Law and Technologies Webinar Series
Last term Dr Mark Flear, School of Law, Queens University Belfast, presented to our online audience. This webinar is now available to view in our Podcast section.
ABSTRACT
Expectations or strong beliefs about what can occur can be shaped by organizations and used by them as techniques for public legitimation of their governance and regulatory activities. I advance this argument by reference to the International Council on Harmonisation of Technical Requirements for Registration of Pharmaceuticals for Human Use (ICH). The expectations and imaginary flowing from the ICH’s mission and framing, ‘harmonisation for better health’, support a focus on technological development for the production of safe, quality, and effective pharmaceuticals and individual ethical conduct to achieve it. The expectations also marginalize wider systemic issues relating to social justice, particularly those affecting the global South. The central role of scientific-technical knowledge and expertise to harmonization abets the latter by minimizing the value to governance of public knowledges on systemic issues. Instead of ensuring the contribution of these knowledges to governance through public participation, there is an attempt to bolster legitimation through communication of expectations and transparency to show practices are in accordance with them (i.e. that expectations are met).
Expectations as techniques of legitimation
This webinar was live and interactive via Zoom and now available to view.