Acta Universitatis Carolinae Iuridica (AUCI) is the main journal of the Faculty of Law of Charles University. It has been published since 1954 and is one of the traditional law journals with a theoretical focus.
As a general law journal, it publishes longer studies and shorter articles on any relevant issues in legal theory and international, European and national law. AUCI also publishes material relating to current legislative issues. AUCI is a peer-reviewed journal and accepts submissions from both Czech and international authors. Contributions by foreign authors are published in their original language – Slovak, English, German, French.
AUCI is a theoretical journal for questions of state and law. It is published by Charles University in Prague, Faculty of Law, through Karolinum Press. It is published four times a year, the dates of publication can be found here.
Articles published in AUCI undergo an independent peer review process, which is anonymous on both sides. Reviewers from the field give their opinion on the scientific quality of the paper and the suitability of publication in the journal. In the case of comments, the opinion is sent back to the author with the possibility of revising the text (see Guidelines for Authors – Per Review Process for more details).
The AUCI journal (ISSN 0323-0619) is registered in the Czech National Bibliography (kept by the National Library of the Czech Republic) and in the Index to Foreign Legal Periodicals (kept by the American Association of Law Libraries). AUCI has been assigned a periodical registration number MK E 18585.
In 2021 the journal AUCI was the first journal of the Faculty of Law of Charles University to be included in the prestigious international database Scopus. This Elsevier database is the largest abstract and citation database of peer-reviewed literature in the world. The editors of the journal expect from the inclusion in the elite Scopus database not only an increase in the readership of the journal, but also an increase in interest in the publication of papers by both Czech and foreign authors.
AUCI is an open journal and all its content is published both on the faculty website and on the Karolinum Press website. Access to it is free of charge. The homepage of AUCI is on the Karolinum Press website.
The AUCI journal uses the Creative Commons license: CC BY 4.0.
Long-term archiving of the digital content of the journal is provided by Portico.
AUC IURIDICA, Vol 70 No 1 (2024), 131–145
Sustainable and Climate-Friendly Products: What Role Is There for Product Standards?
Jakub Kanický
DOI: https://doi.org/10.14712/23366478.2024.9
published online: 25. 03. 2024
abstract
The legal regulation of products within the European Union has witnessed significant developments over time. Originally driven by the imperative to remove barriers to the free movement of goods, it gradually incorporated environmental considerations, albeit to a limited extent. However, the importance of environmental requirements for products is gradually increasing and the effort to ensure that products placed on the market are sustainable and climatefriendly is gaining momentum. This article delves into the fundamental aspects of regulating products in the EU through the establishment of standards. It offers an analysis of the main trends of European standard-based product policy from a historical perspective and discusses various general contemporary issues of product standard-setting in the view of ensuring a high level of environmental protection.
keywords: EU product policy; product-oriented environmental law; sustainable products; climate-friendly products; standardsetting; ecodesign; life cycle thinking; New Approach to technical harmonisation
references (25)
1. BAUMOL, W. J. - OATES, W. E. The Use of Standards and Prices for Protection of the Environment. The Swedish Journal of Economics. 1971, Vol. 73, No. 1, pp. 42-43. CrossRef
2. BUTLER, G. In Search of the Political Question Doctrine in EU Law. Legal Issues of Economic Integration. 2018, Vol. 45, No. 4, pp. 329-354. CrossRef
3. DALHAMMAR, C. Promoting Energy and Resource Efficiency through the Ecodesign Directive Resource Efficiency. Scandinavian Studies in Law. 2014, Vol. 59, pp. 166-176. CrossRef
4. DALHAMMAR, C. The application of 'life cycle thinking' in European environmental law: theory and practice. Journal for European Environmental & Planning Law. 2015, Vol. 15, No. 2, pp. 97-127. CrossRef
5. ENCHELMAIER, S. Free Movement of Goods: Evolution and Intelligent Design in the Foundations of the European Union. In: CRAIG, P. - DE BÚRCA, G. Evolution of EU Law. 3rd ed. New York: Oxford University Press, 2021, pp. 546-578. CrossRef
6. FABŠÍKOVÁ, T. Aktuální vývoj evropské právní úpravy v oblasti ekodesignu výrobků. Acta Universitatis Carolinae Iuridica. 2019, Vol. LXV, No. 3, pp. 69 70. CrossRef
7. FAURE, M. G. - DALHAMMAR, C. Principles for the Design of a Policy Framework to Address Product Life Cycle Impacts. In: MAITRE-EKERN, E. - DALHAMMAR, C. - BUGGE, H. CH. (eds.). Preventing Environmental Damage from Products. New York: Cambridge University Press, 2018, pp. 57-86. CrossRef
8. FÜHR, M. - SCHENTEN, J. Sustainable production and consumption (SPC). In: KRÄMER, L. - ORLANDO, E. (eds.). Principles of Environmental Law. Cheltenham: Edward Elgar Publishing, 2018, pp. 125 138. CrossRef
9. GUNNINGHAM, N. Environment Law, Regulation and Governance: Shifting Architectures. Journal of Environmental Law. 2009, Vol. 21, No. 2, pp. 200-202. CrossRef
10. HALLER, K. - CHEUNG, J. - WALLACE, M. - GUPTA, S. Research Insights. Consumers want it all: Hybrid shopping, sustainability, and purpose-driven brands [online]. IBM Institute for Business Value, 2022 [cit. 2023-09-30]. Available at: https://www.ibm.com/downloads/cas/YZYLMLEV.
