Georges Gurvitch occupies an interesting position in the development of the sociology of law. In the period immediately preceding its quantitative expansion, he produced an explicitly conceived systematic theoretical intervention. What is particularly significant about Gurvitch's "Sociology of Law" at first appears as a contradiction. His work has had very little lasting impact on developments within the field of the sociology of law. At best, his existence is occasionally footnoted, but he engendered no great controversy or debate, nor does he have any active contemporary "disciples." Despite this lack of attention, Gurvitch work provides a concentrated expression of the theoretical problems that beset the field.

The core of Gurvitch's sociology of law is at root a continuation of the efforts, apparent in the work of Max Weber, to resolve or integrate the dualism which is so markedly affecting law. It is the apparent dualism between law as a positive institution resting upon a framework of social power, while at the same time being a system of values or norms having some compelling internal strength and validity. Gurvitch's "Sociology of Law" shines as a beacon in the ongoing quest for a transformative vision of law. The new introduction by Alan Hunt discusses Gurvitch's place in the history of the sociology of law and the context in which his works should be placed. It also features a brief biography of the sociologist as well as a discussion of the central features of Gurvitch's sociology. This book will be of interest to students of sociology and law.

The relationship between law and religion has traditionally been analysed according to two basic paradigms. One has focused on the relationship between religious communities and the State (the Church/State paradigm), while the other has concentrated on the relationship between the State and the individual (the liberal-individualist or civil liberties paradigm). This book enriches the analysis of law and religion in society by emphasising a third and complementary analytical dimension involving the relationship between religious communities and religious individuals. In particular, the contributors explore the various facets of the multiple tensions that exist in the legal relationships between religious organisations, State and adherents in the period leading up to the third Christian millennium. Against the background of the complex and sometimes contradictory responses of religious organisations and the State to the Human Rights Act, this interdisciplinary collection draws on contributions from leading scholars active in the field of religious rights and the interaction of law and religion based in the UK, USA, Canada, New Zealand and elsewhere, and makes a timely and significant contribution to international debates in a variety of academic disciplines. Contributors explore international concerns over religious liberty, focusing particularly on the boundaries of ethnicity and religious community, the status of the 'established' Churches in the UK, and the proper place for religious organisations under generally applicable legal regimes of non-discrimination. Themes discussed are closely related to wider interests within legal and socio-legal studies involving gender, discrimination, equality, community and the nature and limits of individualism and individual legal rights.

Collected Studies CS1071 The central figure in this volume is that of Gratian, whose monumental compilation of canon law sparked off the revival of legal studies in the medieval West. In other collections of essays, Stephan Kuttner dealt with the development of canon law in the two centuries that followed the publication of Gratian's Decretum, and the ideas that this engendered; here he is concerned with the foundations upon which all these later efforts were based. The work of Gratian is, of course, the principal focus, but the studies then follow the spread of the teaching of law, from its inception at Bologna in the 1140s to its appearance soon after in other centres of learning in the West especially in France, in the Anglo-Norman schools and in Germany. With a quarter of the volume consisting of additional notes and extensive indexes, it makes a contribution of the greatest importance to the historical study of canon law. For this second edition, a new section of additional notes has been supplied, and the volume is introduced with an essay by Peter Landau; these take account of the important recent work on Gratian and the Decretum and chart the significance of Stephan Kuttner's work.

Research on law's relationship with time has flourished over the past decade. This edited collection aims to put law and time scholarship into wider context, advancing conversations on time and temporalities between socio-legal scholars, anthropologists, sociologists, geographers and historians. Through a diverse range of contributions, the collection explores how legal modalities of time emerge and have effects within wider clusters of social and political action. Themes include: law's diverse roles in maintaining linear historicist models of time; law's participation in the materialisation of times; and the unsteady effects of temporal pluralism and polytemporalities in law. De-naturalising the 'time' in law and time scholarship, this collection positions time as something that can be enacted and materialised as well as experienced, with distinct implications for questions of social justice. Chapter 6 of this book is freely available as a downloadable Open Access PDF under a Creative Commons Attribution-Non Commercial-No Derivatives 3.0 license. https://s3-us-west-2.amazonaws.com/tandfbis/rt-files/docs/Open+Access+Chapters/9780415792219_oachapter6.pdf The Introduction of this book is freely available as a downloadable Open Access PDF under a Creative Commons Attribution-Non Commercial-No Derivatives 3.0 license. https://s3-us-west-2.amazonaws.com/tandfbis/rt-files/docs/Open+Access+Chapters/9780415792219_oaintroduction.pdf

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Reflective Bioethics

This book provides an analysis of the legal and policy dimensions of open access to research, education and public sector information with a focus on Nigeria. Kunle shows how open access has evolved across the world and how such initiatives could be implemented in Nigeria and other countries in the developing world. The author argues for a platform where Nigerians are able to freely connect to the 'global library', through the open access dual platforms of self-archiving and open access publishing, thereby providing access to knowledge. The importance of connecting local works to the 'global library' to increase visibility and impact of such works is also underscored. This book furthers our understanding of open educational resources as alternative avenues to accessing education and seeks to foster citizenry participation, good governance, accountability, democratic values and spur creativity and innovation through open governance and access to public sector information. Providing a framework for open access in developing countries, Open Access to Knowledge in Nigeria is an important read for scholars interested in knowledge production in Africa, development of the knowledge economy and the open access and Access to Knowledge movements.

