Cell phone apps share location information; software companies store user data in the cloud; biometric scanners read fingerprints; employees of some businesses have microchips implanted in their hands. In each of these instances we trade a share of privacy or an aspect of identity for greater convenience or improved security. What Robert M. Pallitto asks in Bargaining with the Machine is whether we are truly making such bargains freely - whether, in fact, such a transaction can be conducted freely or advisedly in our ever more technologically sophisticated world. Pallitto uses the social theory of bargaining to look at the daily compromises we make with technology. Specifically, he explores whether resisting these 'bargains' is still possible when the technologies in question are backed by persuasive, even coercive, corporate and state power. Who, he asks, is proposing the bargain? What is the balance of bargaining power? What is surrendered and what is gained? And are the perceived and the actual gains and losses the same - that is, what is hidden? At the center of Pallitto's work is the paradox of bargaining in a world of limited agency. Assurances that we are in control are abundant whether we are consumers, voters, or party to the social contract. But when purchasing goods from a technological behemoth like Amazon, or when choosing a candidate whose image is crafted and shaped by campaign strategists and media outlets, how truly free, let alone informed, are our choices? The tension between claims of agency and awareness of its limits is the site where we experience our social lives - and nowhere is this tension more pronounced than in the surveillance society. This book offers a cogent analysis of how that complex, contested, and even paradoxical experience arises as well as an unusually clear and troubling view of the consequential compromises we may be making.

Traditionally European law is important for public law. However, it is also increasingly important for private law, that is to say, the legal relationships between individuals.Instead of discussing the impact of European law as part of a certain legal subject, this book addresses and analyses the various sources of European law in (hierarchical) order, namely the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union, the general principles of EU law, EU Directives and EU Regulations, as well as the influence of the European Convention on Human Rights. The nature of each source of law and its significance for and influence on the general part of national private law is discussed. Particular attention is devoted to the review of national private law legislation in the light of European legislation that has direct effect, direct and indirect effect of European law on legal relationships between individuals, ex officio application of European law by the national courts, and interpretation issues arising as a result of the interaction between European law and national law. Further, comparisons are drawn between the different sources of law.The book then concludes with a detailed overview of European Directives that are of particular relevance for general private law. European Law and National Private Law provides a concise introduction to the influence of EU law and the ECHR on legal relationships between individuals - a must read for every lawyer.

What private law avenues are open to victims of human rights violations? This innovative new collection explores this question across sixteen jurisdictions in the Global South and Global North. It examines existing mechanisms in domestic law for bringing civil claims in relation to the involvement of states, corporations and individuals in specific categories of human rights violation: (i) assault or unlawful arrest and detention of persons; (ii) environmental harm; and (iii) harmful or unfair labour conditions. Taking a truly global perspective, it assesses the question in jurisdictions as diverse as Kenya, Switzerland, the US and the Philippines. A much needed and important new statement on how to respond to human rights violations.

The "superb" (The Guardian) biography of an American who stood against all the forces of Gilded Age America to fight for civil rights and economic freedom: Supreme Court Justice John Marshall Harlan. They say that history is written by the victors. But not in the case of the most famous dissenter on the Supreme Court. Almost a century after his death, John Marshall Harlan's words helped end segregation and gave us our civil rights and our modern economic freedom. But his legacy would not have been possible without the courage of Robert Harlan, a slave who John's father raised like a son in the same household. After the Civil War, Robert emerges as a political leader. With Black people holding power in the Republican Party, it is Robert who helps John land his appointment to the Supreme Court. At first, John is awed by his fellow justices, but the country is changing. Northern whites are prepared to take away black rights to appease the South. Giant trusts are monopolizing entire industries. Against this onslaught, the Supreme Court seemed all too willing to strip away civil rights and invalidate labor protections. So as case after case comes before the court, challenging his core values, John makes a fateful decision: He breaks with his colleagues in fundamental ways, becoming the nation's prime defender of the rights of Black people, immigrant laborers, and people in distant lands occupied by the US. Harlan's dissents, particularly in Plessy v. Ferguson, were widely read and a source of hope for decades. Thurgood Marshall called Harlan's Plessy dissent his "Bible"--and his legal roadmap to overturning segregation. In the end, Harlan's words built the foundations for the legal revolutions of the New Deal and Civil Rights eras. Spanning from the Civil War to the Civil Rights movement and beyond, The Great Dissenter is a "magnificent" (Douglas Brinkley) and "thoroughly researched" (The New York Times) rendering of the American legal system's most significant failures and most inspiring successes.

