary societies. As such, they have come to provide the focus for a range of academic projects, across interdisciplinary legal studies and the social sciences. The domains of medical law and ethics, intellectual property law, environmental law and criminal law are just some of those within which the pervasive place and ‘impact’ of technoscience is immediately apparent. At the same time, social scientists investigating the making of technology and expertise - in particular, scholars working within the tradition of science and technology studies - frequently interrogate how regulation and legal processes, and the making of knowledge and technologies, are intermingled in complex ways that come to shape and define each other. This book charts the important interface between studies of law, science and society, as explored from the perspectives of socio-legal studies and the increasingly influential field of science and technology studies. It brings together scholars from both areas to interrogate the joint roles of law and science in the construction and stabilization of socio-technical networks, objects, and standards, as well as their place in the production of contemporary social realities and subjectivities.

This collection of essays explores the different ways the insights from complexity theory can be applied to law. Complexity theory – a variant of systems theory – views law as an emergent, complex, self-organising system comprised of an interactive network of actors and systems that operate with no overall guiding hand, giving rise to complex, collective behaviour in law communications and actions. Addressing such issues as the unpredictability of legal systems, the ability of legal systems to adapt to changes in society, the importance of context, and the nature of law, the essays look to the implications of a complexity theory analysis for the study of public policy and administrative law, international law and human rights, regulatory practices in business and finance, and the practice of law and legal ethics. These are areas where law, which craves certainty, encounters unending, irresolvable complexity. This collection shows the many ways complexity theory thinking can reshape and clarify our understanding of the various problems relating to the theory and practice of law.

The Regulation of Animal Health and Welfare draws on the research of scientists, lawyers, economists and political scientists to address the current and future regulatory problems posed by the issues of animal health and disease. Recent events such as the outbreak of mad cow disease, concerns about bluetongue in sheep, and the entry into the food chain of the offspring of cloned cattle, have heightened awareness of the issues of animal disease and welfare. This book critically appraises the existing regulatory institutions and guiding principles of how best to maintain animal health in the context of social change and a developing global economy. Addressing considerations of sound science, the role of risk management, and the allocation of responsibilities, it also takes up the theoretical and practical challenges which here – and elsewhere – attend the co-operation of scientists, social scientists, lawyers and policy makers. Indeed, the collaboration of scientists and social scientists in determined and regulatory contexts such as that of animal disease is an issue of ever-increasing importance. And this book will be of considerable value to those with interests in this issue, as well as all those concerned with the law and policy relating to animal health and welfare

This book considers the implications of the regulatory burden being borne increasingly by technological management rather than by rules of law. If crime is controlled, if human health and safety are secured, if the environment is protected, not by rules but by measures of technological management—designed into products, processes, places and so on—what should we make of this transformation? In an era of smart regulatory technologies, how should we understand the ‘regulatory environment’, and the ‘complexion’ of its regulatory signals? How does technological management sit with the Rule of Law and with the traditional ideals of legality, legal coherence, and respect for liberty, human rights and human dignity? What is the future for the rules of criminal law, torts and contract law—are they likely to be rendered redundant? How are human informational interests to be specified and protected? Can traditional rules of law survive not only the emergent use of technological management but also a risk management mentality that pervades the collective engagement with new technologies? Even if technological management is effective, is it acceptable? Are we ready for rule by technology? Undertaking a radical examination of the disruptive effects of technology on the law and the legal mind-set, Roger Brownsword calls for a triple act of re-imagination: first, re-imagining legal rules as one element of a larger regulatory environment of which technological management is also a part; secondly, re-imagining the Rule of Law as a constraint on the arbitrary exercise of power (whether exercised through rules or through technological measures); and, thirdly, re-imagining the future of traditional rules of criminal law, tort law, and contract law.

