Title: India and the international biosafety law: a critical legal appraisal of the Biotechnology Regulatory Authority of India Bill, 2013

Authors: S.R. Subramanian; A. Saravanan; S.R. Sethu Narayanan

Addresses: Rajiv Gandhi School of Intellectual Property Law, Indian Institute of Technology, Kharagpur, West Bengal, PIN 721 302, India ' Rajiv Gandhi School of Intellectual Property Law, Indian Institute of Technology, Kharagpur, West Bengal, PIN 721 302, India ' Independent Consultant Biologist, 23 Karpaga Nagar 7th Street, K. Pudur Madurai 07, Tamil Nadu, PIN 625 007, India

Abstract: In the case of biotechnology, one of the major challenges in the process of regulation is to establish and maintain an appropriate balance between potential benefits of the technology and environmental and health risks posed by it. Though this dilemma has been resolved to a certain extent, owing to the provisions of the Cartagena Protocol on Biosafety in the evaluation and the management of risks, the contracting parties face several difficulties and challenges in the development of the legal framework implementing the international obligations at the national level. It is in this connection, the paper attempts to find out how biotechnology is currently regulated in India and how it is proposed to be regulated under the Biotechnology Regulatory Authority of India (BRAI) Bill, 2013.

Keywords: biotechnology regulation; biosafety; Biotechnology Regulatory Authority of India; BRAI; India; Cartagena Protocol on Biosafety; international law; international obligations; precautionary principle; Indian law; Supreme Court; environmental risks; technology risks; health risks; GMOs; genetically modified organisms; risk assessment.

DOI: 10.1504/IJPL.2015.076599

International Journal of Private Law, 2015 Vol.8 No.2, pp.99 - 118

Received: 05 Jun 2014
Accepted: 05 Jun 2015
Published online: 17 May 2016 *

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