Beijing Law Review, 2011, 2, 119-126
doi:10.4236/blr.2011.23012 Published Online September 2011 (http://www.SciRP.org/journal/blr)
119
On Legal Regulation of the Alienation of Science
and Technology
Shiqing He
Law School of Huazhong Science & Technology University, Wuhan, China.
Received July 12th, 2011; revised August 18th, 2011; accepted August 28th, 2011.
ABSTRACT
The alienation of science & technology is a kind of abnormal phenomenon coming from the research or use of science
& technology. It makes science & technology from the tool that serves and brings benefit to human into the power that
controls and harms human , so the regulation of the alienation of scienc e & technology is the requ irement of the sound
development of science & technology, and the socio-economic progress, as well as the improvement of people’s living
standards. Law is the primary measure to regulate the alienation of science & technology. The legal regulation is the
fundamental wa y because it provides the value orientation, th e norms of behavior, the ratio nal allocation of resources
and the reward and punishment mechanism for the control of the alienation of science & technology. In China, The
alienation of science & technology has gradually come into being and has increasingly been serious with the develop-
ment of science & technology since the reform and open policy has been implemented. The legal regulation of the
alienation of science & technology is an important componen t of the modernization constru ction, its promotion asks to
be guided by scientific concept on development, firm the legal foundation, strengthen the responsibility of the govern-
ment and bring the corrective function of jud icature into full play.
Keywords: The Alienation, The Alienation of Science & Technology, Legal Regulation
1. Introduction
Albert Einstein, a great scientist in 20 century, once told
people: “Science is a powerful tool. How to use it and
whether it is brings happiness or disaster depend on hu-
man himself, not on the tool. A knife is useful in the hu-
man life, but it also can be used to kill.” [1] This ad moni-
tion is enough to arouse our attention to the dual chara-
cter of science & technology! While promoting social
progress and human emancipation, science & technology
also brings the alienation phenomena that harm human
survival and development. The alienation of science &
technology deviates from humanistic spirit, and reverses
the relationship between human and science & techno-
logy, endangers human survival and development. Today,
the control of the sci-tech alienation is a common task
facing all countries. The alienation of science & techno-
logy in China are not as serious as they are in the west-
ern countries, but they have arisen and have been spread-
ed. To strengthen the legal regulation of the sci-tech
alienation is not only the objective requirement of the
achievement of the coordination and unity between the
scientific & technological progress and the socio-econo
my and human developments, but also it is the funda-
mental significance of the construction of a country
under the rule of law.
2. Theoretical Annotation on the Alienation
of Science & Technology
Science & technology results from the human social
practice; it is the correct knowledge on the essence and
the law of nature that human obtains in the process that
human transforms nature. Karl Marx pointed out:
“Nature does not create any machine; it does not
manufacture locomotives, railway, telegraph, and spin-
ning machine and so on. They are the product of human
labor…… and the organs of the human mind created by
human hands, as well as the materialized knowledge
power.” [2] Science & technology is a cultural
phenomenon that presents human survival and
development, a knowledge system created by human
based on their own needs, and a manifestation of human
to live, as well as the characterization that human quest
for free and comprehensive development. A scholar said:
“In essence, science & technology is the embodiment of

On Legal Regulation of the Alienation of Science and Technology 120
the external help and the externalization of human nature,
an aspect of its own existence, and one of the per-
formances within its own functional activities, it not only
manifests but also realizes an aspect of human nature.
Science & technology is deservedly to become object
and tool of humanity, to serve the healthful and harmo-
nious existence and the promoting evolution of human
nature itself. The value of science & technology is
precisely derived from such relationship between itself
and human nature.” [3] All in all, Science & technology
having people-oriented spirit and the function of serving
and benefiting human, can enhance human’s capacity of
transforming nature and society, and can make nature
and society develop in the direction beneficial to human
survival and development.
However, science & technology not only has the
“goodness” to serve and benefit people, but also has the
“viciousness” to constrain and harm people. With the
development and widespread use of science & techno-
logy, the “viciousness” has gradually shown that the
alienation of science & technology has been increasingly
serious. By the alienation of science & technology, we
mean a special phenomenon that the scientific & techno-
logical activities and the use of its product deviate from
the human intentions and purposes, and in turn, rule and
harm people as people find its power difficult to control.