This book considers the implications of the regulatory burden being borne increasingly by technological management rather than by rules of law. If crime is controlled, if human health and safety are secured, if the environment is protected, not by rules but by measures of technological management—designed into products, processes, places and so on—what should we make of this transformation? In an era of smart regulatory technologies, how should we understand the ‘regulatory environment’, and the ‘complexion’ of its regulatory signals? How does technological management sit with the Rule of Law and with the traditional ideals of legality, legal coherence, and respect for liberty, human rights and human dignity? What is the future for the rules of criminal law, torts and contract law—are they likely to be rendered redundant? How are human informational interests to be specified and protected? Can traditional rules of law survive not only the emergent use of technological management but also a risk management mentality that pervades the collective engagement with new technologies? Even if technological management is effective, is it acceptable? Are we ready for rule by technology? Undertaking a radical examination of the disruptive effects of technology on the law and the legal mind-set, Roger Brownsword calls for a triple act of re-imagination: first, re-imagining legal rules as one element of a larger regulatory environment of which technological management is also a part; secondly, re-imagining the Rule of Law as a constraint on the arbitrary exercise of power (whether exercised through rules or through technological measures); and, thirdly, re-imagining the future of traditional rules of criminal law, tort law, and contract law.

This book addresses the use of biometrics – including fingerprint identification, DNA identification and facial recognition – in the criminal justice system: balancing the need to ensure society is protected from harms, such as crime and terrorism, while also preserving individual rights. It offers a comprehensive discussion of biometric identification that includes a consideration of: basic scientific principles, their historical development, the perspectives of political philosophy, critical security and surveillance studies; but especially the relevant law, policy and regulatory issues. Developments in key jurisdictions where the technology has been implemented, including the United Kingdom, United States, Europe and Australia, are examined. This includes case studies relating to the implementation of new technology, policy, legislation, court judgements, and where available, empirical evaluations of the use of biometrics in criminal justice systems. Examples from non-western areas of the world are also considered. Accessibly written, this book will be of interest to undergraduate, postgraduate and research students, academic researchers, as well as professionals in government, security, legal and private sectors.

This book addresses the role of law in the adaptive management of socio-ecological systems.Recent years have witnessed a rise in discussion over the relation between adaptivity and law, as if after decades of insouciance, legal scholars have finally started to understand the impacts of the scientific paradigm called ‘adaptive management’ on the legal sphere. Even though the complicated relations between law and the adaptive management of socio-ecological systems have become more debated, a thorough examination of the scientific and theoretical fundamentals of such endeavours has yet to be presented. Using the illustrative example of European Union water governance and its path toward embracing adaptive management, this book emphasises the legal significance of properly understanding the manner in which scientific knowledge of the environment is produced. Though always pivotal, rigorously apprehending science is especially crucial when dealing with the management of complex ecosystems as the ‘normative’ is created gradually before law begins to examine the ‘facts’ of the matter. After examining the roots of adaptive management, this book argues that the legal needs to understand itself as an integral part of the process of the socio-ecological management of complex systems and not merely an external umpire resolving disputes.As a whole, the book offers new insights into the EU regulator’s approaches to scientific realities, making it an interesting read not only to academics and legal scholars but also to regulators striving to deepen their understanding or pondering which approach to adopt in the face of new regulatory challenges, and to scientists interested in the science and law aspects of their work.

This book addresses the role of law in the adaptive management of socio-ecological systems.Recent years have witnessed a rise in discussion over the relation between adaptivity and law, as if after decades of insouciance, legal scholars have finally started to understand the impacts of the scientific paradigm called ‘adaptive management’ on the legal sphere. Even though the complicated relations between law and the adaptive management of socio-ecological systems have become more debated, a thorough examination of the scientific and theoretical fundamentals of such endeavours has yet to be presented. Using the illustrative example of European Union water governance and its path toward embracing adaptive management, this book emphasises the legal significance of properly understanding the manner in which scientific knowledge of the environment is produced. Though always pivotal, rigorously apprehending science is especially crucial when dealing with the management of complex ecosystems as the ‘normative’ is created gradually before law begins to examine the ‘facts’ of the matter. After examining the roots of adaptive management, this book argues that the legal needs to understand itself as an integral part of the process of the socio-ecological management of complex systems and not merely an external umpire resolving disputes.As a whole, the book offers new insights into the EU regulator’s approaches to scientific realities, making it an interesting read not only to academics and legal scholars but also to regulators striving to deepen their understanding or pondering which approach to adopt in the face of new regulatory challenges, and to scientists interested in the science and law aspects of their work.

