The Roman Empire was one of the largest and most enduring in world history. In his new book, distinguished historian W. V. Harris sets out to explain, within an eclectic theoretical framework, the waxing and eventual waning of Roman imperial power, together with the Roman community's internal power structures (political power, social power, gender power and economic power). Effectively integrating analysis with a compelling narrative, he traces this linkage between the external and the internal through three very long periods, and part of the originality of the book is that it almost uniquely considers both the gradual rise of the Roman Empire and its demise as an empire in the fifth and seventh centuries AD. Professor Harris contends that comparing the Romans of these diverse periods sharply illuminates both the growth and the shrinkage of Roman power as well as the Empire's extraordinary durability.

'Great cases' are those judicial decisions around which the common law pivots. In a sequel to the instant classic Is Eating People Wrong?, this book presents eight new great cases from the United Kingdom, the United States and Australia. Written in a highly accessible yet rigorous style, it explores the social circumstances, institutions (lawyers, judges and courts) and ordinary people whose stories shaped the law. Across the courts' diverse and uncoordinated attempts to adapt to changing conditions and shifting demands, it shows the law as the living, breathing and down-the-street experience it really is. Including seminal cases in end of life, abortion and equal rights, this is an ideal introduction for students to legal history and jurisprudence.

The rule of law paradigm has long operated on the premise that independent judges disregard extralegal influences and impartially uphold the law. A political transformation several generations in the making, however, has imperiled this premise. Social science learning, the lessons of which have been widely internalized by court critics and the general public, has shown that judicial decision-making is subject to ideological and other extralegal influences. In recent decades, challenges to the assumptions underlying the rule of law paradigm have proliferated across a growing array of venues, as critics agitate for greater political control of judges and courts. With the future of the rule of law paradigm in jeopardy, this book proposes a new way of looking at how the role of the American judiciary should be conceptualized and regulated. This new, "legal culture paradigm" defends the need for an independent judiciary that is acculturated to take law seriously but is subject to political and other extralegal influences. The book argues that these extralegal influences cannot be eliminated but can be managed, by balancing the needs for judicial independence and accountability across competing perspectives, to the end of enabling judges to follow the "law" (less rigidly conceived), respect established legal process, and administer justice.

Popular sovereignty - the doctrine that the public powers of state originate in a concessive grant of power from 'the people' - is perhaps the cardinal doctrine of modern constitutional theory, placing full constitutional authority in the people at large, rather than in the hands of judges, kings, or a political elite. Although its classic formulation is to be found in the major theoretical treatments of the modern state, such as in the treatises of Hobbes, Locke, and Rousseau, this book explores the intellectual origins of this doctrine and investigates its chief source in late medieval and early modern thought. Long regarded the principal source for modern legal reasoning, Roman law had a profound impact on the major architects of popular sovereignty such as Francois Hotman, Jean Bodin, and Hugo Grotius. Adopting the juridical language of obligations, property, and personality as well as the model of the Roman constitution, these jurists crafted a uniform theory that located the right of sovereignty in the people at large as the legal owners of state authority. In recovering the origins of popular sovereignty, the book demonstrates the importance of the Roman law as a chief source of modern constitutional thought.

To be convicted of a crime in the United States, a person must be proven guilty "beyond a reasonable doubt." But what is reasonable doubt? Even sophisticated legal experts find this fundamental doctrine difficult to explain. In this accessible book, James Q. Whitman digs deep into the history of the law and discovers that we have lost sight of the original purpose of "reasonable doubt." It was not originally a legal rule at all, he shows, but a theological one. The rule as we understand it today is intended to protect the accused. But Whitman traces its history back through centuries of Christian theology and common-law history to reveal that the original concern was to protect the souls of jurors. In Christian tradition, a person who experienced doubt yet convicted an innocent defendant was guilty of a mortal sin. Jurors fearful for their own souls were reassured that they were safe, as long as their doubts were not "reasonable." Today, the old rule of reasonable doubt survives, but it has been turned to different purposes. The result is confusion for jurors, and a serious moral challenge for our system of justice.

