Public Policy
Political Science: Fields in Political Science: Public Policy
Introduction to Public Policy
The field of public policy involves the study of specific policy problems and governmental responses to them. Political scientists involved in the study of public policy attempt to devise solutions for problems of public concern. They study issues such as health care, pollution, and the economy. Public policy overlaps comparative politics in the study of comparative public policy; with international relations in the study of foreign policy and national security policy; and with political theory in considering ethics in policy making.” [1]
In the Convention on Law Applicable to Products Liability: Articles 10 and 11
Article 10
This article provides that the law made applicable by the Convention may be refused application in certain circumstances on the ground of public policy (‘ordre public’).
The wording of this article is essentially the same as that found in other Hague Conventions. In accordance with the practice of the Hague Conference, the exception made for public policy (‘ordre publicÂ’) is an extremely limited one since it is applicable only in situations where application of the law made applicable by the Convention would be ‘manifestly incompatible with public policy (‘ordre publicÂ’)Â’. Accordingly, the public policy (‘ordre publicÂ’) exception may be applied only in situations where, with respect to a particular issue, application of the law made applicable by the Convention would clearly lead to consequences that were repugnant to some fundamental principle of either law or morals of the State of the forum. Even in such situations the applicable law would still have to be applied in the case of all other issues.
Clearly, a rule which gave a claimant a larger or smaller amount of damages than he could have obtained under the internal law of the forum could not properly be considered to be contrary to the forum’s public policy (‘ordre public’).
Article 11
This article requires the courts of a Contracting State to treat the Convention as a uniform law. In other words, the courts of a Contracting State are not excused from applying the provisions of the Convention by the fact that the applicable law is not the internal law of another Contracting State, or that none of the parties involved have their habitual residence in a Contracting State or indeed have any contact whatsoever with a Contracting State, or that the facts involved are not connected in any way with a Contracting State. In short, a Contracting State is required to substitute the provisions of the Convention for any choice-of-law rules covering the same ground that it may have developed in the area of liability in tort for damage caused by a defective product.
In other words, the provisions of articles 1-10 of the Convention are to be applied without regard to any consideration of reciprocity.
Provisions of the same sort are to be found in earlier Conventions of the Hague Conference, namely:
- the Convention on the Law Applicable to the Internal Sale of Goods of lune 15, 1955,
- the Convention on the Conflict of Laws relating to the Form of Wills of October 5, 1961, and
- the Convention on the Law Applicable to Traffic Accidents.
The method by which existing rules of choice-of-law are replaced by the rules of the Convention will depend upon the practice of each Contracting State. In some countries, such as France, the rules of the Convention would become effective as soon as the Convention has been promulgated. In other countries, legislation would be required to give the Convention the force of law.
The obligation to apply the provisions of the Convention in all cases that fall within its terms gives added significance to the public policy (‘ordre public’) exception contained in article 10. Since the obligation to apply foreign law is not limited to the internal law of Contracting States, it was very difficult to assess the results to which certain unknown law systems might lead; there, public policy may act as a safety-valve. [2]
Concept of Public Policy
Note: explore also the meaning of this legal term in the American Ecyclopedia of Law.
Literature Review on Ethics and Public Policy
In the Encyclopedia of Public Administration and Public Policy, [1] Amy K. Donahue offers the following summary about the topic of Ethics and Public Policy: Ethical questions surrounding the substance and application of public policy arise daily, as a cursory review of newspapers and news broadcasts readily demonstrates. In a single week in 2001, for example, the questions of whether the government should fund research that uses human genetic material, how to allocate tax refunds, whether to invest in building a national missile defense system, and whether to allow oil exploration in a wildlife refuge all competed for attention as part of the national policy agenda. Such issues are inherently ethical because they turn on normative choices—trade-offs among multiple values, judgments about how to interpret complex data, and decisions that distribute power and resources. In short, interactions between ethics and public policy are at once ubiquitous and complex.
Literature Review on Public Policy
In the Encyclopedia of Public Administration and Public Policy, [1] Steven A. Peterson offers the following summary about the topic of Public Policy: This entry begins by defining public policy. It goes on to explore the basic issues associated with public policy.
Resources
See Also
- Political Economy
- Public Policy
Resources
Notes and References
- Entry about Public Policy in the Encyclopedia of Public Administration and Public Policy (2015, Routledge, Oxford, United Kingdom)
See Also
Further Reading
- Global Encyclopedia of Public Administration, Public Policy, and Governance (2018, Springer International Publishing, Germany)
Resources
Notes and References
- Entry about Ethics and Public Policy in the Encyclopedia of Public Administration and Public Policy (2015, Routledge, Oxford, United Kingdom)
See Also
Further Reading
- Global Encyclopedia of Public Administration, Public Policy, and Governance (2018, Springer International Publishing, Germany)
Resources
Notes and References
- Information about Public Policy in the Encarta Online Encyclopedia
- Explanatory Report by W.L.M. Reese, Actes et Documents, Douzième session (1972) Tome I, Institute of International Law
Guide to Public Policy
Hierarchical Display of Public policy
Politics > Executive power and public service > Public administration
Politics > Executive power and public service > Executive body > Executive competence > Government policy
Public policy
Concept of Public policy
See the dictionary definition of Public policy.
Characteristics of Public policy
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Resources
Translation of Public policy
- Spanish: Política pública
- French: Politique publique
- German: öffentliche Politik
- Italian: Politica pubblica
- Portuguese: Política pública
- Polish: Polityka władz publicznych
Thesaurus of Public policy
Politics > Executive power and public service > Public administration > Public policy
Politics > Executive power and public service > Executive body > Executive competence > Government policy > Public policy
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