Trade associations and other representatives of regulated entities frequently decry federal agencies' use of guidance documents and the like in lieu of notice-and-comment rulemaking.² The U.S. Congress has denounced such "back-door regulation,"³ and even public interest groups and individuals will sue over "de facto" or "spurious" rules when it suits their purposes.⁴

The Lessons Learned Report: A Time to Reassess

An informed and active civil society plays an integral role in realizing sustainable development. Involving citizens,¹ nongovernmental organizations (NGOs), and businesses expands the knowledge base and resources for developing laws and policies, as well as improving compliance and enforcement. Public involvement can identify problems at an early stage, allowing them to be addressed while options are still open.

Introduction

[EDITOR'S NOTE: PART 2 OF 2. THIS DOCUMENT HAS BEEN SPLIT INTO MULTIPLE PARTS ON LEXIS TO ACCOMMODATE ITS LARGE SIZE. EACH PART CONTAINS THE SAME CITE.]

Genencor International

Introduction

The recent bankruptcy of one-time energy giant Enron Corporation and its impact on the lives of employees and investors has spawned no less than six congressional investigations, four government probes, and countless news articles, editorials, and kitchen table discussions on the nature of corporate responsibility, governance, finance, and accounting.

In 1992, Drs. Arnold Schecter and Daniel Teitelbaum, two highly qualified scientists, testified that polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs), together with certain dioxins and furans that were PCB derivatives, could have accelerated cancer in a 37-year-old electrician who, as part of his job, had bathed daily for many years in a "PCB-dielectric soup." Although Drs. Schechter and Teitelbaum had carefully described their data, methodologies, and scientific reasoning, in 1997, the U.S. Supreme Court, in General Electric Co. v.

This discussion is adapted from comments which Lawyers for Civil Justice, a nationwide coalition of defense and corporate counsel working to improve the civil justice system, requested that I submit to the Civil Rules Advisory Committee (Advisory Committee) of the Judicial Conference of the United States (Judicial Conference) regarding class action reform and pending, proposed amendments to Rule 23 of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure (FRCP).

The North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA)¹ contains various "investor protections," including a provision requiring signatory governments to compensate property owners if the government either expropriates property or takes "measure[s] tantamount to . . .