"How civil liberties triumphed over national insecurity"

Between the two major red scares of the twentieth century, a police raid on a Communist Party bookstore in Oklahoma City marked an important lesson in the history of American freedom.

In a raid on the Progressive Bookstore in 1940, local officials seized thousands of books and pamphlets and arrested twenty customers and proprietors. All were detained incommunicado and many were held for months on unreasonably high bail. Four were tried for violating Oklahoma's "criminal syndicalism" law, and their convictions and ten-year sentences caused a nationwide furor. After protests from labor unions, churches, publishers, academics, librarians, the American Civil Liberties Union, members of the literary world, and prominent individuals ranging from Woody Guthrie to Eleanor Roosevelt, the convictions were overturned on appeal.

Shirley A. Wiegand and Wayne A. Wiegand share the compelling story of this important case for the first time. They reveal how state power--with support from local media and businesses--was used to trample individuals' civil rights during an era in which citizens were gripped by fear of foreign subversion.

Richly detailed and colorfully told, "Books on Trial "is a sobering story of innocent people swept up in the hysteria of their times. It marks a fascinating and unnerving chapter in the history of Oklahoma and of the First Amendment. In today's climate of shadowy foreign threats--also full of unease about the way government curtails freedom in the name of protecting its citizens--the past speaks to the present.

The securitization that accompanied many national responses after 11 September 2001, along with the shortfalls of neo-liberalism, created waves of opposition to the growth of the human rights regime. By chronicling the continuing contest over the reach, range, and regime of rights, Contracting Human Rights analyzes the way forward in an era of many challenges. Through an examination of both global and local challenges to human rights, including loopholes, backlash, accountability, and new opportunities to move forward, the expert contributors analyze trends across multiple-issue areas. These include; international institutions, humanitarian action, censorship and communications, discrimination, human trafficking, counter-terrorism, corporate social responsibility and civil society and social movements. The topical chapters also provide a comprehensive review of the widening citizenship gaps in human rights coverage for refugees, women?s rights in patriarchal societies, and civil liberties in chronic conflict. This timely study will be invaluable reading for academics, upper-level undergraduates, and those studying graduate courses relating to international relations, human rights, and global governance. Contributors include: K. Ainley, G. Andreopolous, C. Apodaca, P. Ayoub, Y. Bei, N. Bennett, K. Caldwell, F. Cherif, M. Etter, J. Faust, S. Ganesh, F. Gomez Isa, A. Jimenez-Bacardi, N. Katona, B. Linder, K. Lukas, J. Planitzer, W. Sandholtz, G. Shafir, C. Stohl, M. Stohl, A. Vestergaard, C. Wright

For the average person, genetic testing has two very different faces. The rise of genetic testing is often promoted as the democratization of genetics by enabling individuals to gain insights into their unique makeup. At the same time, many have raised concerns that genetic testing and sequencing reveal intensely personal and private information. As these technologies become increasingly available as consumer products, the ethical, legal, and regulatory challenges presented by genomics are ever looming. Assembling multidisciplinary experts, this volume evaluates the different models used to deliver consumer genetics and considers a number of key questions: How should we mediate privacy and other ethical concerns around genetic databases? Does aggregating data from genetic testing turn people into products by commercializing their data? How might this data reduce or exacerbate existing healthcare disparities? Contributing authors also provide guidance on protecting consumer privacy and safety while promoting innovation.