In western countries, a lot of scholars pay attentio n to the
alienation issue of science & technology; they reveal the
connotations of the alienation of science & technology
from different respects. Let me just list some examples.
Jean-Jacques Rousseau regarded moral degradation as
by-product of the development of science & technology.
He said: “As the light of science and art rise above our
horizon, the virtues disappear.” [4] For Karl Marx, in
capitalist society, “Science is an alien, hostile and gov-
erning power to the labor” [5]. Max Weber deconstructs
the rational of science & technology into two dimen-
sions--means rational and value rational, and thinks that
the means rational has expanded with the advance of
modern industry, consequently has resulted in the nega-
tive effects such as the domination of object to person,
the bureaucrat, and so on. Martin Heidegger develops his
idea of the alienation of science & technology based on
“gestell”. In his opinion, “gestell” nature of science &
technology makes them become the strong force that is
beyond human control. Herbert Marcuse used the word
“one dimension” to support his “socio-critical theory”,
and pointed out: in the developed countries, science &
technology has been a new ruling form; the culture, with
technology medium, the politics and the economy blend
into a omnipresent system, so as to create “one dimen-
sional man”, “one dimensional society” and “one dimen-
sional mind” [6].
The alienation of science & techno logy is by no means
without foundatio ns. Its advent involves a variety of rea-
sons, among which it can mainly be summarized as
follows. (1) The limit of human knowledge. Friedrich
Engels said: “We can make cognition only under the
conditions provided by our times, to what extent these
conditions reach, to what extent we know.” [7] When
human uses his limited knowledge to transform infinitely
nature and society, it will lead damage to nature and
society. (2) The impact of the utilitarianism. Utilitaria-
nism and industrialization are closely linked, as Bertrand
Russell said: “The rise of industrialization has made
human stress on the utilitarianism to some degree.” [8]
The utilitarianism has made some people reg ard material
and money as the fundamental purpose of the activities
of science & technology, an d then recklessly d evelop and
use science & technology for minority interests, im-
mediate interests, and partial interests. (3) Th e expansion
of the means rational that treats science & technology as
tool. The development of science & technology and its
widespread application in the production and living make
human needs be better, and then results in the rise of the
means rational that treats science & technology as a tool.
The means rational has weakened and suppressed the
function of science & technology on criticizing society
and penetrating and caring for the future and destiny of
mankind. When science & technology are used as a tool
to transform nature and society, people will ignore con-
sciously or unconsciously the negative effects of science
& technology. (4) The lack of the powerful rules on sci-
entific & technological behaviors. The ethic and the po-
licy have a certain regulatory function, but they can only
play a “flexible” role because of the lack of the national
mandatory support. Law is a powerful means to regulate
the sci-tech behavior due to its national authority and
mandatory; however, the legislation is not perfect, and
the defection in the legal system makes the regulatory
function of law be inhibited.
In fact, the alienation of science & technology is the
shadow of the development and application of science &
technology, and it has different forms and levels because
of the difference of the development level, the applica-
tion breadth of science & technology in different histori-
cal period. As early as the 18th century, there were signs
of the alienation of science & technology on the horizon,
appearing the alienation phenomena such as “strange
mixture of various foods, flavor inimical to health,
spoiled food, adulterated drugs, the fraud of quack medi-
cine seller, the error of a doctor’s prescription and the
vessels for the preparation of various toxic agents.” [9].
In the 19th-century, the development of science &
techno- logy improve the productive forces that the
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On Legal Regulation of the Alienation of Science and Technology121
bourgeoisie created more massive and more colossal than
all created by preceding generations together, In the
meantime the problem of the alienation of science &
technology had intensified, which prominently presented
as follows, “the forces of nature in the machine industry,
the application of science and labor products in the
production, and all of these are used as some kind of
aliened material things, and also purely a kind of exis-
tence that do not depend on workers and dominate the
means of labor, which are opposed to any individual
worker.” [10] Since the 20th century, the alienation of
science & technology has been grown in intensity with
the soaring development of science & technology. So far,
it has been a formidable force that does harm to the
survival and development of mankind. Firstly, science &
technology has become an autonomous system, forcing
the human to adjust their biological personality to meet
the needs of technical equipment. As a result, mankind
becomes the accessory tools, and his subjectivity loses.
