Contrasting models of EU administration in judicial review of risk regulation

Abstract

Judicial review has been an important influence in the development of administrative risk regulation in the European Union. One way in which this influence has been felt is in the development of legal rules and principles for structuring and controlling administrative decision making on risk. Judicial formulation of these rules rests on often unstated premises about the nature and role of the administration within the EU's institutional structure. An examination of the case law shows that two distinct models of administration are operating in different strands of the case law. As jurisprudence in this area develops, the choice between these models will have significant impacts on the shape of risk regulation in the EU.