The framework for environmental regulation in Wales:Natural Resources Wales speaks with ‘One Voice’ – Has the statutory voice for nature been silenced?

Natural Resources Wales (NRW) was created from the amalgamation of the functions of the Environment Agency Wales (EAW), the Countryside Council for Wales (CCW) and the Forestry Commission Wales. The statutory functions of the three legacy environmental bodies had previously overlapped to some degree, and the rationale for a single body was to streamline activities and resources. However, the legacy bodies had differing – potentially conflicting – interests and duties, for example, in relation to balancing obligations regarding decisions affecting nature conservation. NRW’s duties now differ according to function. Furthermore, in certain circumstances, legislation required statutory consultation between the former bodies, such that EAW had to seek nature conservation advice from CCW as part of the environmental permitting process. NRW is now required to carry out such consultation internally. This research examines the duties of EAW, CCW and NRW with regard to nature conservation, and critically analyses the effect of the creation of a single body on the statutory consultation requirements. It concludes that the duties imposed on NRW with regard to nature conservation are weaker than those of the former CCW, and that the independence of the nature conservation body as consultee and the transparency of the statutory consultation process has been compromised by the creation of the single body. </jats:p

Criminal Law - Homicide - Self-Defense - The Duty to Retreat

The Pennsylvania Supreme Court extended the no-retreat dwelling house exception to the self-defense rule by holding that a person in his place of business may lawfully resist an intruder with the use of deadly force even though a way of escape is available. Commonwealth v. Johnston, 438 Pa. 485, 263 A.2d 376 (1970). Commonwealth v. Johnston\u27 is an innovative decision which limits the duty to retreat in cases of self-defense. The facts of the case are simple. The defendant Johnston shot and killed a man named Pittman while Pittman was on defendant\u27s business premises as a social guest

Managing the inshore marine environment in the marineand coastal access act era: The Welsh experience

Fellow Authors, Lewis, K. (Aberystwyth University) and Bullimore, B. ( Marine Environmental Consultant)This study investigated the Welsh Government’s approach to inshore fisheries management since commencement of the provisions in the 2009 Marine and Coastal Access Act (MCAA), including the centralisation of management within the Welsh Government rather than establishing a successor to the long established Sea Fisheries Committees, and the impact of the Welsh Government’s approach from the perspective of key stakeholders.The Report concludes that the experience of centralising marine and fisheries management in Wales has failed to produce the benefits claimed by its proponents before the implementation of the 2009 MCAA