Projects per year
Abstract
EU Member States are faced with a quandary – after decades of demanding powers to choose whether to cultivate genetically modified (GM) crops or not, the EU has returned some limited powers to them. A 2015 EU Directive permits Member States to ‘opt-out’ from GM cultivation, provided that they fulfil relevant criteria. Member States therefore now need to decide whether and how to restrict GM crops. A significant consideration is the question of agricultural sustainability (agri-sustainability). In principle GM crops have the potential to promote agri-sustainability, including through increasing agricultural biodiversity (agrobiodiversity). However, the applicability of intellectual property law to both the original GM crops and its progeny enables the legal enclosure of the crops’ genetic make-up, thereby potentially undermining agrobiodiversity and agri-sustainability. This paper argues that legal enclosure could justify imposing restrictions on GM cultivation, in order to conserve agrobiodiversity as an exhaustible natural resource essential to agri-sustainability. For such justifications to succeed legally at both the EU and WTO level, they must be distinguished clearly from any broader environmental concerns.
Original language | English |
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Pages (from-to) | 1093-1122 |
Number of pages | 30 |
Journal | Common Market Law Review |
Volume | 54 |
Issue number | 4 |
Publication status | Published - 01 May 2017 |
Keywords
- Agricultural sustainability
- enclosure
- genetically modified crops
- opt-outs
- Sustainability
Fingerprint
Dive into the research topics of 'Genetically Modified Crops, Agricultural Sustainability and National OptOuts – Enclosure as the Loophole?'. Together they form a unique fingerprint.Projects
- 1 Finished
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R1511LAW: National and regional controls over EU genetically modified cultivation: opting out on what basis?
Dobbs, M. (PI)
18/03/2015 → 31/03/2016
Project: Research
Activities
- 3 Participation in conference
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The Era of Biotechnology: Lights and Shadows in Trading Genetically Modified Organisms within the WTO Framework Symposium
Dobbs, M. (Invited speaker)
24 Sept 2019Activity: Participating in or organising an event types › Participation in conference
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5th Annual European Environmental Law Forum Conference
Dobbs, M. (Speaker) & Dobbs, M. (Session chair)
31 Aug 2017 → 01 Sept 2017Activity: Participating in or organising an event types › Participation in conference
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UCC Law and the Environment Conference 2016
Dobbs, M. (Speaker)
21 Apr 2016Activity: Participating in or organising an event types › Participation in conference
Press/Media
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Biotech Companies Wary of Brexit Threat to EU Crop Approvals
Dobbs, M.
20/10/2017
1 Media contribution
Press/Media: Expert Comment
Research output
- 2 Citations
- 2 Paper
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‘Contextualising patenting of plant genetic resources: hidden threats to biodiversity’
Dobbs, M., 01 Sept 2017, (Unpublished).Research output: Contribution to conference › Paper › peer-review
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Genetically Modified Crops, Agricultural Sustainability and National OptOuts – Enclosure as the Loophole?
Dobbs, M., 21 Apr 2016.Research output: Contribution to conference › Paper