This book offers a new theory of property and distributive justice derived from Talmudic law, illustrated by a case study involving the sale of organs for transplant. Although organ donation did not exist in late antiquity, this book posits a new way, drawn from the Talmud, to conceive of this modern means of giving to others. Our common understanding of organ transfers as either a gift or sale is trapped in a dichotomy that is conceptually and philosophically limiting. Drawing on Maussian gift theory, this book suggests a different legal and cultural meaning for this property transfer. It introduces the concept of the 'divine lien', an obligation to others in need built into the definition of all property ownership. Rather than a gift or sale, organ transfer is shown to exemplify an owner's voluntary recognition and fulfilment of this latent property obligation.

In clear and straightforward language, Justin B. Richland and Sarah Deer discuss the history and structure of tribal justice systems; the scope of criminal and civil jurisdictions; and the various means by which the integrity of tribal courts is maintained. This book is an indispensable resource for students, tribal leaders, and tribal communities interested in the complicated relationship between tribal, federal, and state law.

In clear and straightforward language, Justin B. Richland and Sarah Deer discuss the history and structure of tribal justice systems; the scope of criminal and civil jurisdictions; and the various means by which the integrity of tribal courts is maintained. This book is an indispensable resource for students, tribal leaders, and tribal communities interested in the complicated relationship between tribal, federal, and state law.

Originally published posthumously in 1954, this book presents a study of the unwritten law of the Albanian mountain tribes by the renowned Scottish anthropologist, classical scholar and ethnographer Margaret Hasluck (1885-1948). In recording the legal aspects of tribal life, Hasluck also provides detailed information on the everyday existence of the tribes. Four chapters are given to the vendetta system, describing minutely the obligations of vengeance, the manner of conducting a feud, the degrees of expiation and the ways of ending. Other chapters give information about the daily life of the household; the laws governing the division of property; the administrative hierarchy; oaths, verdicts and penalties; theft and murder. This book will be of value to anyone with an interest in the writings of Hasluck, anthropology and the Albanian mountain tribes.

European culture has been greatly influenced by the Christian Church and Greek and Roman culture. However, the peoples of Europe's remote past, whom the Greeks, Romans, and their medieval heirs called the "barbarians", also left their mark. Closely examining ancient and medieval narratives and the codifications of laws, this thoughtfully conducted comparative study sheds light on the illiterate societies of the early Germanic and Slavic peoples. The picture that emerges is one of communities built on kinship, neighborly, and tribal relations, where decision making, judgement, and punishment were carried out collectively, and the distinction between the sacred and profane was unknown.

Organized as a series of authoritative discussions, this book presents the application of Jewish law - or Halakhah - to contemporary social and political issues. Beginning with the principle of divine revelation, it describes the contents and canons of interpretation of Jewish law. Though divinely received, the law must still be interpreted and 'completed' by human minds, often leading to the conundrum of divergent but equally authentic interpretations. Examining topics from divorce to war and from rabbinic confidentiality to cloning, this book carefully delineates the issues presented in each case, showing the various positions taken by rabbinic scholars, clarifying areas of divergence, and analyzing reasons for disagreement. Written by widely recognized scholars of both Jewish and secular law, this book will be an invaluable source for all who seek authoritative guidance in understanding traditional Jewish law and practice.

First Steps in the Law is an entertaining and insightful overview of the legal system. Geoffrey Rivlin, who boasts a wealth of experience as a former senior resident judge, barrister, and QC, leads the reader through the quirks of English law, offering fascinating details. Readers are regaled with lively descriptions of the workings of the legal system and vivid tales of the law in times gone by. Real life cases bring the book to life, enabling the reader to see the law in action, while descriptions of the participants in the legal system (including judges, lawyers, and police officers) root the book in the everyday reality of the legal profession. This is an essential read for anyone who is preparing for a law course or requires an understanding of the law in their working life.