What caused is not only the physical deformity but also
the psychological deformity. Secondly, science &
technology have become the tools of plundering natural
resources and destroying ecological environment, so as
to lead to the disequilibrium of ecosystems where people
survive. Rachel L. Carson told us that the
accompaniment of science & technology and industrial
civilization is a poisoned environment; consequently it
causes the eco-crisis arises: “There was no the chip of
birds, only silence lay over the fields and woods and
marsh; the brook was no longer living because all fishes
died.” [11] Thirdly, science & technology has been used
to break the law and commit crime by some people. In
real life, the alienation phenomena, such as the right
infringement in cyberspace, credit card fraud, and
unauthorized entry into computer information system, are
nothing new. The consequence of this is that the legal
rights have been infringed upon and the social harmony
has been destroyed. Finally, science & technology have
become a threat to human security, so humans facing
today’s risks are far more beyond the past. Constantly
improved robots might one day be “awaken” and scram-
ble for the power to rule the earth, the development of
nuclear technology will put humans under the perilous
conditions that the nuclear war may break out and may
make human be destroyed.
In China，generally, the development level of science
& technology is not high and the strength of science &
technology is not strong. Therefore, to promote the scien-
tific & technological progress is the theme of the scien-
tific & technological wo rk. However, this does not mean
that it is unnecessary that the attention is given to the
alienation of science & tech nology, the reasons are listed
below. (1) Science & technology is a “two-edged sword”,
having the inherent duality. Especially, modern science
& technology has a stronger power. Once abused, mis-
used or immoral used, its negative effects will be more
serious. This is the case for the western countries, also
for China. (2) The modernization is a systematic engi-
neering that is composed of the modernization in indu-
stry, agriculture, national defense and science & techno-
logy, among which the modernization in science &
technology is the key and the core. Deng Xiaoping ex-
plicitly pointed ou t: “Of the four modernizations, the key
is the modernization in science & technology. Without
modern science & technology, we should not develop a
modern agriculture, a modern industry, and a modern
national defense. Without high-speed develop- ment of
science & technology, there would be no high- speed
development of national economy.” [12] The alienation
of science & technology goes against the modernization
objective, so we must take strict pre- cautions against and
strengthen the regulation of it. (3) The alienation of
science & technology has emerged and has been spread,
and it has become a strong force to restrict economic
development, social stability and people’s life security.
For example, the development of network technology
results in public hazards such as internet pornography
crime, fraud SMS, and so on; the acceleration of the in-
dustrialization makes ecological environment go worse,
as a scholar points out: “Durin g the 1970s, the emissions
of coal smoke was characteristics of Chinese industrial
cities; in the 80’s, many southern cities suffered serious
damage of acid rain. In recent years, the emissions such
as NOx, CO ex- hausted from automobiles and the sub-
sequent formation of photochemical smog, are making
the deterioration of air quality in many major cities.”
[13].
3. The Necessity of Legal Regulation of the
Alienation of Science & Technology
The alienation of science & technology is of great harm
to people and society, and it turns science & technology
from the “for-human” tool into the “anti-human” power,
controlling human actions, damaging human freedom,
threatening human safety, destroying human living
environment, at last posing a grave menace to human
existence and development, so the control of the
alienation of science & technology is a major task that
must be dealt seriously with by all countries. Bo th theory
and practice indicate that moral constraint, policy ad-
justment and legal regulation are the basic methods to
control the alienation of science & technology; these
methods are in different positions and play different roles
because of their own characteristics. Moral constraint
relies on the scientific & techno logical subject’s in trinsic
faith and the condemnation of social opinion; policy ad-

On Legal Regulation of the Alienation of Science and Technology 122
justment depends on the scientific & technological sub-
ject’s policy acceptance and political discipline. They
both can only play a li mited role in controlling the alien-
ation of science & techno logy because of their character-
istics as follows: strong in principle but weak in con-
creteness, much variability but less stability, superabun-
dant guidance but inadequate coerciveness. The legal
regulation legalize and institutionalize the scientific &
technological activities through the operation of state
power, and with the help of the state coercive power,
these laws and institutions are followed by the scientific
& technological subjects. The legal regulation has its
several features such as concreteness, univ ersality, stabil-
ity, and national mandatory etc. So it can remedy the
shortages of moral constraints and policy adjustment and
offer a fundamental guarantee for the regulation of the
alienation of science & techno logy. John Rawls said: “In
a developed society, law is the final and effective tool to
control the society.” [14] Similarly, in modern society,
the legal regulation is the ultimately effective means to
control the alienation of science & technology.
