The Democratic Courthouse examines how changing understandings of the relationship between government and the governed came to be reflected in the buildings designed to house the modern legal system from the 1970s to the present day in England and Wales. The book explores the extent to which egalitarian ideals and the pursuit of new social and economic rights altered existing hierarchies and expectations about how people should interact with each other in the courthouse. Drawing on extensive public archives and private archives kept by the Ministry of Justice, but also using case studies from other jurisdictions, the book details how civil servants, judges, lawyers, architects, engineers and security experts have talked about courthouses and the people that populate them. In doing so, it uncovers a changing history of ideas about how the competing goals of transparency, majesty, participation, security, fairness and authority have been achieved, and the extent to which aspirations towards equality and participation have been realised in physical form. As this book demonstrates, the power of architecture to frame attitudes and expectations of the justice system is much more than an aesthetic or theoretical nicety. Legal subjects live in a world in which the configuration of space, the cues provided about behaviour by the built form and the way in which justice is symbolised play a crucial, but largely unacknowledged, role in creating meaning and constituting legal identities and rights to participate in the civic sphere. Key to understanding the modern-day courthouse, this book will be of interest to scholars and students in all fields of law, architecture, sociology, political science, psychology and criminology.

Hong Kong is one of the very few places in the world where the common law can be practiced in a language other than English. Introduced into the courtroom over a decade ago, Cantonese has significantly altered the everyday working of the common law in China's most Westernized city. In "The Common Law in Two Voices," Ng explores how English and Cantonese respectively reinforce and undermine the practice of legal formalism.
This first-ever ethnographic study of Hong Kong's unique legal system in the midst of social and political transition, this book provides important insights into the social nature of language and the work of institutions. Ng contends that the dilemma of legal bilingualism in Hong Kong is emblematic of the inherent tensions of postcolonial Hong Kong. Through the legal dramas presented in the book, readers will get a fresh look at the former British colony that is now searching for its identity within a powerful China.

Oxford's variorum edition of William Blackstone's seminal treatise on the common law of England and Wales offers the definitive account of the Commentaries' development in a modern format. For the first time it is possible to trace the evolution of English law and Blackstone's thought through the eight editions of Blackstone's lifetime, and the authorial corrections of the posthumous ninth edition. Introductions by the general editor and the volume editors set the Commentaries in their historical context, examining Blackstone's distinctive view of the common law, and editorial notes throughout the four volumes assist the modern reader in understanding this key text in the Anglo-American common law tradition. Book I: Of the Rights of People Volume Editor: David Lemmings Book II: Of the Rights of Things Volume Editor: Simon Stern Book III: Of Private Wrongs Volume Editor: Thomas P. Gallanis Book IV: Of Public Wrongs Volume Editor: Ruth Paley

The common law is one of two major and successful systems of law developed in Western Europe, and in one form or another is now in force not only in the country of its origin but also in the United States and large parts of the British Commonwealth and former parts of the Empire. Perhaps its most typical product is English contract law, developed continuously since the birth of the common law almost wholly by judicial decision. Although in its modern form primarily a product of the nineteenth century, the common law of contract as we know it developed around the action of assumpsit which evolved at the close of the fourteenth century, and many of its characteristic doctrines first emerged in the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries. This book, which takes the story up to 1677 (the date of statute of frauds) forms the first part of the history of contract law, and is written primarily from a doctrinal standpoint.

In a series of fifteen vivid essays, this book discusses the contributions of great common-law jurists and singular documents--namely the Magna Carta and the Laws and Liberties of Massachusetts--that have shaped common law, from its origins in twelfth-century England to its arrival in the American colonies.
Featured jurists include such widely recognized figures as Glanvill, Francis Bacon, Sir Edward Coke, and John Selden, as well as less known but influential writers like Richard Hooker, Michael Dalton, William Hudson, and Sir Matthew Hale. Across the essays, the jurists' personalities are given voice, the context of time and events made clear, and the continuing impact of the texts emphasized. Taken as a whole, the book offers a simple reverence for the achievements of these men and law books and a deep respect for the role historical events have played in the development of the common law.