11. HOFMANN, H. C. H. European regulatory union? The role of agencies and standards. In: KOUTRAKOS, P. - SNELL, J. Research Handbook on the Law of the EU's Internal Market. Cheltenham: Edward Elgar Publishing, 2017, pp. 460-476.
12. KANICKÝ, J. Sustainable chemistry under the European Green deal: reinforcing preventive legal regulation. In: RADECKA, E. - NAWROT, F. Green deal or green disorder. Toruń: Dom Organizatora, 2021, pp. 81-95.
13. KANICKÝ, J. Waste Law: Evolving Objectives and Paradigms [not yet published, copy on file with author].
14. KERLER, M. How Decision-making Procedures Create Good Governance: Technical Regulation in the European Union. Paper prepared for the 3rd ECPR Conference in Budapest 8-10 September 2005, pp. 1-27.
15. KINGSTON, S. - HEYVAERT, V. - ČAVOŠKI, A. European Environmental Law. New York: Cambridge University Press, 2017. CrossRef
16. LEE, H. - ROMERO, J. (eds.). Climate Change 2023: Synthesis Report. Contribution of Working Groups I, II and III to the Sixth Assessment Report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change. Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, 2023. In: ipcc [online]. [cit. 2023 09 30]. Available at: https://www.doi.org/10.59327/IPCC/AR6-9789291691647.
17. MALCOLM, R. Ecodesign Laws and the Environmental Impact of our Consumption of Products. Journal of Environmental Law. 2011, Vol. 23, No. 3, pp. 487-503. CrossRef
18. OGUS, A. Regulation: Legal Form and Economic Theory. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2004.
19. PELKMANS, J. The New Approach to Technical Harmonization and Standardization. Journal of Common Market Studies. 1987, Vol. 25, No. 3, pp. 249-270. CrossRef
20. POLVERINI, D. Regulating the Circular Economy within the Ecodesign Directive: Progress So Far, Methodological Challenges and Outlook. Sustainable Production and Consumption. 2021, Vol. 27, pp. 1113-1123. CrossRef
21. Report of the World Commission on Environment and Development: Our Common Future [online]. World Commission on Environment and Development, 1987, p. 16, para. 27 [cit. 2023-09-30]. Available at: https://sustainabledevelopment.un.org/content/documents/5987our-common-future.pdf.
22. SACHS, N. Can We Regulate Our Way to Energy Efficiency? Product Standards as Climate Policy. Vanderbilt Law Review. 2012, Vol. 65, No. 6, pp. 1631-1678.
23. SALA, S. - CRENNA, E. - SECCHI, M. - SANYÉ-MENGUAL, E. Environmental sustainability of European production and consumption assessed against planetary boundaries. Journal of Environmental Management. 2020, Vol. 269, p. 110686. CrossRef
24. STEWART, R. B. Regulation, Innovation, and Administrative Law: a Conceptual Framework. California Law Review. 1981, Vol. 69, No. 5, pp. 1256-1377. CrossRef
25. STONE, CH. D. The Place of Enterprise Liability in the Control of Corporate Conduct. Yale Law Journal. 1980, Vol. 90, No. 1, pp. 1-77. CrossRef
Sustainable and Climate-Friendly Products: What Role Is There for Product Standards? is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.
230 x 157 mm
periodicity: 4 x per year
print price: 65 czk
ISSN: 0323-0619
E-ISSN: 2336-6478