Firstly, the legal regulation provides value orientation
for scientific & technological activities, and then pre-
vents that the scientific & technological activities from
developing in the direction of harming human survival
and development due to the bias of their purpose. Frie-
drich Engels said: “Who carry out an action in the do-
main of social history are people who can think, act cogi-
tatively or with passion and for some purpose; whatever
happens, happens for conscious intention or expected
purpose.” [15] To prevent scientific & technological ac-
tivities from going astray due to the bias in purpose, it is
necessary to strengthen legal value orientation to those
activities. Law is not the cold institutional framework,
but the warm institutional d esign with rich value. As Ed-
gar Bodenheimer said, any institution deserving to be
called the legal system must pay attention to some fun-
damental value beyond the relativity of particular social
structure and the economic structure. Laws of different
times have different values; the legal values in modern
society consist of freedom, equality, order, security, fair-
ness, efficiency, human rights, justice, and so on. These
values can both upgrade the legal quality and ensure the
right direction of human activities. For example, the de-
sire for freedom “forces a person to engage in the activi-
ties that can develop his capacities and promote his indi-
vidual happiness”, the pursuit of equality “forces a per-
son to combat with the unequal treatments caused by
legal or regulatory measures which should have been
equal treatments according to reasonable and accepted
standards”.[16] In the scientific & technological field, the
legal values can guide scientific & technological activi-
ties so as to inhibit the alienation of science & techno-
logy. Based on the legal values, the activities like the
reckless research, the abuse or the misuse of science &
technology have no legitimacy, because they aggress
upon human freedom, do harm to human health and
safety, undermine the social order, lead to social injustice.
The legal values are strong constraints on irrational re-
search and inhuman use of science & technology, also
the strong correction in excessive emphasis on means
rational which would lead to the objectificatio n of human.
Under the guidance of the legal values, the human being
is sure to “effectively monitor the implementation of
scientific & technical achieve ments by means of national
coercive power, strictly prevent and control high intelli-
gent crime and terrorism, protect social peace and secu-
rity, and regulate ignorantly blind behaviors before the
harm brought out, thus achieving the purpose of safety”
[17].
Secondly, the legal regulation provides the behavior
standard for a scientific & technological activity, and
prevents the irregularity of a scientific & technological
behavior from the alienation of science & technology. A
scientific & technological activity is one with the subj ec-
tivity, and the scientific & technological subject is one
who hunts for self-interest. Numerous facts indicate that
nothing would be accomplished without norms or stan-
dards; if there is no external constraint, the scientific &
technological subject could focus on self-interests and
then would go into misconducts. Law is the behavior
norms or standards of the scientific & technolog ical sub-
ject; it can play the roles of guidance and normalization
on a scientific & technological activity, and can prevent
the misconducts in a scientific & technological activity.
On the one hand, law converted the interests of the scien-
tific & technological subject into rights and obligations,
not only effectively record those interests given recogni-
tion and protection, but also faithfully record those inte-
rests rejected and excluded, and the limitation that a cer-
tain benefits are recognized. Through the work of the
mechanism of rights and obligations, law combines the
interests and the behavior of the scientific & technologi-
cal subject together to achieve the adjustment of the be-
havior. By the interest-oriented mechanism, the rights
guide and motivate the subject to constantly promote the
scientific & technological innovation and convert the
scientific & technological achievements into the pr actical
productive forces for their legitimate interests; by the
interest-restricted mechanism, the obligations constrain
and inhibit the subject to be engaged in a scientific &
technological activity for his illegitimate interests. On the
other hand, law sets the responsibility and the authority
for the government departments in the scientific & tech-
nological management so as to coordinate the relation-
ship between government, the scientific & technological
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On Legal Regulation of the Alienation of Science and Technology123
workers, and the users of scientific & technological achi-
evement, and as a result, not only the abuse of govern-
ment power is checked, but also the government func-
tions such as the organization, the guidance and the co-
ordination are realized.
