Die Regelungen zur FFH Verträglichkeitsprüfung bei Freisetzung oder Inverkehrbringen von gentechnisch veränderten Organismen in § 34a BNatSchG

Im Jahr 2005 wurde das Gentechnikgesetz grundlegend novelliert. Damit kam der deutsche Gesetzgeber seinen europarechtlichen Verpflichtungen zur Anpassung des Rechts der Grünen Gentechnik – also der Nutzung gentechnischer Methoden durch Unternehmen der Agro-Industrie und der Saatgutbranche – nach. Neben einer Versch?rfung der Sicherheitsma?nahmen, der Einrichtung eines besonderen Ausschusses für Freisetzung und Inverkehrbringen sowie umfangreicher Regelungen zur Sicherstellung der Koexistenz konventioneller/?kologischer und gentechnischer Anbaumethoden enthielt die Novelle auch die Aufnahme des § 34a in das Bundesnaturschutzgesetzes4. Der neue § 34a BNatSchG soll Fragen des Einsatzes gentechnisch ver?nderter Organismen (GVO) in Europ?ischen Naturschutzgebieten des Netzwerks „Natura 2000“ regeln. Die ersten Praxiserfahrungen mit dieser Vorschrift sind ernüchternd. Den erhofften Schub in Richtung Schutz ?kologisch sensibler Gebiete brachte sie bislang nicht.     

Bodenschutzrechtliche Ordnungspflichten im Insolvenzverfahren

Seit längerem ist in Rechtsprechung und Literatur umstritten, ¹ ob und in welchem Umfang ein Insolvenzverwalter wegen Gefahren, die von Massegegenständen ausgehen, ordnungsrechtlich haftet. In zwei aktuellen Urteilen hat das BVerwG eine Zustandsverantwortlichkeit des Insolvenzverwalters grundsätzlich anerkannt. Insbesondere durch Freigabe von Massegegenständen kann sich der Insolvenzverwalter aber von der ordnungsrechtlichen Haftung befreien. 1) Vgl. zu dem Streit zwischen Insolvenz- und Verwaltungsrechtlern, Verwaltungs- und Zivilgerichten: Uhlenbruck KTS 2004, 275ff.; Kothe ZfIR 2004, 1ff.; Häsemeyer in: FS Uhlenbruck, 2000, S. 97ff.; Franz NuR 2000, 496ff.     

Finanzpolitik als Nachahmungswettbewerb: Empirische Ergebnisse zu Budgetinterdependenzen unter den Schweizer Kantonen

This article examines whether spending decisions in Swiss cantons are interdependent, that is, whether the spending decisions of a canton are influenced by those of other cantons. Theoretically, fiscal policy imitation among cantons can be interpreted as a process of policy and innovation diffusion, as a result of tax competition or as a consequence of federalism as a policy laboratory. The panel analysis presented in this article provides evidence of the existence of budget spillovers among neighbouring cantons. Cantonal governments do not take spending decisions in isolation, but by systematically comparing the fiscal policies in neighbouring cantons.     

Steuerwettbewerb und direkte Demokratie in den Schweizer Kantonen

The issue of the impact of tax competition between the cantons has been quite present in the public discussion, especially in relation with the reform of the Swiss system of financial equalization. The connection between the degree of direct democratic rights and the intensity of tax competition ana‐lysed by Feld (1997) seems to be particularly interesting for political science. Differently to the approach of Feld (1997) this research note examines it with regard to the tax policies in the cantons. In addition, a less criticized way to measure the institutions of direct democracy is used and the research period is extended. The analysis shows that there is a trade‐off between the exit‐ and the voice‐option. In other words: those cantons that have well developed direct democratic institutions, are less affected by the pressure of tax competition. As a consequence of the perceived influence, their citizens do less probably move to an other canton as a reaction to a heavy tax burden.     

