Donal Casey

A Tale of Two Crises: The Belgian and Irish Dioxin Contamination Incidents

Purpose – This paper aims to provide a focused overview of two dioxin incidents, with particular emphasis on regulatory successes and failures and their respective causes. The paper seeks to adopt a comparative approach to the case studies, with considerable use made of primary sources such as parliamentary debate, government reports and EC legislation.Design/methodology/approach – The paper is a review of the strengths and weaknesses in the management of the Belgian and Irish dioxin contanimation incidents.Findings – It is concluded that open, transparent and decisive risk management, based on robust risk assessment, is paramount in ensuring confidence in both the food supply chain and, in the feed and food safety regulatory process. It is also concluded that the 2008 Irish dioxin incident tested the reforms prompted by previous food scares.Practical implications – It is important that the lessons from these two incidents are learnt if they are not to be repeated in other jurisdictions.Originality/value ...

The Crystallization of Regulatory Norms

This article investigates the processes through which regulatory norms generally, and in the context of transnational private regulation (TPR) in particular, become effective. We argue that institutionalization the embedding of norms within some wider structures which impact upon their distribution, enforcement, and mode of transmission is generally central to the processes through which regulatory norms are crystallized. We note that, within processes of crystallization of TPR norms, the potential for managing legitimacy has been exploited through the institutionalization of policies, structures, and processes which are responsive to the beliefs, expectations or interests of the relevant legitimacy communities. However, we suggest that the focus of such legitimating strategies on the making of rules and standards exposes weaknesses and limits to the potential of such legitimation attaching to actions which implement such norms through monitoring and enforcement, particularly where such processes are embedded within supply-chain contracts.

Disintegration: Environmental Protection and Article 81 EC

This article addresses the question of whether the modernisation and decentralisation of EC competition law will affect the integration of environmental protection requirements into the framework of Article 81 EC. First, the interface between competition policy and environmental protection at both the constitutional level and operational level is investigated. Following this, the Commissions assessment of environmental benefits under Article 81(3) EC prior to decentralisation and modernisation is explored. It is submitted that the Commissions expansion of its interpretation of the first two positive criteria of Article 81(3) EC allowed environmental objectives and competition goals to be balanced within the framework of Article 81 EC. Finally, this article examines the extent to which the decentralisation and modernisation of Community competition law may impede the integration of environmental protection into the definition and implementation of Article 81 EC.

The DNA of Bingo: Charity and Online Bingo

One of the key themes that emerged from ‘the Bingo Project’ was the use of online bingo as a means of revenue generation by the third sector. This raises distinct issues in terms of regulation of online gambling. Due to bingo’s importance for some charitable organisations, online bingo has been a focal point of contestation in the process of commercialisation of online gambling. This chapter examines the use of online bingo by third sector organisations in the EU and critically assesses a number of challenges. These challenges relate to the erosion of altruism, the changing nature of bingo as the game moves online and the use of online bingo as a vehicle to cross-sell casino games, slots and ancillary gambling products.