Passivlegitimation der Eigentümergemeinschaft nach § 18 Abs 1 WEG 2002 bei der Durchsetzung von Kostenersatzansprüchen, die aus der Erhaltung eines gemeinschaftlichen Dienstbarkeitswegs herrühren

Zur Abgrenzung der stRsp zwischen blo?en Besitzoder Gebrauchshandlungen des einzelnen Mit- und Wohnungseigentümers und Verfügungen über das Gemeinschaftsgut oder einzelne Teile davon und andererseits gemeinschaftlichen Verwaltungsagenden, auf die sich die Teilrechtsf?higkeit der (Wohnungs-)Eigentümergemeinschaft nach § 18 Abs 1 WEG 2002 (§ 13c Abs 1 WEG 1975) bezieht (bezogen hat). Die Parteif?higkeit der Eigentümergemeinschaft (hier: Passivlegitimation bei der Durchsetzung von Kostenersatzansprüchen des kl Liegenschaftseigentümers, die aus der Erhaltung des gemeinschaftlichen Dienstbarkeitswegs herrühren) ist schon dann nicht zu verneinen, wenn sich der Klagsanspruch "wenigstens abstrakt mit den [gemeinschaftlichen] Verwaltungsagenden … in Verbindung bringen l?sst". Dies hat der OGH im vorliegenden Fall bejaht, falls es n?mlich um die Bewirtschaftung oder Erhaltung "eines als Verbindung zum ?ffentlichen Wegenetz dienenden Servitutswegs" durch die Eigentümergemeinschaft geht. Gleiches gilt für eine Aufwandersatzklage des Nachbarn (hier: auf Entfernung von Schnee, der im Zuge der R?umung der WE-Liegenschaft auf dem Grundstück des Kl abgelagert worden ist). Die Eigentümergemeinschaft kann zwar keine Eigentumsfreiheitsklage gem § 523 ABGB erheben, da ihr Verfügungshandlungen nicht zustehen. Eine gemeinschaftliche ordentliche Verwaltungsma?nahme und damit die Aktivlegitimation ist nach der Rsp aber dann anzunehmen, wenn die Eigentümergemeinschaft einen allgemeinen Teil der WE-Liegenschaft (im Anlassfall: gemeinschaftlicher Heizraum) von der unberechtigten Inanspruchnahme durch Dritte freimacht.     

Abwehr allgemeiner Gefahren für die öffentliche Sicherheit von einem Wohnhaus (Felssturz)

Der Schutz vor einer Gefahr, die das ?ffentliche Gemeinschaftsleben st?rt, aber keinem bestimmten Verwaltungszweig zugeh?rt (hier: Schutz eines Wohnhauses vor einem sich aus einer Felswand von einem darüber liegenden Hanggrundstück l?senden Felsbrocken), f?llt unter den Voraussetzungen des Art 118 Abs 6 B-VG in die Zust?ndigkeit der Gemeinde (eigener Wirkungsbereich). Der Bürgermeister darf (nach § 47 Abs 1 stmk GemO) zur Gefahrenabwehr unaufschiebbare "Verfügungen" treffen. Dazu kann er Dritte verpflichten, zur Gefahrenabwehr unerl?ssliche Eingriffe zu dulden, nicht aber dazu, vertretbare Leistungen (zB die unverzügliche Errichtung eines Fangzaunes) selbst – auf deren eigene Kosten – zu erbringen.     

Agenda‐Setting at the Energy‐Water Nexus: Constructing and Maintaining a Policy Monopoly in U.S. Hydraulic Fracturing Regulation

Despite calls to increase federal oversight of hydraulic fracturing (HF), the U.S. Congress has maintained a regulatory system in which environmental regulatory authority is devolved to the states. We argue that this system is characterized by a long‐standing “policy monopoly”: a form of stability in policy agenda‐setting in which a specific manner of framing and regulating a policy issue becomes hegemonic. Integrating theories on agenda‐setting and environmental discourse analysis, we develop a nuanced conceptualization of policy monopoly that emphasizes the significance of regulatory history, public perceptions, industry–government relations, and environmental “storylines.” We evaluate how a policy monopoly in U.S. HF regulation has been constructed and maintained through a historical analysis of oil and gas regulation and a discourse analysis of eleven select congressional energy committee hearings. This research extends scholarship on agenda‐setting by better illuminating the importance of political economic and geographic factors shaping regulatory agendas and outcomes.     

The Role of Scientific Excellence in the Changing Meaning of Maize in Mexico

Making policy is giving a meaning to objects. This perspective on policy making gained importance in the 1990s with the emergence of discursive approaches. In this article, we use the concepts of Hajer's discourse coalition approach to shed light on the evolving meaning of maize in Mexican society. Specifically, we trace a parallel between the evolution of biotechnology policy and discourses on maize over a 25‐year period. The article argues that until recently, the protection against biotechnological manipulations enjoyed by maize has been bolstered by a discourse granting the plant a special status in the country's history. However, the emergence of a new discourse grounded on the practice of scientific excellence is now challenging the old perspectives, and also finding support among government officials. As a result, the Mexican policies granting maize special protection is changing, and this policy change will likely trigger changes in the symbolic meaning of maize.     