Bremse oder Gaspedal? Eine empirische Untersuchung zur Wirkung der direkten Demokratie auf den Steuerstaat

This article analyzes the relationship between the different forms of direct democratic participation and the size of the tax state in the Swiss cantons for the period from 1983 to 2000. The analysis distinguishes between the different effects of the financial referendum and the initiative. Theoretical arguments suppose that the financial referendum curb the tax state, whereas the initiative is expected to contribute to its growth. Pooled time series analyses show that legal conditions of direct democratic participation in general and especially the legislation on financial referenda are much more important than the frequency of plebiscites for the explanation of the different sizes of the tax states in the cantons. As an additional result of the analyses, the impact of direct democracy on the tax state turns out to be much larger in the 1990s compared to the decade before.     

Rule growth and government effectiveness: why it takes the capacity to learn and coordinate to constrain rule growth

This paper asks whether strong bureaucracies can effectively constrain the continuously growing stock of rules in modern democracies through organizational coordination and learning. To answer this question, the paper analyzes the growth of rule stocks in the areas of environmental policy and social policy in 23 OECD countries over the period between 1976 and 2005. To do so, it develops a new measure of rule growth based on the content of laws and regulations rather than their length. The analysis highlights that effective bureaucracies are indeed better able to contain rule growth in these areas than weak bureaucracies. Since rules have to be implemented, countries suffering from bureaucratic capacity and quality constraints thus appear to be stuck in an implementation deficit trap. Appropriate implementation is not only inherently more challenging for countries with weak public administrations, but the body of rules to be implemented also tends to grow quicker in these countries.     

The deep marketisation of development in Bangladesh

This article introduces the concept of ‘deep marketisation’ as a relatively new, contemporary phase of neoliberal development policy in Bangladesh. By looking into the development strategy of the country’s energy sector, the article shows how an emphasis on marketisation through public-private partnerships (PPPs) and other strategies advances a market fundamentalist agenda to strengthen the private sector and establish a world market. By drawing on interviews with development practitioners from various development organisations in Bangladesh, the article further reveals how development conceptualisations are shaped by the strategy of deep marketisation, leading to the impoverishment of development by constraining its field of actions to measures based on the primacy of economic growth and private sector-led economic development, at the same time leading to a re-legitimisation of flawed neoliberal development policies that result in further inequality, poverty and environmental degradation.     

Administrative Styles in the OECD: Bureaucratic Policy-Making beyond Formal Rules

As we know from comparative public policy, bureaucracies contribute to a considerable degree to the contents and the ways of policy-making. One important driver of administrative policy-making are their specific “styles” or “cultures”. “Administrative styles” are understood here as the standard operating procedures and routines that characterize the behavior and activities of administrative bodies in initiating, drafting and implementing policy. In this article, we convey the concept of Administrative Styles to the level of International Organizations (IOs) and apply it to the Organization for Economic Development and Co-Operation (OECD). The article proceeds in three steps: First, the concept of administrative styles is introduced and refined. Drawing on expert interviews with OECD staff, we secondly show that consideration of OECD administrative styles significantly advances the literature’s understanding of the organization. Finally, we give an outlook on new research avenues and the relevance of our findings for the study of International Public Administrations (IPAs) more generally.     

Zwischen Herrschaftskontrolle und Verschwörungstheorie

Public and academic debates often lament a “crisis of trust” endangering democratic stability. In contrast, this article seeks to demonstrate the value of distrust in political relations, a certain form of which should be considered, such as trust, a prerequisite of democracies. To underline this thesis, this contribution discusses categories that clarify the relationality of the concept of distrust (its directedness and modalities) and that allow for a discussion of the relation of trust and distrust, which are introduced as an asymmetrical pair of opposites – with far-reaching consequences for the common discourse on trust. After presenting several historical and current arguments in favor of the value of political distrust, this article will end with a deeper look on those forms of distrust that should indeed be considered dysfunctional and dangerous for democratic orders.