This comprehensive Commentary provides the first fully up-to-date analysis and interpretation of the Council of Europe Convention on Action against Trafficking in Human Beings. It offers a concise yet thorough article-by-article guide to the Convention's anti-trafficking standards and corresponding human rights obligations. This Commentary includes an analysis of each article's drafting history, alongside a contextualisation of its provisions with other anti-trafficking standards and a discussion of the core issues of interpretation. The Commentary also presents the first full exploration of the findings of the Convention's monitoring body, the Group of Experts on Action against Trafficking in Human Beings (GRETA), providing a better understanding of the practical implications and challenges in relation to the Convention's standards. Practitioners in the field of anti-trafficking, including lawyers, law enforcement agencies and providers of victim support services will find the Commentary's concise analysis invaluable. It will also prove useful to researchers and students of human rights law, as well as to policymakers looking for guidance concerning obligations stemming from the Convention.

From the BESTSELLING Law Express revision series. Law Express Question and Answer: Human Rights is designed to ensure you get the most marks for every answer you write by improving your understanding of what examiners are looking for, helping you to focus in on the question being asked and showing you how to make even a strong answer stand out.

Elgar Advanced Introductions are stimulating and thoughtful introductions to major fields in the social sciences and law, expertly written by the world's leading scholars. Designed to be accessible yet rigorous, they offer concise and lucid surveys of the substantive and policy issues associated with discrete subject areas. Presenting a concise, yet wide-ranging and contemporary overview of the field, this Advanced Introduction to Privacy Law focuses on how we arrived at our privacy laws, and how the law can deal with new and emerging challenges from digital technologies, social networks and public health crises. This illuminating and interdisciplinary book demonstrates how the history of privacy law has been one of constant adaptation to emerging challenges, illustrating the primacy of the right to privacy amidst a changing social and cultural landscape. Key features include: Incisive analysis of the meaning and value of privacy and the ways in which legal, social and economic institutions respond to our understanding of privacy in contemporary society A uniquely concise, contextual approach to privacy law, examining privacy as a constantly evolving social phenomenon and the legal implications of its mutability Historical and comparative insights into privacy and data protection laws across the common law world. This richly detailed book is an informative and thought-provoking resource for students, academics and practitioners of privacy and data protection law. Its interdisciplinary insights will also appeal to those working in legal history, media and cultural studies, economics and political science.

This book explores the right of access to environmental information, considering both the environmental aspirations which underlie the right and how far these are evidenced in the right's use in practice. The right has a history separate from wider moves towards freedom of information. From its origins in the Rio Declaration to its current embodiment in the Aarhus Convention, a key aim of the right is to promote environmental governance and protect the environment through the provision of environmental information, both proactively and upon request. However, there is little empirical evidence to show whether the right is achieving these environmental aims, if it is being used for its intended environmental purpose, or even how far it is being viewed as distinct from the general right to information. This book seeks to fill this gap through qualitative research conducted in Scotland, the findings of which highlight that individuals who seek environmental information under the right are often doing so for personal or professional reasons that do not further the right's environmental purpose. This is significant, because if the right is not being used for its intended environmental purpose, then its contribution to environmental governance can be questioned, as can the value of maintaining this specific right, distinct from wider freedom of information laws. This book analyses the mismatch between the intended and actual use of the right through the lens of Actor-Network Theory. By tracing the associations between different actors that engage with each other in relation to environmental information, it identifies various unspoken assumptions within the right to environmental information that impact on its implementation and ability to achieve its environmental aims. In particular, the right's overly-simplified conceptualisation of the individuals and public authorities who engage with the right and its failure to consider the impact of non-human actors are identified as key unspoken assumptions in the operation and shaping of the right. The fact that the environment itself has such a low profile in the operation of the right is also noted. By engaging with and challenging these unspoken assumptions, Freedom of Environmental Information: Aspirations and Practice provides a unique insight into the operation and fundamental aims of the right of access to environmental information. By identifying the mismatch between aspirations and practice, the book provides a novel insight into this critical aspect of environmental governance and provides a foundation for further inquiry into and critique of the right to access environmental information.