Anglo-American private law has been a far more complex phenomenon than has been usually recognized. Attempts to reduce it to a single explanatory principle, or to a precisely classified or categorized map, scheme, or diagram, are liable to distort the past by omitting or marginalizing material inconsistent with proposed principles or schemes. This study will be of importance to all who are interested in property, tort, contract, unjust enrichment, legal reasoning, legal method, the history of the common law, and the relation between legal theory and legal history.

Always the serious student's choice for a Trusts Law textbook, the new seventh edition of Moffat's Trusts Law once again provides a clear examination of the rules of Trusts, retaining its hallmark combination of a contextualised approach and a commercial focus. The impact of statutory developments and a wealth of new cases - including the Supreme Court and Privy Council decisions in Patel v. Mirza [2016] UKSC 42, PJS v. News Group Newspapers Ltd [2016] UKSC, Burnden Holdings v. Fielding [2018] UKSC 14, and Federal Republic of Brazil v. Durant [2015] UKPC 35 - are explored. A streamlining of the chapters on charitable Trusts, better to align the book with the typical Trusts Law course, helps students understand the new directions being taken in the areas of Trust Law and equitable remedies.

Lord Woolf's judicial career has spanned four decades, culminating in five years as Lord Chief Justice. Now 26 of his most influential papers and lectures are published together for the first time. They present a remarkable overview and commentary on the judicial and legal reforms of recent decades, and span a huge range of issues including the rule of law and the constitution, the role of judges, access to justice, human rights, medicine, the environment, crime and penal reform. Each paper discusses the challenges that have arisen in English common law in recent times and the way they have been solved or attempted to be solved to ensure that justice is done - so that arrests and searches are made properly, that there are fair hearings, readily available lawful remedies, and the removal of unnecessary costs and delays. In his introductory chapter, Lord Woolf provides a fresh account of his current thinking on key legal areas resonating from the main topics and themes presented in the papers. The Pursuit of Justice offers an unparalleled insight into the views of one of the most influential figures in recent British legal history.

For centuries, courts across the common law world have developed systems of law by building bodies of judicial decisions. In deciding individual cases, common law courts settle litigation and move the law in new directions. By virtue of their place at the top of the judicial hierarchy, courts at the apex of common law systems are unique in that their decisions and, in particular, the language used in those decisions, resonate through the legal system. Although both the common law and apex courts have been studied extensively, scholars have paid less attention to the relationship between the two. By analyzing apex courts and the common law from multiple angles, this book offers an entry point for scholars in disciplines related to law - such as political science, history, and sociology - who are seeking a deeper understanding and new insights as to how the common law applies to and is relevant within their own disciplines.

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 book explores the relationship between Muslims, the Common Law and Shari'ah post-9/11. The book looks at the accommodation of Shari'ah Law within Western Common Law legal traditions and the role of the judiciary, in particular, in drawing boundaries for secular democratic states with Muslim populations who want resolutions to conflicts that also comply with the dictates of their faith. Salim Farrar and Ghena Krayem consider the question of recognition of Shari'ah by looking at how the flexibilities that exists in both the Common Law and Shari'ah provide unexplored avenues for navigation and accommodation. The issue is explored in a comparative context across several jurisdictions and case law is examined in the contexts of family law, business and crime from selected jurisdictions with significant Muslim minority populations including: Australia, Canada, England and Wales, and the United States. The book examines how Muslims and the broader community have framed their claims for recognition against a backdrop of terrorism fears, and how Common Law judiciaries have responded within their constitutional and statutory confines and also within the contemporary contexts of demands for equality, neutrality and universal human rights. Acknowledging the inherent pragmatism, flexibility and values of the Common Law, the authors argue that the controversial issue of accommodation of Shari'ah is not necessarily one that requires the establishment of a separate and parallel legal system.

