JUDICIAL GATEKEEPING IN THE MANAGEMENT OF HAZARDOUS TECHNOLOGIES.

The article addresses the means by which the public problem of hazardous technologies are addressed via the public law model (regulation) and the private law model (litigation). The author explores the tension that exists when these two models co-exist, as they do in the US, and the role of the US judicial system in juggling these conflicting models. The article presents the premises and assumptions of public and private law, examines where the courts have been active in refining and delimiting these competing models, and discusses the implications of the US legal culture's unique way of managing value conflicts when addressing potentially risky technologies. Consideration of the way that other legal cultures manage technology is considered in light of this discussion.