This book develops a theoretical framework for examining and assessing the regulatory arrangements for medical products.Since the first half of the 20th century, the regulation of pharmaceuticals, medical devices and, more recently, biologicals have been controlled in many jurisdictions by specific regulatory regimes and agencies. Their regulatory mandates are similar – to ensure the quality, safety and efficacy of medical products. This book provides a timely and relevant assessment of the complexities of medical regulatory regimes, by drawing on a particular theory of political legitimacy. In this respect, the book adopts a ‘dialogic’ approach – according to which a shared set of normative beliefs and values are formulated – as a theoretical ‘tool’ to identify deficiencies in the regulatory arrangements for medical products. Drawing on several Australian cases studies, characterised by divergent normative perspectives, the book develops its dialogic approach in order to challenge the usual legitimation of regulatory regimes from the perspective of science alone. Specifically, it maintains that such regimes need to embrace a normative pluralism that admits a diversity of types and sources of knowledge.This evaluation of the increasingly influential domain of medical regulation will appeal to a range of scholars and practitioners working in law, public health, politics and science and technology studies.

Scientific research is fundamental to addressing issues of great importance to the development of human knowledge. Scientific research fuels advances in medicine, technology and other areas important to society and has to be credible, trustworthy and able to command confidence in the face of inevitable uncertainties. Scientific researchers must be trusted and respected when they engage with knowledge acquisition and dissemination and as ethical guardians in their education and training roles of future generations of researchers. The core values of scientific research transcend disciplinary and national boundaries and approaches to the organisation and oversight of research systems can impact significantly upon the ethics and conduct of researchers.This book draws upon legal expertise to critically analyse issues of regulation, conduct and ethics at the important interface between scientific research and regulatory and legal environments. In so doing it aims to contribute important additional perspectives to the existing literature. Case studies are engaged with to assist with the critical analysis of the current position and the consideration of future possibilities. The book will be of interest to academics in the fields of science, law and policy; science and law students; and scientific researchers at more advanced stages of their careers. Research professionals in government and the private sector and legal practitioners with interests in the regulation of research should also find the work of interest.

This book compares and examines the ways in which law addresses and resolves conflicts between academic freedom and responsibility. Academic freedom is an important value in the modern scientific and technologically driven world. Societies depend heavily on the commodities of scientific progress, especially in essential sectors such as healthcare, and, as a result, research is now carried out in an increasingly globalized context protected by national and international law. This freedom can, however, be problematic if it is decoupled from a commitment to academic responsibility, scientific rigor, and good professional conduct. Focusing on the example of biomedical research, this book examines how various legal systems address the interplay between academic rights and duties. More specifically, it considers the tension between national constitutions and legal doctrine, which tend to focus on concepts such as science-inherent laws or professional standards, and international law, which establishes a right for everyone to enjoy the benefits of scientific progress, thereby implying a duty on the part of the academic community to conduct science in a way that maximizes its benefits to society at large. The book concludes by proposing policy reforms that aim to balance these demands, and thus reduce tensions within the academic system. This book will appeal to scholars and students working at the intersection of law and science, as well as policymakers and STEM scientists concerned with issues of academic freedom.

Technologies like CRISPR and gene drives are ushering in a new era of genetic engineering, wherein the technical means to modify DNA are cheaper, faster, more accurate, more widely accessible, and with more far-reaching effects than ever before. These cutting-edge technologies raise legal, ethical, cultural, and ecological questions that are so broad and consequential for both human and other-than-human life that they can be difficult to grasp. What is clear, however, is that the power to directly alter not just a singular form of life but also the genetics of entire species and thus the composition of ecosystems is currently both inadequately regulated and undertheorized. In Gene Editing, Law, and the Environment, distinguished scholars from law, the life sciences, philosophy, environmental studies, science and technology studies, animal health, and religious studies examine what is at stake with these new biotechnologies for life and law, both human and beyond.

Disasters raise serious challenges for contemporary legal orders: they demand significant management, but usually amidst massive disruption to the normal functioning of state authority and society. When dealing with disasters, law has traditionally focused on contingency planning and recovery. More recently, however, ‘resilience’ has emerged as a key concept in effective disaster management policies and strategies, aiming at minimising the impact of events, so that the normal functioning of society and the state can be preserved. This book analyses the contribution of law to resilience building by looking at law’s role in the different phases of the disaster regulatory process: risk assessment, risk management, emergency intervention, and recovery. More specifically, it addresses how law can effectively contribute to resilience-oriented distaster management policies, and what legal instruments can support effective resilience-building.