Tribal Criminal Law and Procedure examines complex Indian nations' tribal justice systems, analyzing tribal statutory law, tribal case law, and the cultural values of Native peoples. Using tribal court opinions and tribal codes, it reveals how tribal governments use a combination of oral and written law to dispense justice and strengthen their nations and people. Carrie E. Garrow and Sarah Deer discuss the histories, structures, and practices of tribal justice systems, comparisons of traditional tribal justice with American law and jurisdictions, elements of criminal law and procedure, and alternative sentencing and traditional sanctions. New features of the second edition include new chapters on: * The Tribal Law and Order Act's Enhanced Sentencing Provisions * The Violence Against Women Act's Special Domestic Violence Criminal Jurisdiction * Tribal-State Collaboration Tribal Criminal Law and Procedure is an invaluable resource for legal scholars and students. The book is published in cooperation with the Tribal Law and Policy Institute (visit them at www.tlpi.org).

Prepared to coincide with the 250th anniversary of the establishment of Nova Scotia's Supreme Court, this important new volume provides a comprehensive history of the institution, Canada's oldest common law court. The thirteen essays include an account of the first meeting in 1754 of the court in Michaelmas Term, surveys of jurisprudence (the court's early federalism cases; its use of American law; attitudes to the administrative state), and chapters on the courts of Westminster Hall, on which the Supreme Court was modelled, and the various courthouses it has occupied. Anchoring the volume are two longer chapters, one on the pre-confederation period and one on the modern period.

Editors Philip Girard, Jim Phillips, and Barry Cahill have put together the first complete history of any Canadian provincial superior court. All of the essays are original, and many offer new interpretations of familiar themes in Canadian legal history. They take the reader through the establishment of the one-judge court to the present day ? a unique contribution to our understanding of superior courts.

This book reflects the wide range of current scholarship on Roman law. The essays, newly commissioned for this volume, cover the sources of evidence for classical Roman law, the elements of private law, as well as criminal and public law, and the second life of Roman law in Byzantium, in civil and canon law, and in political discourse from AD 1100 to the present. Roman law nowadays is studied in many different ways, which is reflected in the diversity of approaches in the essays. Some focus on how the law evolved in ancient Rome, others on its place in the daily life of the Roman citizen, still others on how Roman legal concepts and doctrines have been deployed through the ages. All of them are responses to one and the same thing: the sheer intellectual vitality of Roman law, which has secured its place as a central element in the intellectual tradition and history of the West.

This book studies the U.S. Supreme Court and its current common law approach to judicial decision making from a national and transnational perspective. The Supreme Court's modern approach appears detached from and inconsistent with the underlying fundamental principles that ought to guide it, an approach that often leads to unfair and inefficient results. This book suggests the adoption of a judicial decision-making model that proceeds from principles and rules and treats these principles and rules as premises for developing consistent unitary theories to meet current social conditions. This model requires that judicial opinions be informed by a wide range of considerations, beginning with established legal standards but also including the insights derived from deductive and inductive reasoning, the lessons learned from history and custom and ending with an examination of the social and economic consequences of the decision. Under this model, the considerations taken to reach a specific result should be articulated through a process that considers various hypotheses, arguments, confutations, and confirmations, and they should be shared with the public."

The Selected Writings of Sir Edward Coke contains the most important works of the great English jurist-politician who set out to codify English common law. In his Reports, which are reports of court proceedings, and his Institutes, which state the law, Coke set down a view of English law that has had a powerful influence on lawyers, judges, and politicians through the present day. Liberty Fund's Selected Writings of Sir Edward Coke includes not only selections from the four volumes of the Institutes and cases from the Reports, but also several of Coke's speeches in Parliament, Coke's opinions from the bench, and opinions of Coke as recorded by others from official cases and court records. Taken together, these writings delineate the origin and nature of English law and indicate the profound interrelationship in the English tradition of custom, common law, authority (of both Crown and Commons), and individual liberty.

