As globalization continues to spread and evolve, so nation-states attempt to govern financialization, tax evasion, corruption, terrorism, civil and military conflicts and environmental dangers, social polarization and the complexities in human rights implementation, by institutional and transnational means. This volume discusses these issues from different legal perspectives and highlights the challenges of governing human activity in an age of remarkable interconnectedness. Covering a broad range of policy areas and analysis of emerging forms of governance from liberal to critical and Marxist, the chapters are legal in their approach and form an important contribution to the growing study of emergent forms of authority, coordination and power developing in response to the challenges presented by some of the key contemporary governance issues in the first half of the twenty-first century.

This book explores the recent trend of enhancing the role of the people in constitutional change. It traces the reasons underlying this tendency, the new ways in which it takes form, the possibilities of success and failure of such ventures as well as the risks and benefits it carries. To do so, it examines the theoretical aspects of public participation in constitutional decision-making, offers an analysis of the benefits gained and the problems encountered in countries with long-standing experience in the practice of constitutional referendums, discusses the recent innovative constitution-making processes employed in Iceland and Ireland in the post financial crisis context and probes the use of public participation in the EU context. New modes of deliberation are juxtaposed to traditional direct-democratic processes, while the reasons behind this re-emergence of public involvement narratives are discussed from the aspect of comparative constitutional design. The synthetic chapter offers an overview of the emerging normative and comparative issues and provides a holistic approach of the role of the people in constitutional change in an attempt to answer when, where and how this role may be successfully enhanced. The work consists of material specifically written for this volume, and authored by prominent constitutional scholars and experts in public participation and deliberative processes.

Environmental crime is one of the most profitable and fastest growing areas of international criminal activity. The increasing cross-border scope of environmental crimes and harms is one of the reasons why governments and the enforcement community have trouble in finding the proper responses. Law enforcement cooperation between western industrialized states is often time consuming and problematic, and the problems increase exponentially when environmental criminals take advantage of situations where government and law enforcement are weak. This book provides an overview of the developments and problems in the field of transnational environmental crimes and harms, addressing these issues from perspectives such as enforcement, deterrence, compliance and emission trading schemes. Divided into four parts, the authors consider global issues in green criminology, responses to transnational environmental crimes and harms, alternative methods to combat environmental crime, and specific types of crimes and criminological research. Discussing these topics from the view of green criminology, sociology and governance, this book will be of great interest to all those concerned about the transnational dimensions of crime and the environment.

To what extent should public services (for example public utilities such as telecommunications, energy, public transport and postal services) be subject to ordinary competition law? This question has assumed great importance in the context of the activities of European Union. On the one hand, it is argued (particularly in France) that competition law is a threat to the values of public services that underlie their distinctive objectives. On the other, the 'Anglo-Saxon' argument is that protecting public services from competition gives them an unfairly protected position and can mask their inefficiencies. This book examines the philosophical, political, economic, and social principles involved. Prosser contrasts the mainly economic and utilitarian justifications for the use of competition law with rights- and citizenship-based arguments for the special treatment of public services, and examines the varied conceptions of the differing traditions in the UK, France, and Italy. Prosser then considers the developing European law in this area. He examines decisions of the European Court of Justice, considers the development of the concept of 'services of general interest' by the Commission, and reviews the liberalization process in telecommunications, energy, and postal services. He also provides a detailed case-study of public service broadcasting. The book concludes by drawing general principles from the debates about the extent to which public services merit distinctive treatment and the extent to which competition law must be amended or limited to respect their distinctive roles.

Negotiating religious diversity, as well as negotiating different forms and degrees of commitment to religious belief and identity, constitutes a major challenge for all societies. Recent developments such as the 'de-secularisation' of the world, the transformation and globalisation of religion and the attacks of September 11 have made religious claims and religious actors much more visible in the public sphere. This volume provides multiple perspectives on the processes through which religious communities create or defend their place in a given society, both in history and in our world today. Offering a critical, cross-disciplinary investigation into processes of negotiating religion and religious diversity, the contributors present new insights on the meaning and substance of negotiation itself. This volume draws on diverse historical, sociological, geographic, legal and political theoretical approaches to take a close look at the religious and political agents involved in such processes as well as the political, social and cultural context in which they take place. Its focus on the European experiences that have shaped not only the history of 'negotiating religion' in this region but also around the world, provides new perspectives for critical inquiries into the way in which contemporary societies engage with religion. This study will be of interest to academics, lawyers and scholars in law and religion, sociology, politics and religious history.