Holding Back the Storm: Target Populations and State Climate Adaptation Planning in America

This paper investigates the landscape of state‐level adaptation planning in the United States. We answer three primary research questions: First, how are states planning for climate change? Second, who are states targeting for climate adaptation? Third, what tools are states using to motivate climate adaptation efforts? We develop and implement a coding scheme using Schneider and Ingram’s Social Construction Framework (SCF) to characterize variation in 2033 individual adaptation goals mentioned in all 14 American states with explicit adaptation plans. We use these data to understand the types of tools used to motivate different actors (governmental, private, nonprofit) to adapt to climate change. We find that the most frequent target of state adaptation planning is the state itself, which provides an opportunity to extend the SCF to a target group often not mentioned in public policy. Specifically, we find that states target themselves with mandates or tools designed to acquire information. Other stakeholders in adaptation are more likely to be the targets of capacity building tools. Private actors are the only population more likely to be targeted by incentives. The project expands the Social Construction Framework to include targets and tools of planning efforts. Practically, our article offers a methodology by which to compare the vastly heterogeneous efforts to adapt to climate change at the subnational level.     

On‐Bill Financing Programs to Support Low‐Carbon Energy Technologies: An Agent‐Oriented Assessment

On‐bill financing (OBF) schemes have been welcomed as innovative mechanisms for encouraging the adoption of low‐carbon energy technologies. Yet while the potential effects of these schemes have received growing attention, less is known about their actual performance. Departing from New Institutional Economics and insights from Behavioral Economics, this theory‐driven assessment examines the How$mart^® program in Kansas (United States) and the Green Deal in the United Kingdom. The study identifies the mechanisms designed to trigger behavioral change and technology adoption. We focus on market agents, and related market failures and behavioral anomalies that often prevent energy efficiency improvements. The paper adds to our theoretical and empirical understanding of public and utility‐driven OBF programs applied to the residential sector. Our findings suggest that simple, carefully designed on‐bill programs, where the financing of efficient technologies takes the form of a service rather than a loan, are more effective for the diffusion of low‐carbon energy technology and the reduction of transaction costs. At the same time, on bill‐financing schemes challenge the core business of utilities, and given the complexities and dynamics of energy efficiency markets and energy use, other policy interventions are needed.     

Inside Lobbying on the Regulation of New Plant Breeding Techniques in the European Union: Determinants of Venue Choices

In July 2018, the Court of Justice of the European Union decided that new plant breeding techniques (NPBTs) fall within the scope of the restrictive provisions on genetically modified organisms (GMOs). Previously, various actors had lobbied in order to influence the European Union’s (EU’s) regulatory decision on NPBTs. This study examines the venue choices taken by Cibus, a biotech company that promoted NPBT deregulation. It shows that the firm bypassed the EU level and that it lobbied competent authorities (CAs) in certain member states to gain support for the deregulation of NPBTs. Cibus chose the CAs because their institutional “closedness” reduced the risk of the debate over the deregulation of NPBTs becoming public. However, the CA’s specific competences and their influence on EU decision making were of likewise importance. The firm lobbied CAs based in Finland, Germany, Ireland, Sweden, Spain, and the United Kingdom. Two factors appear to have influenced Cibus’ choices for these countries: high‐level political support for agribiotech and the high relevance of biotech sectors. In contrast, public support for GMOs turned out to have hardly any influence, and virtually no association could be observed for the agricultural application of biotechnology in the past nor for the weakness of domestic anti‐GMO lobby groups. Finally, the in‐depth study on Germany affirms that “closedness” was important for Cibus’ choices and reveals that technical information served as a venue‐internal factor that influenced the firm’s choices.     

Kooperative Politikberatung ohne machtpolitisches Kalkül?

The paper contributes to the discussion about policy advice, initiated by Falk et al. in PVS 2/2007. Based on a differentiation between output- and input oriented politics, several notions of advice and knowledge are discussed. This leads to the insight that the relevance of studies in political science does rely on the careful consideration of the strategic influence of knowledge in the political process. The fruitfulness of such a perspective is exemplified by a short view on some institutional developments in the field of political advice. A detailed analysis of the newly organised economic policy report “Gemeinschaftsdiagnose” then reveals that the diagnosis of new cooperative modes of governmental acting, as postulated by Falk et al., has to be modified. Particularly with regard to core fields of governmental acting, like economic and social policy, there is an unbroken continuity of hierarchical forms of governing.