Distinguishing True from other Hybrids. A Case Study of the Merits and Pitfalls of Devolved Regulation in the UK
Nicolle Zeegers · Legisprudence · 2009
The model of “decentered regulation” was claimed to offer the ideal instrument to cope with the specific challenges of technological innovation in a society characterized by diversity in moral beliefs. The central question of this article is whether the “model of decentered regulation” indeed brought the solutions that were expected from it. This question will be answered by using the case study of the formulation of the rules concerning the creation of human animal hybrid embryos in the United Kingdom. The analysis of this issue will be used to reflect on four reasons that are brought forward in favour of the model of decentered regulation: 1) the inclusion of necessary scientific expertise; 2) a flexible and efficient mechanism of rule change; 3) coping with diversity in moral beliefs; 4) coping with the changeability of these beliefs in time.