Thirdly, the legal reg ulation rationally allocates the re-
sources for scientific & technological activities, and pre-
vents the resources from flowing to the activities harmful
to human survival and development. A scientific & tech-
nological activity is a kind of process that human as the
subject and the things as the object interact with each
other, it takes manpower, material resources and finan-
cial resources as the prerequisite, the sound development
and the favorable operation of science & technology de-
pend on the rational allocation of these resources. Law
can promote the rational flow of resources to achieve
optimal allocation of resources. A scholar pointed out:
“From the substantive law to the procedural law, from
the fundamental law to the common law, from the statute
law to the unwritten law, all laws in modern society have
or should have their inherent economic logic and purpose:
to allocate resources in a way that can improve efficiency,
and to optimize resource allocation and utilization by
setting rights and obligations.” [18] The legal regulation
rationally allocates the resources by following methods
so as to provide effective safeguards for the regulation of
the alienation of science & technology: (1) To lay down
the national strategy for the development of science &
technology, to build a series of systems concerning with
the management of research fund and equipment, and the
collectio n, the storage , the communicatio n and the use of
research information, so as to make sure that the re-
sources flow to scientific & technological activities con-
ducive to socio-economic and human development, to
prohibit the scientific & technological resources from
flowing to activities harmful to the interests of others and
the society. (2) To build a resource allocation mechanism
combining market adjustment and government regulation,
so that not only the advantages of the market and go-
vernment in allocating resources can be exerted, but also
the disadvantages of the market and government in allo-
cating resources can be remedied. All these provide the
convincing system guarantee for the optimizing the allo-
cation of scientific & technological resources. (3) To set
a rule of prescription for the monopoly right that the
subject enjo ys for his innovative achievement, so that the
innovative achievements beyond the statutory time will
belong to the society, whereby some other subjects could
learn about the status of the development of science &
technology, then determine an appropriate research direc-
tion, avoid wasting resources because of repeated studies.
Fourthly, the legal regulation provides the reward-
punishment mechanisms for scientific & technological
activities, so the lawful scientific & technological beha-
viors can be confirmed while the unlawful scientific &
technological behaviors can be curbed. The development
of science & technology brings people a new way to
change the world, but also generates some new access to
delinquency. Therefore, in the legal regulation of the
alienation of science & technolog y, to confirm the lawful
behaviors and to curb unlawful behaviors complement
each other. The projecting manifestation of the former is
that major achievements of scientific & technological
research are given rewarded according to law; the pro-
jecting manifestation of the latter is that unlawful scien-
tific & technological behaviors are investigated for legal
liability according to law. The legal liability is a manda-
tory responsibility th at a violator should bear for his ille-
gal act; it is of an extremely importan t role in the regula-
tion of the alienation of science & technolog y. the execu-
tive branches investigate administrative responsibility to
a citizen, a corporate body or a civil servant who violates
the legal order of the scientific & technological manage-
ment; the judicial branches give criminal sanctions to
scientific & technological criminal behaviors such as the
production or sale of counterfeit food or drugs, the viola-
tion of intellectual property, the internet theft and fraud
and so on, give civil liability to the infringement upon
trademark, patent, network technology etc. All these
make illegal behaviors deserve punishments and san-
ctions, hence both the offender himself and others are
educated so as to do R&D and its application in accor-
dance with law. It should be noted that the legal liability
is not only a reliable legal way to punish illegal scien tific
& technological behaviors, but also a reliable legal
means to protect and preserve the rights of the subject of
the legal relationship. When the legal rights are infringed
and interfered, the legal liability provides effective
means of relief. Hence the rights being infringed can
obtain remedies.
