EU Chemicals Regulation

New Governance, Hybridity and REACH

史蒂文沃恩,法律学院、联合国iversity College London, UK

This book provides an exploratory, explanatory and normative account of REACH, the EU Regulation on the Registration, Evaluation, Authorisation and Restriction of Chemicals, and its regulator, the European Chemicals Agency (ECHA). There are more than one million words of official ECHA guidance to accompany the 516 pages of REACH. This book sets out a thick, detailed analysis of REACH and ECHA’s guidance and, in so doing, offers up a complex, nuanced and differentiated account of hybrid new governance.

‘Vaughan’s perceptive analysis of EU chemicals regulation vividly portrays new governance as an intricate world of “hybrid” governance. It is a world in which a range of legislative and non-legislative texts and tools encounter one another in normative frameworks that are rather more fluid than fixed. Not only do we learn a great deal about EU chemicals regulation, our understanding of the complex legal character of new governance in the EU is greatly enriched.’
– Kenneth Armstrong, University of Cambridge, UK

‘This fascinating and original monograph examines the EU's innovative regime for the regulation of chemicals. It will be of great interest to lawyers and political scientists who are interested in chemicals regulation, but also crucially to those who are not. The volume uses chemicals regulation as a case study to shed light upon broader debates in EU law and governance, including the role played by “soft law” instruments in EU law and the pressing accountability issues to which this gives rise.’
– Joanne Scott, University College London, UK

‘Steven Vaughan’s book on the EU’s REACH regime is a splendid case study in new governance. It has been said that “there is nothing more practical than a good theory.” Producing a good, practical theory, however, requires not just strong academic skills, but also practical experience. Vaughan brings both to the task of analyzing how “new governance” plays out in the area of chemical regulation. His insightful analysis demonstrates that much highbrow academic theory on REACH and new governance is inaccurate.’
– Lucas Bergkamp, Partner, Hunton & Williams, Brussels

‘Reading Vaughan’s book was a satisfying and enjoyable experience. Not only does it contain an empirically sound and practical theory, but it also provides a wide-ranging synthesis, drawn from his extensive reading of academic literature on new governance, together with his practical and unparalleled knowledge of how REACH works in practice. I hope that not only the REACH trend catches on, but also that Vaughan’s insights, especially those concerning guidance categorization, will find followers more broadly, and that this insightful book gains the recognition it deserves.’
– Common Market Law Review