While the visibility of disability studies has increased in recent years, few have thoroughly examined the marginalization of people with disabilities through the lens of political economy. This was the great contribution of Marta Russell (1951-2013), an activist and prominent scholar in the United States and best known for her analyses of the issues faced by people with disabilities. This book examines the legacy of Marta Russell, bringing together distinguished scholars and activists such as Anne Finger, Nirmala Erevelles and Mark Weber, to explicate current issues relevant to the empowerment of people with disabilities. Drawing from various fields including Law, Political Economy, Education and History, the book takes a truly interdisciplinary approach, offering a body of work that develops a dextrous understanding of the marginalization of people with disabilities. The book will be of great use and interest to specialists and students in the fields of Political Economy, Law and Society, Labour Studies, Disability Studies, Women's Studies, and Political Science.

Traditionally relegated because of political pressure and public expectations, courts in Latin America are increasingly asserting a stronger role in public and political discussions. This casebook takes account of this phenomenon, by offering a rigorous and up-to-date discussion of constitutional adjudication in Latin America in recent decades. Bringing to the forefront the development of constitutional law by Latin American courts in various subject matters, the volume aims to highlight a host of creative arguments and solutions that judges in the region have offered. The authors review and discuss innovative case law in light of the countries' social, political and legal context. Each chapter is devoted to a discussion of a particular area of judicial review, from freedom of expression to social and economic rights, from the internalization of human rights law to judicial checks on the economy, from gender and reproductive rights to transitional justice. The book thus provides a very useful tool to scholars, students and litigants alike.

This book provides in-depth comparative analysis of how religious penal clauses have been developed and employed within Asian common law states, and the impact of such developments on constitutional rights. By examining the theoretical and conceptual underpinnings of religious offences as well as interrogating the nature and impact of religious penal clauses within the region, it contributes to the broader dialogue in relation to religious penal clauses globally, whether in countries which practise forms of secular or religious constitutionalism. Asian practice is significant in this respect, given the centrality of religion to social life and indeed, in some jurisdictions, to constitutional or national identity. Providing rigorous studies of common law jurisdictions that have adopted similar provisions in their penal code, the contributors provide an original examination and analysis of the use and development of these religious clauses in their respective jurisdictions. They draw upon their insights into the background sociopolitical and constitutional contexts to consider how the inter-relationship of religion and state may determine the rationale and scope of religious offences. These country-by-country chapters inform the conceptual examination of religious views and sentiments as a basis for criminality and the forms of 'harm' that attract legal safeguards. Several chapters examine these questions from a historical and comparative perspective, considering the underlying bases and scope, as well as evolving objectives of these provisions. Through these examinations, the book critically interrogates the legacy of colonialism on the criminal law and constitutional practice of various Asian states.

This study considers the topical problem of defining and valuing "environmental damage" from the perspective of international and comparative law. The contributors include experts in national and international law, civil and common law, as well as in the laws of developed and developing states, an economist and a member of the UN Compensation Commission.

What are the most important differences among national economies? Is globalization forcing nations to converge on an Anglo-American model? What explains national differences in social and economic policy? This pathbreaking work outlines a new approach to these questions. It highlights the role of business in national economies and shows that there is more than one path to economic success. The book sets a new intellectual agenda for everyone interested in relations between politics, economics, and business.