4. The Way to Improving Legal Regulation
of the Alienation of Science & Technology
The legal regulation is not only the fund amental way but
also the ultimately effective means to solve the problem
of the alienation of science & technology, thus it has
been advocated by the international community. Back to
November 1975, the General Assembly of the United
Nations passed the “Declaration on the Utilization of
Scientific & Technological Progress for the Peace and
the Good of Mankind”, emphasized a full use of science
and technology for th e benefit o f mankind , the promotion
of human rights, the realization of fundamental freedoms
and the promotion of world peace, in addition specifi-
cally requested that all states shall take effective mea-
sures including legislative measures to prohibit to in-

On Legal Regulation of the Alienation of Science and Technology 124
fringe upon human rights due to the use of scientific &
technological achievements. Nowadays, In order to con-
trol the sci-tech alienation, many countries have enacted
and improved rules and regulations, international orga-
nizations have issued and perfected international treaties,
then the legal regulation of the alienation of science &
technology has been the common actions of the interna-
tional community. Keeping pace with the times, the Chi-
nese Government takes the legal regulation of the alien-
ation of science & technology as an important part of the
rule-by-law construction. Now China has won tremen-
dous success in the legal regulation of the alienation of
science & technology, while there are some problems to
be further solved. The following measures should been
taken to improve legal regulation of the alienation of
science & technology.
Firstly, the legal regulation of the alien ation of science
& technology should be guided by the scientific concept
on development. The scientific concept on development
has been developed under the circumstance that the rapid
spread of the alienation of science & technology has re-
sulted with the increase of population and resources and
environment problems in China since the end of the 20th
century, it is rich in content, consisting chiefly of fol-
lowing aspects: “The first essen tial is to develo p; the ker-
nel is people-oriented; the basic requirements are com-
prehensive, coordinated and sustainable development of
economy and society, the cardinal approach is overall
consideration.” [19] The scientific concept on develop-
ment is the guiding ideology for the legal regulation of
the alienation of science & technology. On th e one hand,
the people-oriented concept has to been applied into the
enactment and implementation of laws, that is to say, the
enactment and implementation of laws must keep to the
direction that science & technology serve the socio-eco-
nomic and human development, combine closely the
scientific & technological innovation with the improve-
ment of people’s living quality and scientific-cultural
quality as well as health quality so as to make the fruits
of the scientific & technological innovation benefit the
broad masses of the people, overcome the ideology of
local protectionism, departmental or vocational protec-
tionism and individualism in R&D and utilization, and
prevent the phenomenon local departments or vocation
from abusing science & technology to damage the inter-
ests of the majority. On the other hand, the enactment
and the implementation of law should “take sustainable
development as the starting point, and restructure the
relationship between man and nature with the concept of
ecological law” [20], co-ordinate the relationships be-
tween people and people, human and nature, contempo-
rary people and future generations. Through the stipula-
tion and the performance of the rights and obligations as
well as the legal liabilities of the subj ect, law affirms and
encourages people to use science & technology to “rea-
sonably regulate the material exchange between man and
nature, and put it under their common control, and by
consuming minimal power, conduct such material ex-
change under the condition that it is most worthy and
most suitable to human nature” [21 ], while it negates and
combats R&D and its application that unlimitedly exploit
nature for the interests of minority.
Secondly, the legal foundation of the regulation of the
alienation of science & technolog y should be firmed. The
prerequisite of the legal regulation is that there are laws
to go by, so to strengthen the legal regulation of the alie-
nation of science & technology, first and most important
work is to improve scientific & technological legislatio n,
and to firm the foundation of the legal regulation of the
alienation of science & technology. (1) To modify the
provisions concerning science & technology from the
Chinese Constitution so that the promotion of the pro-
gress of science & technology and the control of the
alienation of science & technology are laid down side by
side in the Chinese Constitution. “The state guarantees
security of science & technology, and controls the alien-
ation of science & technology” may be added in article
20 of the Chinese Constitution and may fall abreast with
the original provision: “The state promotes the develop-
ment of the natural and social sciences, propagates know-
ledge of science & technology, and commends and re-
wards major achievements in R&D”; “The state denies
and prohibits R&D and its application that endanger na-
tional security, harm the public interest, harm the human
health, violate the ethics” may be added in article 47 and
may fall abreast with the original provision: “The state
encourages and assists creative endeavors conducive to
the people”. (2) To enact “the Law on Prevention and
Control of the Alienation of Science & Technology”. At
the present time, “the Law of the Science & Technology
Progress” has been there, although some scholars call it
the “mini-constitution” in the scientific & technological
field, it is only the basic law on the progress of science &
technology and can not provide adequate and effective
legal backing to the regulation of the alienation of sci-
ence & technology due to the singleness of its value ori-
entations and other faults. So it is necessary to lay down
“the Law on Prevention and Control of Alienation of
Science & Technology” and make it as the basic law to
harness the alienation of science & technology. (3) To
improve the separate laws in the regulation of the alien-
ation of science & technology, namely, to review, amend,
repeal or enact a series of specialized separate laws for
the regulation of the alienation of science & technology
so as to perfect the concrete legal systems for the regula-
tion of the alienation in specialized scientific & techno-
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On Legal Regulation of the Alienation of Science and Technology125
logical areas. (4) To improve the subsidiary scientific &
technological legislation. Traditional legal categories
such as civil law, commercial law, economic law, intel-
lectual property law and criminal law should be amended
and be complemented; consequently, their function con-
trolling the alienation of science & technology will be
strengthened.