China's explosive transformation from a planned economy to a more market-oriented one over the past three decades owes much to the charismatic reformer Zhu Rongji. As China's premier from 1998 to 2003, Zhu displayed a pragmatism and strong work ethic that have been key forces in China's drive to greater modernization and global stature. During this time, Zhu embarked on a plan to reduce the size of government and reform the heavily indebted banking system and state-owned enterprises as well as to overhaul the housing and health care systems. His sweeping efforts ranged from lobbying for the establishment of stock exchanges to revitalizing agriculture through the introduction of a modern grain market. The ramifications of these reforms are still being felt throughout China and the globe, and The Road to Reformprovides a real-time look at these plans as they were being formulated during the 1990s to the early 2000s. The second of a two-volume collection containing more than 100 speeches and personal papers by Zhu, this volume is a revealing and insightful look at Zhu's thinking and will lead to greater understanding of one of the world's two largest economic powers.

This law monograph critically examines the role of the judiciary in ensuring accountability of the government officials for their unlawful actions with a view to protecting individual rights, establishing rule of law and good governance in Bangladesh and South Asia. The book deals with adequate case laws selected from DLR (2004- onwards) by using purposive sampling method, with a view to evaluating the effectiveness of judiciary in ensuring accountability of government administration and its impact on individual rights, rule of law and overall governance. The work will meet the need of scholars, researchers and practitioners involved with Law, Legal Studies , Politics and Public Administration. Besides, this research will helpful to those who are involved in the field of political institutions. The term governance is popularly used in development literature for the last 30 years by academics, intellectuals, bureaucrats, practitioners and civil society members in Bangladesh and South Asia. However, very few works have found on the role of judiciary in ensuring accountability of the government officials and its impact on governance. Therefore, this area of research merits attention and discussion.

A woman both in the eye of law and the society is not merely a person either in the gender or the existence. She has an inherent personality since birth called 'womanhood'. Unfortunately, a woman, in our country, belongs to a class or group of society who are in a disadvantaged position on account of several social barriers and impediments and have, therefore, been the victim of tyranny at the hands of men with whom they, fortunately, under the Constitution enjoy equal status. Women have the right to life and liberty; they also have the right to be respected and treated as equal citizens. Their honor and dignity cannot be touched or violated. They also have the right to lead an honorable and peaceful life. They must have the liberty, the freedom and, of course, independence to live the roles assigned to them by Nature so that the society may flourish as they alone have the talents and capacity to shape the destiny and character of men anywhere and in every part of the world. India needs to fast justify its reputation as a leading Civilization of the World and this book will contribute to this journey.

Originally published in 1903, this two-volume work contains an English translation of the first fifteen books of the Digest of Justinian, which formed one part of Roman civil law. Monro uses the Latin text edited by Theodor Mommsen, and translates Latin legal terms by using explanatory substitute words, not by giving the nearest approximation of the idea in English law. Volume Two contains the translation of Books Seven to Fifteen. This book will be of value to anyone with an interest in late Roman law or the history of law in Europe.

Originally published in 1903, this two-volume work contains an English translation of the first fifteen books of the Digest of Justinian, which formed one part of Roman civil law. Monro uses the Latin text edited by Theodor Mommsen, and translates Latin legal terms by using explanatory substitute words, not by giving the nearest approximation of the idea in English law. Volume One contains the translation of the first six books of the Digest. This book will be of value to anyone with an interest in late Roman law or the history of law in Europe.

Manual sobre la jurisprudencia, derechos y prerrogativas especiales de las personas de edad avanzada en el ordenamiento juridico de Puerto Rico. Contiene un capitulo sobre andragogia y la legislacion dedicada a la educacion de adultos a partir del reconocimiento constitucional de la misma como derecho fundamental de la persona.

As the first comprehensive study of Buddhism and law in Asia, this interdisciplinary volume challenges the concept of Buddhism as an apolitical religion without implications for law. Buddhism and Law draws on the expertise of the foremost scholars in Buddhist studies and in law to trace the legal aspects of the religion from the time of the Buddha to the present. In some cases, Buddhism provided the crucial architecture for legal ideologies and secular law codes, while in other cases it had to contend with a pre-existing legal system, to which it added a new layer of complexity. The wide-ranging studies in this book reveal a diversity of relationships between Buddhist monastic codes and secular legal systems in terms of substantive rules, factoring, and ritual practices. This volume will be an essential resource for all students and teachers in Buddhist studies, law and religion, and comparative law.