The Legal Perception of the Risks of Nanotechnologies in the Environment: Challenges and Possibilities in the Construction of a Framework

Abstract

International audience ; The use of nanoscale is currently growing. The state legislative regulation on the matter is inexistent. There is the rise of self-regulation, as well as the creation of norms by other social actors. The system of Law needs to enter in the context of innovation, granting legal effects to this regulatory production. The temporality of the new forms of regulation and the ability to deal with future risks and damages represent other challenges for the legal area. The analysis of publications from the OECD and the Web of Science showed that the risk theme is still little discussed in the main scientific journals. From these findings, we present a framework as an regulatory alternative and guideline for the industry that develops products from nanotechnology. Investments in research, categorization and risk analysis throughout the product life cycle is a necessary requirement to guide the governance, the regulation and the self-regulation of the issue.