Thirdly, the legal resp onsibilities of the government in
the regulation of the alienation of science & technology
should be enhanced. The government is not only the po-
licy maker, but also the organizer and the manager of the
scientific & technological activities, whether its respon-
sibilities can be implemented is directly related to the
efficiency of the legal regulation of the alienation of sci-
ence & technology, and also directly related to a sound
development and the regular operation of the scientific &
technological activities. A scholar said: “The recent pub-
lic food safety events and other public events concerning
the safety of people’s lives and property are the respon-
sible events in essence. These events show the lack of the
sense of responsibility of some officials in our govern-
ment and their insensitiveness and indifference to the
major issues related to the life safety of the masses. In a
deeper level, these events also reflect the problem that
the responsible government construction is delayed in the
construction of the nation ruled by law and the service-
oriented government.” [22] So, to enhance the legal re-
sponsibility of the government is the only way to pro-
mote the legal regulation of the alienation of science &
technology. The government must earnestly transform its
functions based on the need of the promotion of the pro-
gress of science & technology and the prevention of the
generation of the alienation of science & tech nology, and
the government must exercise its statutory powers and
duties in accordance with following basic requirements:
the legal administration, reasonable administration, right
procedure, unity between powers and duties, diligence
and pragmatism, efficiency and convenience, honesty
and trustworthiness. To this end, it is necessary to inten-
sify the government’s sense of responsibility for law, but
also to improve the government liability system. By im-
proving the decision-making procedures, macro-coordi-
nation mechanisms, the evaluation mechanisms of the
scientific achievements and the performance of public
investment in science & technology, the government
accountability system for the decision and management,
and so on, it is insured that the government can consider
whether the decision and management related to R&D
and the applicatio n are in con for mity with law. In this, all
scientific & technological activities will be conducted in
accordance with the law.
Lastly, the correction function of the judicature to the
alienation of science & technology should be brought
into full play. It is indispensable for the legal regulation
of the alienation of science & technology to prefect the
legislation and to enhance the enforcement, but it is in-
adequate for the solution of the alienation problems of
science & technology only to prefect the legislation and
to enhance the enforcement alone, then the judicial in-
tervention is essential. Just as Karl Marx said: “The law
is universal; the case determined according to law is in-
dividual. If we make individual phenomena come down
to common phenomenon, judgment is required; however,
judgment is a tricky thing. Judges are needed to enforce
the law. If law can operate by itself, then the court would
be unnecessary.” [23] Judicature has the correction func-
tion to the alienation of science & technology; this func-
tion is realized by the way that the judicial organs apply
law to deal with the concrete case of the alienation of
science & technology. The judicial treatment of the case
in the alienation of science & technology has some basic
requirements as the same as one of the general cases, for
example, judicatory independence, and procedural justice,
fair to adjudicate, and so on. Meanwhile, because the
cases in the alienation of science & technology are dif-
ferent from the ordinary cases, for instance, having their
own features such as the specialty in science & techno-
logy, the complexity of the victims, the diversity of the
causal relationship between the trespass and the damage,
and so on, the judicial treatment of the cases in the alien-
ation of science & technology has some special require-
ments are different from one of the judicial treatment of
the general cases, these special requirements mainly in-
clude the inversion of the evidential burden, the appro-
priate application of expert appraisal, the application of
the principle of no-fault liability in the identification and
investigation of legal liability for the tort resulting from
scientific & technological behaviors, the development of
public-interest litigation and so on.
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