This is a time when the rule of law is seriously challenged, when governments threaten deliberately to break the law, and the independence of justice is jeopardised by unrelenting pressure from both the executive and the media. This book aims at contributing to restoring trust in judges as custodians of the law and justice, through a comparison between Civil and Common Law countries. It offers a rare opportunity to gather the expertise of eminent judges and legal authorities from five different countries, providing a unique insight into their work and the way they deliver justice based on their respective professional experience and practise of the law. Far from being a highly technical debate between experts, however, the book is accessible to students and the general public, and raises important contemporary legal issues that involve them both as citizens, with justice as a shared aspiration, and a common attachment to the rule of law.

As Kent Greenwalt's second volume on aspects of legal interpretation, this book analyzes statutory and common law interpretation and compares the two. In respect to statutory interpretation, it first asks whether judges are "faithful agents" of the legislature or "independent cooperative partners." It concludes that the obvious answer is that neither simple categorization really fits-that the function of judges involves a combination of roles. The next issue addressed is whether the intent of those in authority matters for interpreting the kinds of instructions contained in statutes. At the general level, the answer is "yes." This answer follows even if one thinks interpretation should concentrate on the understanding of readers, because readers themselves would treat intentions as part of the relevant context of the language of statutes. It would take some special reasons, such as constitutional structure or unreliability, to discount actual intents of legislators and use of legislative history. The book argues that none of these special reasons are convincing. On the question whether judges should focus on the language of specific provision or overall purpose, both are relevant, and purpose should become more important as time passes. In an analysis of various other features of statutory interpretation, the book claims that presidential signing statements should not have weight, that subsequent legislative actions short of new statutes should only occasionally carry importance, that "canons of interpretation," such as the rule of lenity, can provide some, limited, guidance, and that there are special reasons for courts to adhere to precedents in statutory cases, but these should not yield any absolute rule. A chapter on administrative interpretation of statutes claims that the standards agencies apply should differ to a degree from those of courts and that judicial deference to those interpretations is ordinarily warranted. The book's second part, on common law interpretation, considers the force of precedents, resisting any simple dichotomy between holding and dictum. It also defends the use of reasoning by analogy, not only in the initial stages thinking about a problem, but also in respect to some final justifications for decisions. An examination of the place of rules, principles, and policies argues that all three are relevant in common law interpretation; and shows that common law interpretation is not reducible to any formula. A final chapter compares statutory and common law interpretation, similarities and differences, how each can affect the other, and the significance of having a legal system in which they both play prominent roles.

Oxford's variorum edition of William Blackstone's seminal treatise on the common law of England and Wales offers the definitive account of the Commentaries' development in a modern format. For the first time it is possible to trace the evolution of English law and Blackstone's thought through the eight editions of Blackstone's lifetime, and the authorial corrections of the posthumous ninth edition. Introductions by the general editor and the volume editors set the Commentaries in their historical context, examining Blackstone's distinctive view of the common law, and editorial notes throughout the four volumes assist the modern reader in understanding this key text in the Anglo-American common law tradition. Entitled Of Private Wrongs, Book III can be divided into three principal parts. The first describes the multiple courts in England and their jurisdictions, including the wrongs cognizable in each of them. The second describes some aspects of the substantive common law: wrongs to persons and to personal and real property. The third describes the processes of litigation in the courts of common law and equity.

The book is about the informal sources of English Law that lie undiscovered because they are not included in Statutes, law reports, or in current legal teaching. Through his work with primary documents the author shows that this informal source of law is too important to go unnoticed by legal historians and commentators.

Oxford's variorum edition of William Blackstone's seminal treatise on the common law of England and Wales offers the definitive account of the Commentaries' development in a modern format. For the first time it is possible to trace the evolution of English law and Blackstone's thought through the eight editions of Blackstone's lifetime, and the authorial corrections of the posthumous ninth edition. Introductions by the general editor and the volume editors set the Commentaries in their historical context, examining Blackstone's distinctive view of the common law, and editorial notes throughout the four volumes assist the modern reader in understanding this key text in the Anglo-American common law tradition. Property law is the subject of Book II, the second and longest volume of Blackstone's Commentaries. His lucid exposition covers feudalism and its history, real estate and the forms of tenure that a land-owner may have, and personal property, including the new kinds of intangible property that were developing in Blackstone's era, such as negotiable instruments and intellectual property.