This volume provides a holistic presentation of the reality of constitutional change in 18 countries (the 15 old EU member states, Canada, Switzerland and the USA). The essays offer analysis on formal and informal constitutional amendment bringing forth the overall picture of the parallel paths constitutional change follows, in correlation to what the constitution means and how constitutional law works. To capture the patterns of constitutional change, multi-faceted parameters are explored such as the interrelations between form of government, party system, and constitutional amendment; the interplay between constitutional change and the system of constitutionality review; the role of the people, civil society, and experts in constitutional change; and the influence of international and European law and jurisprudence on constitutional reform and evolution. In the extensive final, comparative chapter, key features of each country's amendment procedures are epitomized and the mechanisms of constitutional change are explained on the basis of introducing five distinct models of constitutional change. The concept of constitutional rigidity is re-approached and broken down to a set of factual and institutional rigidities. The classification of countries within models, in accordance with the way in which operative amending mechanisms connect, leads to a succinct portrayal of different modes of constitutional change engineering. This book will prove to be an invaluable tool for approaching constitutional revision either for theoretical or for practical purposes and will be of particular interest to students and scholars of constitutional, comparative and public law.

What are the contemporary challenges faced by property law as we enter the 2nd decade of the 21st century? This collection brings together the research and perspectives of an international body of academics and practitioners to consider these challenges and how even familiar topics must develop to meet new demands and developments. As with previous books in the Modern Studies in Property Law series, this volume adopts a broad approach to topics encompassed by 'property law' in the firm belief that the boundaries that divide are shadowy at best and constantly moving in the endeavour to keep up with what is 'modern'. This collection looks at 5 themes: - Comparative perspectives, including a chapter on grazing and cropping rights in Northern Ireland, and analysis of the anomalies of the English trust law as seen from a civil law perspective; - Taking and alienating property, including a chapter on bankruptcy and the family home; - Modern dilemmas, including chapters on trusts in virtual currency and on smart homes; - Old chestnuts - new challenges, including analysis of the mortgage law reform in Scotland and a chapter on the ouster principle in common law jurisdictions; and - Wills, death and other morbid topics, with chapters on English succession law and the role of knowledge and approval in retrospective assessments of capacity. Unfortunately, the COVID-19 pandemic prevented the 13th biennial conference being held in 2020 as planned but despite this, the authors and co-editors persevered to produce this interesting and diverse collection.

Comparative Law offers a thorough grounding in the subject for students and scholars alike, covering essential academic discussions and comparative law methodology. It critically debates both traditional and modern approaches to the discipline and uses examples from a range of jurisdictions to give the reader a truly global perspective. Its contextualised and interdisciplinary approach draws on examples from politics, economics and other social sciences to provide an original contribution to topics of comparative law. This new third edition is fully revised to reflect developments in the scholarship and includes two new chapters, balancing the book's structure between comparative law of the past, present and future. Suitable for students taking courses in comparative law and related fields, this book offers a fresh and cosmopolitan perspective on the subject.

Broadly scanning the biologically oriented treatments for psychological disorders in 20th century psychiatry, the authors raise serious questions about the efficacy of the somatic treatments for psychological distress and challenge the widespread preference for biologically based treatments as the treatments of choice. For graduate and undergraduate courses in clinical, social, and health psychology, behavioral medicine, psychotherapy and psychoanalysis. psychopharmacology, psychiatry, and clinical social work.

Arbitration is the most widely used alternative method to resolve commercial disputes between parties. Since arbitration in international contexts is equally applicable to legal traditions across the world, there has been incessant effort on the part of all jurisdictions to harmonize principles and practices to establish a unified system of arbitration. As differences are difficult to reconcile, there has been quite a bit of interest and effort invested in the study of some of the key issues and challenges in the field. This volume reports on one such initiative undertaken by an interdisciplinary project, whose main objective is to investigate the norms and arbitral practices in some important Asian countries from the point of view of discursive practices prevalent in these jurisdictions. The project focuses on the documents used in arbitration in the main Asian countries and compares them with those employed in other continents. The investigated texts include not only norms and awards, but also interviews with professionals in the field so as to gain direct insights into the linguistic and textual choices employed in the drafting of these documents.

