Scientific expertise and transnational standards: authority, legitimacy, validity. (3rd April 2017) - Ellis, Jaye
ABSTRACT: Transnational standardisation organisations such as the Forest and Marine Stewardship Councils rely heavily on legitimation through respect for democratic principles such as representativeness, transparency, and accessibility, on the one hand, and on the authority of science, on the other hand. Despite the impact that the Councils' procedural and substantive norms have, the question of the validity of such norms receives much less attention. In a highly technical, expert-driven context such as sustainable exploitation of resources, the potential role of law becomes unclear. Drawing on literature on the interface between science and policy that focuses attention on the processes of judgment within the production of scientific knowledge, this paper identifies a potential role for law between political legitimation and the authority of scientific expertise.