This concise primer offers an introduction to U.S. law from a comparative perspective, explaining not only the main features of American law and legal culture, but also how and why it differs from that of other countries. Gerrit De Geest initially focuses on the core characteristics of American law, such as the predominance of judge-made law, the significance of state law and the vital role that juries play in the legal process. De Geest then moves on to provide a succinct analysis of U.S. legal culture, before summarizing the principal differences in law and legal cultures around the world. Key features include: A thorough introduction to the main elements of U.S. law for international students A concise, accessible style illustrated with lively anecdotes and discussion of relevant foundational cases Explanation of the historical and cultural roots of law in the U.S. and other countries to provide context for differences. Students beginning LLM programs in the U.S., in particular international students, will find this primer invaluable reading. It will also be of interest to pre-law and comparative law students.

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. In this Advanced Introduction, Christopher Slobogin covers every significant aspect of U.S. criminal procedure. Focusing on Supreme Court cases and the most important statutory rules that provide the framework for the criminal justice system, he illuminates the nuances of American criminal procedure doctrine and offers factual examples of how it is applied. Chapters cover police practices such as search and seizure, interrogation, and identification procedures, as well as the pretrial, trial and post-conviction process. Key features include: A clear and engaging writing style, with key terms defined and relevant examples provided An examination of the competing goals and values that have influenced doctrine Coverage of all key Supreme Court cases as well as important federal and state statutes and rules Empirical studies examining the realities of the criminal process A logical flow design in each chapter to facilitate analysis of every significant criminal procedure issue This Advanced Introduction will be invaluable reading for all students of U.S. law and undergraduate students of constitutional criminal procedure. It will also be useful to those in disciplines such as criminology, public policy, and political science, as well as to policy makers who are looking for an overview of the topic.

This unique book provides readers with a concise yet rigorous outline of the English corporate insolvency framework as it is practised in domestic and cross-border cases. In doing so, this primer provides clear and accessible guidance on what is often considered to be a highly technical subject. Throughout the book, Eugenio Vaccari and Emilie Ghio demonstrate how to successfully navigate the uncharted waters of the significantly revised English corporate insolvency rules and procedures. Chapters answer foundational questions in insolvency law, such as: How are companies liquidated in England? How and why are they rescued and restructured? What happens when a company is liquidated or restructured, but has assets and creditors in England and abroad? The book also includes a comprehensive analysis of the sweeping and far-reaching changes to the regulatory framework introduced in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic. Providing a blend of accessible but detailed guidance and critical discussion, the hybrid nature of English Corporate Insolvency Law: A Primer will make the book an ideal companion for students, practitioners (especially new entrants to the profession) and researchers in the fields of company and insolvency law, both within England and internationally.

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. In this Advanced Introduction, Christopher Slobogin covers every significant aspect of U.S. criminal procedure. Focusing on Supreme Court cases and the most important statutory rules that provide the framework for the criminal justice system, he illuminates the nuances of American criminal procedure doctrine and offers factual examples of how it is applied. Chapters cover police practices such as search and seizure, interrogation, and identification procedures, as well as the pretrial, trial and post-conviction process. Key features include: A clear and engaging writing style, with key terms defined and relevant examples provided An examination of the competing goals and values that have influenced doctrine Coverage of all key Supreme Court cases as well as important federal and state statutes and rules Empirical studies examining the realities of the criminal process A logical flow design in each chapter to facilitate analysis of every significant criminal procedure issue This Advanced Introduction will be invaluable reading for all students of U.S. law and undergraduate students of constitutional criminal procedure. It will also be useful to those in disciplines such as criminology, public policy, and political science, as well as to policy makers who are looking for an overview of the topic.

The Common Law is Oliver Wendell Holmes' most sustained work of jurisprudence. In it the careful reader will discern traces of his later thought as found in both his legal opinions and other writings. At the outset of The Common Law Holmes posits that he is concerned with establishing that the common law can meet the changing needs of society while preserving continuity with the past. A common law judge must be creative, both in determining the society's current needs, and in discerning how best to address these needs in a way that is continuous with past judicial decisions. In this way, the law evolves by moving out of its past, adapting to the needs of the present, and establishing a direction for the future. To Holmes' way of thinking, this approach is superior to imposing order in accordance with a philosophical position or theory because the law would thereby lose the flexibility it requires in responding to the needs and demands of disputing parties as well as society as a whole. According to Holmes, the social environment--the economic, moral, and political milieu--alters over time. Therefore in order to remain responsive to this social environment, the law must change as well. But the law is also part of this environment and impacts it. There is, then, a continual reciprocity between the law and the social arrangements in which it is contextualized. And, as with the evolution of species, there is no starting over. Rather, in most cases, a judge takes existing legal concepts and principles, as these have been memorialized in legal precedent, and adapts them, often unconsciously, to fit the requirements of a particular case and present social conditions.

