ABSTRACT
This chapter illustrates the difficulties with which policy-makers are confronted by two recent examples. The first is drawn from the field of bioethics, the second from criminal justice. The development of science and technology in the field of bioethics is extraordinarily rapid. The more exciting the developments, the greater the number of bright scientists who want to be involved in the research, and thus innovation accelerates. As a matter of logic, it is impossible to foresee creative, original and imaginative developments, whether in the arts or the sciences. The second example is rather different. Its emphasis is more on consciousness of the past than of the future. In the Criminal Justice Bill 2003, it was proposed by the UK government that for certain cases trial by jury should be abolished. These cases included, among others, those trials for relatively minor offences where previously the accused could choose whether their case should be heard before a jury or not.