This book is a comparative law study exploring the piercing of the corporate veil in Latin America within the context of the Anglo-American method. The piercing of the corporate veil is a remedy applied, in exceptional circumstances, to prevent and punish an inappropriate use of the corporate personality. The application of this remedy and the issues it involves has been widely researched in Anglo-American jurisdictions and, until recently, little attention has been given to this subject in Latin America. This region has been through internal political conflicts that undermined economic development. However, rise of democratic governments has created the political stability necessary for investment and economic development meaning that the corporate personality is now more commonly used in Latin America. Consequently, corporate personality issues have become a subject of study in this region. Drawing on case studies from Mexico, Colombia, Brazil and Argentina, Piercing the Corporate Veil in Latin American Jurisprudence examines the ingenuity of Latin American jurisdictions to deal with corporate personality issues and compares this method with the Anglo-American framework. Focusing in particular on the influence of two key factors- legal tradition and the uniqueness of each legal system- the author highlights both similarities and differences in the way in which the piercing of the corporate veil is applied in Latin American and Anglo-American jurisdictions. This book will be of great interest to scholars of company and comparative law, and business studies in general.

For law students and lawyers to successfully understand and practice law in the U.S., recognition of the wider context and culture which informs the law is essential. Simply learning the legal rules and procedures in isolation is not enough without an appreciation of the culture that produced them. This book provides the reader with an understandable introduction to the ways in which U.S. law reflects its culture and each chapter begins with questions to guide the reader, and concludes with questions for review, challenge and further understanding. Kirk W. Junker explores cultural differences, employing history, social theory, philosophy, and language as "reference frames," which are then applied to the rules and procedures of the U.S. legal system in the book's final chapter. Through these cultural reference frames readers are provided with a set of interpretive tools to inform their understanding of the substance and institutions of the law. With a deeper understanding of this cultural context, international students will be empowered to more quickly adapt to their studies; more comprehensively understand the role of the attorney in the U.S. system; draw comparisons with their own domestic legal systems, and ultimately become more successful in their legal careers both in the U.S. and abroad.

This is a controversial work of applied legal theory, addressing urgent contemporary questions about law and the State, about the character of the UK as a state, and about the juridical character of the European Union in its relationship with the member states of the Union. It is also a contribution to political theory in its discussion of the rule of law, the theory of sovereignty, and the principles of liberal nationalism. It combines a statement and application of the `institutional theory of law' with a balanced and carefully argued version of contemporary Scottish nationalism.

Groups seeking legal equality often take a victory as the end of the line. Once judgment is granted or a law is passed, coalitions disband and life goes on in a new state of equality. Policy makers too may assume that a troublesome file is now closed. This collection arises from the urgent sense that law reforms driven by equality call for fresh lines of inquiry. In unintended ways, reforms may harm their intended beneficiaries. They may also worsen the disadvantage of other groups. Committed to tackling these important issues beyond the boundaries that often confine legal scholarship, this book pursues an interdisciplinary consideration of efforts to advance equality, as it explores the developments, challenges, and consequences that arise from law reforms aiming to deliver equality in the areas of sexuality, kinship, and family relations. With an international array of contributors, After Legal Equality: Family, Sex, Kinship will be an invaluable resource for those with interests in this area.

Judicial networks have proved effective in influencing recent judicial policies enacted by both old and new EU member states. However, this influence has not been standard. This volume seeks to improve our understanding of how networks function, as well as the extent they matter in the governance of a constitutional democracy. The authors examine the judicial function of networks, the way they cross the legal and territorial borders that confine the jurisdiction of the domestic institutions, and whether or not they are independent of the capacity and the leadership of their members. A highly salient issue in contemporary law and politics, judicial networks are now qualified actors of governance. With the aim to understand how, to what extent, and with what consequences networks interact with hierarchical institutions that still exist within the States, this book is essential reading for legal experts, policy makers engaged in promoting the rule of law, members of the judicial networks in the EU and extra EU countries, as well as academics and students.