Exploring the relationship between law and society, this classic edition of Common Law and Feudal Society brings a key legal history text back to life in a popular new series. The close links between the Scots and English law in the Middle Ages have long been recognised. This text assesses the relevance of traditional approaches to Scottish legal history, setting the development of medieval law within the context of a society in which private lordship, exercised through courts and other less formal methods of dispute settlement, played a key role alongside royal justice. Based on extensive research, this book examines the brieves of novel dissasine, mortancestry and right, and legal remedies for the recovery of land, as well as aspects of the early history of the Scottish legal profession and the origins of the Court of Session.

The Formation of English Common Law provides a comprehensive overview of the development of early English law, one of the classic subjects of medieval history. This much expanded second edition spans the centuries from King Alfred to Magna Carta, abandoning the traditional but restrictive break at the Norman Conquest. Within a strong interpretative framework, it also integrates legal developments with wider changes in the thought, society, and politics of the time. Rather than simply tracing elements of the common law back to their Anglo-Saxon, Norman or other origins, John Hudson examines and analyses the emergence of the common law from the interaction of various elements that developed over time, such as the powerful royal government inherited from Anglo-Saxon England and land holding customs arising from the Norman Conquest. Containing a new chapter charting the Anglo-Saxon period, as well as a fully revised Further Reading section, this new edition is an authoritative yet highly accessible introduction to the formation of the English common law and is ideal for students of history and law.

This book offers an in-depth analysis of the differences between common law and civil law systems from various theoretical perspectives. Written by a global network of experts, it explores the topic against the background of a variety of legal traditions.Common law and civil law are typically presented as antagonistic players on a field claimed by diverse legal systems: the former being based on precedent set by judges in deciding cases before them; the latter being founded on a set of rules intended to govern the decisions of those applying them. Perceived in this manner, common law and civil law differ in terms of the (main) source(s) of law; who is to create them; who is (merely) to draw from them; and whether the law itself is pure each step of the way, or whether the law's purity may be tarnished when confronted with a set of contingent facts. These differences have deep roots in (legal) history - roots that allow us to trace them back to distinct traditions. Nevertheless, it is questionable whether the divide thus depicted is as great as it may seem: international and supranational legal systems unconcerned by national peculiarities appear to level the playing field. A normative understanding of constitutions seems to grant ever-greater authority to High Court decisions based on thinly worded maxims in countries that adhere to the civil law tradition. The challenges contemporary regulation faces call for ever-more detailed statutes governing the decisions of judges in the common law tradition. These and similar observations demand a structural reassessment of the role of judges, the power of precedent, the limits of legislation and other features often thought to be so different in common and civil law systems. The book addresses this reassessment.

English Legal System Concentrate is written and designed to help you succeed. Written by experts and covering all key topics, Concentrate guides help focus your revision and maximise your exam performance. Each guide includes revision tips, advice on how to achieve extra marks, and a thorough and focused breakdown of the key topics and cases. Revision guides you can rely on: trusted by lecturers, loved by students... "I have always used OUP revision and Q&A books and genuinely believe they have helped me get better grades" - Anthony Poole, law student, Swansea University "The detail in this revision textbook is phenomenal and is just what is needed to push your exam preparation to the next level" - Stephanie Lomas, law student, University of Central Lancashire "It is a little more in-depth than other revision guides, and also has clear diagrams and teaches ways to obtain extra marks. These features make it unique" - Godwin Tan, law student, University College London "The concentrate revision guides stand out against other revision guides" - Renae Haynes Williams, law student, Bangor University "The exam style questions are brilliant and the series is very detailed, prepares you well" - Frances Easton, law student, University of Birmingham "The accompanying website for Concentrate is the most impressive I've come across" - Alice Munnelly, law student, Kings College London Online Resources Packed with essential information, key cases, revision tips, exam Q&As, and more, English Legal System Concentrate is also supported by extensive online resources to take your learning further (www.oup.com/lawrevision/): - Pinpoint which areas you need to concentrate on with the diagnostic test - Test your knowledge with the multiple-choice questions and receive feedback on your answers - Improve your essay skills using the outline answers for guidance on what to include and how to structure your answer - Revise the facts and principles of key cases using the interactive flashcards - Learn the important terms and definitions using the interactive glossary - Check that you have covered the main points of a topic using the key facts checklists - Achieve better marks following the advice on revision and exam technique by experienced examiner Nigel Foster