Scientific research is fundamental to addressing issues of great importance to the development of human knowledge. Scientific research fuels advances in medicine, technology and other areas important to society and has to be credible, trustworthy and able to command confidence in the face of inevitable uncertainties. Scientific researchers must be trusted and respected when they engage with knowledge acquisition and dissemination and as ethical guardians in their education and training roles of future generations of researchers. The core values of scientific research transcend disciplinary and national boundaries and approaches to the organisation and oversight of research systems can impact significantly upon the ethics and conduct of researchers.This book draws upon legal expertise to critically analyse issues of regulation, conduct and ethics at the important interface between scientific research and regulatory and legal environments. In so doing it aims to contribute important additional perspectives to the existing literature. Case studies are engaged with to assist with the critical analysis of the current position and the consideration of future possibilities. The book will be of interest to academics in the fields of science, law and policy; science and law students; and scientific researchers at more advanced stages of their careers. Research professionals in government and the private sector and legal practitioners with interests in the regulation of research should also find the work of interest.

The use of new information and communication technologies both inside the courts and in private online dispute resolution services is quickly changing everyday conflict management. However, the implications of the increasingly disruptive role of technology in dispute resolution remain largely undiscussed. In this book, assistant professor of law and digitalisation Riikka Koulu examines the multifaceted phenomenon of dispute resolution technology, focusing specifically on private enforcement, which modern technology enables on an unforeseen scale. The increase in private enforcement confounds legal structures and challenges the nation-state’s monopoly on violence. And, in this respect, the author argues that the technology-driven privatisation of enforcement – from direct enforcement of e-commerce platforms to self-executing smart contracts in the blockchain – brings the ethics of law’s coercive nature out into the open. This development constitutes a new, and dangerous, grey area of conflict management, which calls for transparency and public debate on the ethical implications of dispute resolution technology.

The relationship between hacking and the law has always been complex and conflict-ridden. This book examines the relations and interactions between hacking and the law with a view to understanding how hackers influence and are influenced by technology laws and policies. In our increasingly digital and connected world where hackers play a significant role in determining the structures, configurations and operations of the networked information society, this book delivers an interdisciplinary study of the practices, norms and values of hackers and how they conflict and correspond with the aims and aspirations of hacking-related laws. Describing and analyzing the legal and normative impact of hacking, as well as proposing new approaches to its regulation and governance, this book makes an essential contribution to understanding the socio-technical changes, and consequent legal challenges, faced by our contemporary connected society.

Disasters raise serious challenges for contemporary legal orders: they demand significant management, but usually amidst massive disruption to the normal functioning of state authority and society. When dealing with disasters, law has traditionally focused on contingency planning and recovery. More recently, however, ‘resilience’ has emerged as a key concept in effective disaster management policies and strategies, aiming at minimising the impact of events, so that the normal functioning of society and the state can be preserved. This book analyses the contribution of law to resilience building by looking at law’s role in the different phases of the disaster regulatory process: risk assessment, risk management, emergency intervention, and recovery. More specifically, it addresses how law can effectively contribute to resilience-oriented distaster management policies, and what legal instruments can support effective resilience-building.

The relationships between knowledge, technologies, and legal processes are central to the constitution of contemporary societies. As such, they have come to provide the focus for a range of academic projects, across interdisciplinary legal studies and the social sciences. The domains of medical law and ethics, intellectual property law, environmental law and criminal law are just some of those within which the pervasive place and ‘impact’ of technoscience is immediately apparent. At the same time, social scientists investigating the making of technology and expertise - in particular, scholars working within the tradition of science and technology studies - frequently interrogate how regulation and legal processes, and the making of knowledge and technologies, are intermingled in complex ways that come to shape and define each other. This book charts the important interface between studies of law, science and society, as explored from the perspectives of socio-legal studies and the increasingly influential field of science and technology studies. It brings together scholars from both areas to interrogate the joint roles of law and science in the construction and stabilization of socio-technical networks, objects, and standards, as well as their place in the production of contemporary social realities and subjectivities.