Principles of Law and Economics, Third Edition provides a comprehensive yet accessible guide to the field of law and economics. With its focus on principles, and use of illustrative examples, this is the ideal introduction for law students, with or without prior knowledge of economics. The textbook focuses largely on the economics of core areas in common law: property, contract and tort, with additional chapters on criminal law, procedural matters and family law. This updated third edition also includes a chapter on the economics of corporate law that addresses the key issues surrounding the nature of the firm and the incentives attached to corporate legal structures. Key features include:? Clear and succinct language used throughout with limited use of jargon or specialist terms An educational design which is accessible for use by students of law and economics alike? Economic analysis and legal principles treated in a self-contained manner for ease of reference? Legal cases summarized for the benefit of highlighting relevant economic issues ? A focus on the common law, including comparative references to civil law? Review questions at the end of each chapter to encourage further analysis and debate around key topics. The clear and non-technical approach to the subject matter makes this a perfect text for law students, or indeed for students in economics or business studies who are studying law and economics for the first time.

The leading case of The Mayor, Alderman and Burgesses of the Borough of Bradford v Pickles was the first to establish that it is not unlawful for a property owner to exercise his or her property rights maliciously and to the detriment of others, or the public interest. Though controversial at the time, today it is often invisible and taken for granted. This book explores why the common law, in contrast to civil law systems, developed in this way.

This concise primer offers an introduction to U.S. law from a comparative perspective, explaining not only the main features of American law and legal culture, but also how and why it differs from that of other countries. Gerrit De Geest initially focuses on the core characteristics of American law, such as the predominance of judge-made law, the significance of state law and the vital role that juries play in the legal process. De Geest then moves on to provide a succinct analysis of U.S. legal culture, before summarizing the principal differences in law and legal cultures around the world. Key features include: A thorough introduction to the main elements of U.S. law for international students A concise, accessible style illustrated with lively anecdotes and discussion of relevant foundational cases Explanation of the historical and cultural roots of law in the U.S. and other countries to provide context for differences. Students beginning LLM programs in the U.S., in particular international students, will find this primer invaluable reading. It will also be of interest to pre-law and comparative law students.

Geoffrey Samuel's distinctive approach is to present the English common law in the light of its history and its dominant ideas. A student will learn not only what are the major rules of private law and civil law procedure, but will grasp the spirit of the common law. He will thus learn why they exist in a particular form and how common lawyers make them work. Civilian terms are used to provide a guide for the student from a civil law system to understand the initially strange terms and approaches of the common lawyer. This book is clear and insightful. It should be read particularly by Masters students and those embarking on a doctorate involving study of the common law.' - John Bell, Pembroke College, UK'To write a good introduction to the common law aimed mainly at civil lawyers is a real challenge. One needs not only to master the common law, its history and its sociological backgrounds, but also to understand how the prospective readers think in their own civilian legal systems. With his longstanding teaching activities in civil law countries, his obvious deep knowledge of the historical roots of civil and common law, Geoffrey Samuel offers here a book which should be pressed into every hands across the civil law world. Finally, we get here an introduction to the common law truly written for civilian lawyers and students, which is easy to understand and thoughtful. A brilliant piece for which the author should be praised.' - Pascal Pichonnaz, University of Fribourg, Switzerland 'Common law has remained enigmatic for lawyers from the civil law legal culture. This book presents a wonderfully compact introduction to the English common law and explains concisely why it is as it is today. Geoffrey Samuel offers insightful and scholarly first-rate representation of those characteristics which stand out for the civil law lawyer. Clarifying and supporting diagrams are especially helpful for non-common law lawyers. Samuel's A Short Introduction to the Common Law is highly recommended for anyone looking for clear and fluently written basic insight into the common law and its historical foundation.' - Jaakko Husa, University of Lapland, Finland This book provides a short, accessible introduction to the English common law tradition, in particular to the civil process. It adopts an approach which explains the historical development of the common law institutions and procedures whilst also setting them in perspective through a comparative outlook. Aspects of the common law are contrasted on occasions with structural or functional equivalents (or near equivalents) in the civil law. The key topics covered include: the English civil courts (and other dispute resolution institutions and alternatives), civil procedure, remedies, sources of law, legal reasoning, legal education, legal theories, legal institutions and concepts and legal categories. In addition to textual description and analysis, the book makes frequent use of visual diagrams to explain and to illustrate aspects of the common law. Providing both an overview of the English common law and an insight into the legal mentality of common lawyers, the book will appeal both to first year law students as well as to continental jurists who are investigating the common law for the first time. Contents: Preface Introduction 1. Development of the English Courts 2. Development of the English Procedural Tradition 3. English Law Remedies 4. English Legal Education and English Legal Thought (1): Sources and Methods 5. English Legal Education and English Legal Thought (2): Academic Theories 6. Legal Institutions and Concepts in the Common Law (1): Persons and Things 7. Legal Institutions and Concepts in the Common Law (2): Causes of Action and Obligations Concluding Remarks Bibliography Index