This work traces the history of the English law of obligations from the twelfth century to the present day. It aims to cut through technicalities and to be comprehensible to readers other than specialist legal historians. It should be of interest to all those wanting to understand how the English Common law evolves.

Research on comparative administrative law, in contrast to comparative constitutional law, remains largely underdeveloped. This book plugs that gap. It considers how a wide range of common law systems have received and adapted English common law to the needs of their own socio-political context. Readers will be given complex insights into a wide range of common law systems of administrative law, which they may not otherwise have access to given how difficult it would be to research all of the systems covered in the volume single-handedly. The book covers Scotland, Ireland, the USA, Canada, Israel, South Africa, Kenya, Malaysia, Singapore, Hong Kong SAR, India, Bangladesh, Australia and New Zealand. Comparative public lawyers will have a much greater range of common law models of administrative law - either to pursue conversations about their own common law system or to sophisticate their comparison of their system (civil law or otherwise) with common law systems.

In the common law world, Albert Venn Dicey (1835-1922) is known as the high priest of orthodox constitutional theory, as an ideological and nationalistic positivist. In his analytical coldness, his celebration of sovereign power, and his incessant drive to organize and codify legal rules separate from moral values or political realities, Dicey is an uncanny figure. This book challenges this received view of Dicey. Through a re-examination of his life and his 1885 book Law of the Constitution, the high priest Dicey is defrocked and a more human Dicey steps forward to offer alternative ways of reading his canonical text, who struggled to appreciate law as a form of reasoned discourse that integrates values of legality and authority through methods of ordinary legal interpretation. The result is a unique common law constitutional discourse through which assertions of sovereign power are conditioned by moral aspirations associated with the rule of law.

Public Finance and Parliamentary Constitutionalism analyses constitutionalism and public finance (tax, expenditure, audit, sovereign borrowing and monetary finance) in Anglophone parliamentary systems of government. The book surveys the history of public finance law in the UK, its export throughout the British Empire, and its entrenchment in Commonwealth constitutions. It explains how modern constitutionalism was shaped by the financial impact of warfare, welfare-state programs and the growth of central banking. It then provides a case study analysis of the impact of economic conditions on governments' financial behaviour, focusing on the UK's and Australia's responses to the financial crisis, and the judiciary's position vis-a-vis the state's financial powers. Throughout, it questions orthodox accounts of financial constitutionalism (particularly the views of A. V. Dicey) and the democratic legitimacy of public finance. Currently ignored aspects of government behaviour are analysed in-depth, particularly the constitutional role of central banks and sovereign debt markets.

Using as a starting point the work of internationally-renowned Australian scholar Sam Ricketson, whose contributions to intellectual property (IP) law and practice have been extensive and richly diverse, this volume examines topical and fundamental issues from across IP law. With authors from the US, UK, Europe, Asia, Australia and New Zealand, the book is structured in four parts, which move across IP regimes, jurisdictions, disciplines and professions, addressing issues that include what exactly is protected by IP regimes; regime differences, overlaps and transplants; copyright authorship and artificial intelligence; internationalization of IP through public and private international law; IP intersections with historical and empirical research, human rights, privacy, personality and cultural identity; IP scholars and universities, and the influence of treatises and textbooks. This work should be read by anyone interested in understanding the central issues in the evolving field of IP law.