Despite the growing scholarly interest in comparative public law, there remain relatively few works on the subject. Contemporary French Administrative Law aims to redress that imbalance, offering English-language readers an authoritative introduction to the key features of French administrative law and its institutions. The French legal system is among the most well-developed and influential in the world, and, as procedures continually adapt to European and international influences, it has never been more worthy of research, study and interrogation. This book employs a wide range of recent, illustrative cases to demonstrate how French administrative law works both in theory and in practice. Using a systematic approach and covering everything from judicial review to public contracts, this is a highly valuable text for any student or researcher with an interest in French law. The book is also available as Open Access.

In the last decade or so, China and India have emerged on the global stage as two emerging free market economies. The tremendous economic growth in China and India has meant that they have been able to lift millions of people out of the poverty trap. This growth has not, however, been without problems. A significant number of people are still struggling for development as they do not have adequate access basic needs such as food, health services, education, water, and housing. The traditional old age support mechanism is collapsing amidst push for urbanisation and the practice of nuclear families, while the alternative social security system has not been put in place. Both China and India stress the importance of socio-economic rights and have in place a strong legal framework for the realisation of such rights. Both countries have ratified the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights. The Constitutions of China and India accord significant importance to socio-economic rights and the countries both have numerous laws, regulations and policies that seek to implement various socio-economic rights.This book examines the realisation of socio-economic rights in China and India. It investigates how the gradual adoption of free market ideology has impacted on the realisation of socio-economic rights in both India and China and how the constitutional and legal frameworks have made necessary adjustments. The role played by courts in India and China in the protection and realisation of socio-economic rights is considered along with the use and limitations of public interest litigation in achieving socio-economic goals. Chapters are written by academics of international standing and explore how China and India have tried to overcome certain common challenges in realising socio-economic rights. The effectiveness of measures in realising socio-economic rights are evaluated in relation to specific rights such as the rights to food, health, education, gender equality, social security, and the rights of workers.

Providing a comprehensive and comparative analysis of the legal approach to key areas of law within different legal systems, this book offers a blueprint for comparative legal study by evaluating the current epistemological debate on comparative law and comparative legal research methods. Substantive law, the law of obligations, commercial and corporate law within the major legal systems of the world are all examined and compared. While France and Germany are generally used as the archetypal civil law jurisdictions and English law as the main common law comparator, this third edition also examines the Russian Federation in the post-Soviet era and socialist legal influences as well as non-Western legal traditions. Fully updated and revised to include all recent developments, this edition also includes a broad historical introduction and outlines changes in EC Law. It assesses the possibility of Europeanization of national legal systems and certain legal topics, the impact of the globalization of legal institutions and the evolving 'new world order' in the early twenty-first century. Written in a clear, user-friendly style, Comparative Law in a Changing World is an accessible source for undergraduates and postgraduates wishing to trace the influence of common law and civil law legal traditions on jurisdictions across the world.

Medical confidentiality is universally recognised as a value worth protecting. However, difficulties arise when confidential medical information becomes relevant in the context of crime prevention and criminal prosecution. Should medical confidentiality be upheld where the physician holds information which is essential for the investigation of a serious crime; for establishing the truth in a criminal trial; for an accused's defence; or for the prevention of a criminal offence? And according to which criteria should such decisions be made? Based on an examination of different approaches in medical ethics and a comparison of the relevant law of France, Germany, England and Wales and the US, this book analyses how a balance of the competing interests can best be struck.

This volume is the first comprehensive study of the Polish history of law and Christianity written in English for a global audience. It examines the lives of twenty-one central figures in Polish law with a focus on how their Christian faith was a factor in molding the evolution of law in their country and the region. The individuals selected for study exhibit wide-ranging areas of expertise, from private law and codification, through national public law and constitutional law, to international developments that left their mark on Poland and the world. The chapters discuss the jurists within their historical, intellectual, and political context. The editors selected jurists after extensive consultation with legal historians looking at the jurists' particular merits, contributions to law in general, religious perspective, and period under consideration. The collection will appeal to scholars, lawyers, and students interested in the interplay between law and religion. Political, social, legal, and religious historians, among other readers, will find, for the first time in English, authoritative treatments of essential Polish legal thinkers and authors.