The development of an autonomous English public law has been accompanied by persistent problems - a lack of systematic principles, dissatisfaction with judicial procedures, and uncertainty about the judicial role. It has provoked an ongoing debate on the very desirability of the distinction between public and private law. In this debate, a historical and comparative perspective has been lacking. A Continental Distinction in the Common Law introduces such a perspective. It compares the recent emergence of a significant English distinction with the entrenchment of the traditional French distinction. It explains how persistent problems of English public law are related to fundamental differences between the English and French legal and political traditions, differences in their conception of the state administration, their approach to law, their separation of powers, and their judicial procedures in public-law cases. The author argues that a satisfactory distinction between public and private law depends on a particular legal and political context, a context which was evident in late nineteenth-century France and is absent in twentieth-century England. He concludes by identifying the far-reaching theoretical, institutional, and procedural changes required to accommodate English public law.

In the two related works in this volume, Bentham offers a detailed critique of William Blackstone's Commentaries on the Laws of England (1765-9). In "Comment on the Commentaries," on which Bentham began work in 1774, he exposes the fallacies which he claims to have detected in Blackstone, and criticizes the theory of the Common Law. He goes on to provide important reflections on the nature of law, and more particularly on the nature of customary and of statute law, and on judicial interpretation.
A Fragment on Government, which was published in 1776, was detached from the "Comment on the Commentaries." Concentrating on a passage of five or six pages in which Blackstone discusses the origin of society and government, Bentham offers three main criticisms. First, he criticizes Blackstone's methodology for failing to distinguish between the role of the expositor and the role of the censor, and thereby confusing the question of what the law is with the question of what the law ought to be. Second, he criticizes Blackstone's assumption that the theory of the social contract represents an adequate justification of the obligation to obey government. Third, he criticizes Blackstone's theory of sovereignty, which claims that in every state there must exist some absolute, undivided power, whose commands are law. Bentham points to the existence of states where sovereign power is both divided and limited.
In these two works, published by OUP for the first time, Bentham outlines a number of themes which he goes on to develop in his later works: the principle of utility; the importance of a "natural arrangement" for a legal system; the point at which resistance to government becomesjustifiable; the exposition of legal terms; and much more.
The volume also contains Bentham's "Preface" intended for, but not published in, the second edition of A Fragment on Government, which appeared in 1823. Having by this committed himself to political radicalism, Bentham uses this occasion to reflect on the text and the circumstances in which it was produced.
The text has been edited by H.L.A. Hart and J.H. Burns, whose reputations in their respective fields of legal theory and history of political thought are unsurpassed. The volume contains an Editorial Introduction which explains the provenance of the text, and the method of presentation. The texts are fully annotated with textual and historical notes, and the volume is completed with a detailed subject index, based on a methodology devised by Hart.

The Best Edition of this Classic History: A Comprehensive Legal History of England from the Anglo-Saxon Period through the 19th Century. Theodore Frank Thomas Plucknett 1897-1965] received his LL.B. from the University of Cambridge in 1920. He was a Fellow of the British Academy, Professor of Legal History, University of London, and Assistant Professor of Legal History at Harvard University. He was also the author of Early English Legal Literature (1958) and Edward I and Criminal Law (1960). "Professor Plucknett has such a solid reputation on both sides of the Atlantic that one expects from his pen only what is scholarly and accurate... Nor is the expectation likely to be disappointed in this book. Plucknett's book is not...a mere epitome of what is to be found elsewhere. He has explored on his own account many regions of legal history and, even where the ground has been already quartered, he has fresh methods of mapping it. The title which he has chosen is, in view of the contents of the volume, rather a narrow one. It might equally well have been A Concise History of English Law... In conjunction with Readings on the History and System of the Common Law by Dean Pound...this book will give an excellent grounding to the student of English legal history." --Percy H. Winfield. Harvard Law Review 43 (1929-30) 339-340. " T]his book, comprehensive yet not elementary, clear yet inviting further study on the part of the reader, remains an excellent introduction to legal history and the study of law."-- Harvard Law Review 50 (1937-38) 1012. SELECTED CONTENTS BOOK ONE A General Survey of Legal History Part I The Crown and the State Part II The Courts and the Profession Part III Some Factors in Legal History Book TWO Special Part Part I Procedure Part II Crime and Tort Part III Real Property Part IV Contract Part V Equity Part VI Succession Index