ABSTRACT
This chapter focuses on the roles of different actors in various instruments – such as regulations, market-based mechanisms, and voluntary initiatives – to promote change. Law has always been and will continue to be a key part of the governance framework for the mining sector. National government provides the legislative framework for the minerals industry, and national or sub-national legislation is the route through which most legal rights and obligations attach to companies and the many others with whom they must deal. The range of legislative systems in different countries has resulted in a diversity of methods for allocating the rights and responsibilities for these issues among mining, investment, planning, environment, and other laws. Many mining acts also provide for ‘regulatory stabilization’ in one form or another: a guarantee that the investor will not be subject to new or changed requirements, such as higher taxes or new environmental laws, planning requirements, or other future legislation.