Mark Tushnet presents a concise yet comprehensive overview of free expression law, understood as a form of constitutional law. Confronting the major issues of free expression - speech critical of government, libel law, hate speech regulation, and the emerging challenges posed by new technologies - he evaluates the key questions and potential difficulties for future generations. Contrasting the United States with current law in Europe and elsewhere, Tushnet argues that freedom of expression around the world should reflect deference to legislative judgements, unless those judgements reflect inadequate deliberation or bias, and that much of the existing free expression law is consistent with this view. Key features include: Comprehensible for both students of law and non-specialist readers interested in freedom of expression from a legal perspective Viewpoints from multiple legal systems including analysis of decisions made by the US Supreme Court and the European Court of Human Rights Explains the two legal doctrinal structures: categorical, rule-bound approaches and standards-based approaches List of key references for further reading, allowing readers to extend their knowledge of the topic past the advanced introduction. This Advanced Introduction will be an essential foundational text for students of law, as well as those from a political science background who can view freedom of expression from a legal perspective.

This book explores the relationship between truth and freedom in the free press. It argues that the relationship is problematic because the free press implies a competition between plural ideas, whereas truth is univocal. Based on this tension the book claims that the idea of a free press is premised on an epistemological illusion. This illusion enables society to maintain that the world it perceives through the press corresponds to the world as it actually exists, explaining why defenders of the free press continue to rely on its capacity to discover the truth, despite economic conditions and technological innovations undermining much of its independence. The book invites the reader to reconsider the philosophical foundations, constitutional justifications, and structure and functions of the free press, and whether the institution can, in fact, realise both freedom and truth. It will be of great interest to anyone concerned in the role and value of the free press in the modern world.

Twenty Years at Hull House, by the acclaimed memoir of social reformer Jane Addams, is presented here complete with all sixty-three of the original illustrations and the biographical notes. A landmark autobiography in terms of opening the eyes of Americans to the plight of the industrial revolution, Twenty Years at Hull House has been applauded for its unflinching descriptions of the poverty and degradation of the era. Jane Addams also details the grave ill-health she suffered during and after her childhood, giving the reader insight into the adversity which she would re-purpose into a drive to alleviate the suffering of others. The process by which Addams founded Hull House in Chicago is detailed; the sheer scale and severity of the poverty in the city she and others witnessed, the search for the perfect location, and the numerous difficulties she and her fellow activists encountered while establishing and maintaining the house are detailed.

This volume tackles contemporary problems of legal accommodation of diversity in Europe and recent developments in the area in diverse European legal regimes. Despite professing the motto Unity in Diversity Europe appears to be struggling with discord rather than unity. Legal discussions reflect a crisis when it comes to matters of migration, accommodation of minorities and dealing with the growing heterogeneity of European societies. This volume illustrates that the current legal conundrums stem from European oscillation between, on the one hand, acknowledging the need of accommodation, and, on the other, the tendencies to preserve existing legal traditions. It claims that these opposite tendencies have led Europe to the edge of pluralism. This 'edge', just as the linguistic interpretation of the word 'edge', carries multiple meanings conveying a plethora of problems encountered by law when dealing with diversity. The authors attempt to explore and illustrate these multiple edges of pluralism tracing back their origins and examining the contemporary legal conundrums they have led to. The volume encourages the readers to explore whether there are fundamental problems with approaches to diversity and if so can they be rescued from their current precarious position. It asks whether Europe at the edge is truly capable to unite in diversity and develop a constructive approach to its growing pluralism. The book is aimed at academics, practitioners and students focusing their work on contemporary problems of diversity, multiculturalism and accommodation of migrants as well as everybody interested in the area.