A Mirror of Change? The Journal and the Development of Energy Law

Abstract

Arguing that the content of the Journal offers as good a picture as any of the development over the last 30 years of the sprawling and diverse field that is energy and natural resources law, this article provides a breakdown of the contents of the Journal over three five-year periods, the first (1983–1987), the most recent (2008–2012) and a middle period (1996–2000). The most striking changes disclosed by an analysis of articles by energy type and geographical coverage are the significant weakening of the originally preponderant position of oil and gas law, the rapid development of legal discussion of the network energy industries (electricity and gas supply) following the restructurings and privatisations of the 1980s and 1990s, and the growth in coverage of environmental law issues and of legal problems of renewable energy. The conclusion is that over the period under review, the main drivers of energy law development have not been technological advances but developments in political, social and economic beliefs – notably, in the beneficent effects of competition and in the importance of sustainable development – that have profoundly affected energy and non-energy industries alike. One result of this has been a major reinforcement of the control function of energy law, which is today much more visible, in the pages of the Journal and elsewhere, than the law’s no less important role of providing a vehicle to support, by way of property rights, contract and other means, the implementation of energy projects. The article concludes by speculating on the impact of this stronger control role on the future of recent technological developments such as hydraulic fracking for the recovery of shale oil and gas, and coal seam gas.