Regulatory Trust

Abstract

When regulators make decisions in the face of uncertainty, what gives legitimacy to their decisions? Trust clearly plays a role in bridging regulatory uncertainty, but what is the relationship between law and trust? This article offers framework for thinking about trust in regulatory contexts by developing a broad-based, multi-dimensional conception of the roles that trust plays in regulatory systems. Positing that "regulatory trust" is unique kind of social trust, this framework traces the reflexive relationship among regulatory trust's components, and explores means to cultivate the regulatory trust necessary to to allow regulatory agencies to govern effectively in the face of fundamental uncertainty.

Keywords: trust, uncertainty, regulation, expertise, governance, regulatory system, GMO, sustainability, transparency, stewardship