"The Spirit of the Common Law" is one of Roscoe Pound's most notable works. It contains the brilliant lectures he delivered at Dartmouth College in the summer of 1921. It is a seminal book embodying the spiritual essence of sociological jurisprudence by its leading prophet. This work is both a celebration of the common law and a warning for common law judges and lawyers to return to and embrace the pragmatism and judicial empiricism that define and energize the common law. The two fundamental doctrines of the common law, Pound writes, are the doctrine of precedents and the doctrine of supremacy of law. In an earlier preface, Justice Arthur J. Goldberg writes that "The Spirit of the Common Law" will always be treasured by judges and lawyers for its philosophy and history, but more importantly for Roscoe Pound's optimism and faith in the capacity of law to keep up with the times without sacrificing fundamental values. It is a faith built upon the conviction that the present is not to be divorced from the past, but rather that the past and the present are to be built upon to make a better future. Neil Hamilton and Mathias Alfred Jaren provide a biographical introduction to the book. They discuss the various influences upon Pound's scholarly pursuits and they analyze many of his writings that led up to "The Spirit of the Common Law." This volume is a necessary addition to the libraries of legal scholars and professionals, sociologists, and philosophers.

This book seeks to provide answers to everything you ever wanted to know about the law-except what the rules are or ought to be This book seeks to provide answers to everything you ever wanted to know about the law-except what the rules are or ought to be. For centuries, the law has been considered a neutral, objective arena that sets societal standards and in which conflicting forces resolve disputes. More recently, however, the interaction between law and society has been recognized as a two-way street: society clearly exacts a considerable influence on the practice and evolution of law. Further, the discrepancy between what the law mandates and what the social reality is has served as evidence of the chasm between theory and practice, between the abstraction of law and its actual societal effects. Examining such issues as the limits of legal change and the capacity of law to act as a revolutionary agent, the essays in this book offer a well-rounded introduction to the relationship between law and society. By focusing on flashpoint issues in legal studies-equality, consciousness and ideology, social control--and making ample use of engaging case studies, The Law and Society Review provides an invaluable resource for scholars and students alike.

First published in 1998, this book is an exposition of the law of defamation as it applies in those countries (excluding South Africa). It discusses or refers to hundreds of cases from those jurisdictions, as well as many important precedents from England, analysing the law and discussing how far the courts have developed their own approaches to the law, and to what extent the law reflects the values of traditional society and customary law. It thus shows how the law is being used in a field which is both intensely political and reflects important social interests. Though directed mainly at legal practitioners, teachers and students, therefore, it would be of interest to the media - the defendants in the overwhelming majority of the cases-and to scholars in the social sciences.

Dominant governance theories are drawn primarily from Euro-American sources, including emergent theories of network and collaborative governance. The authors contest this narrow view and seek a more globally inclusive and transdisciplinary perspective, arguing such an approach is more fruitful in addressing the wicked problems of sustainability-including social, economic, and environmental crises. This book thus offers and affirms an innovative governance approach that may hold more promise as a "universal" framework that is not colonizing in nature due to its grounding in relational process assumptions and practices. Using a comprehensive Governance Typology that encompasses ontological assumptions, psychosocial theory, epistemological concepts, belief systems, ethical concepts, political theory, economic theory, and administrative theory, the authors delve deeply into underlying philosophical commitments and carry them into practice through an approach they call Integrative Governance. The authors consider ways this approach to radical self-governance is already being implemented in the prefigurative politics of contemporary social movements, and they invite scholars and activists to: imagine governance in contexts of social, economic, and environmental interconnectedness; to use the ideal-type as an evaluative tool against which to measure practice; and to pursue paradigmatic change through collaborative praxis.

This sourcebook presents a collection of ancient Greek laws and covers a wide area of legislative activity in major and minor Greek city-states, ranging from Delphoi and Athens in mainland Greece, to Gortyn in Crete, Olbia in South Russia and Aegean cities including Ephesos, Samos and Thasos. The book divides legislation into three main areas:
* the household - marriage, divorce, inheritance, adoption, sexual offences and personal status
* the market-place - trade, finance, sale, coinage and leases
* the state - constitution, legislative process, public duties, colonies, building activities, naval forces, penal regulations, religion, politics and inter-state affairs.
The author explores the significance of legislation in ancient Greece, the differences and similarities between ancient Greek legislation and legislators and their modern counterparts and also provides fresh translations of the legal documents themselves.

eBook available with sample pages: 0203011740

In this comprehensive and accessible sourcebook, Ilias Arnaoutoglou presents a collection of ancient Greek laws, which are situated in their legal and historical contexts and are elucidated with relevant selections from Greek literature and epigraphical testimonies. A wide area of legislative activity in major and minor Greek city-states, ranging from Delphoi and Athens in mainland Greece, to Gortyn in Crete, Olbia in South Russia and Aegean cities including Ephesos, Samos and Thasos, is covered. Ilias Arnaoutoglou divides legislation into three main areas:
* the household - marriage, divorce, inheritance, adoption, sexual offences and personal status
* the market-place - trade, finance, sale, coinage and leases
* the state - constitution, legislative process, public duties, colonies, building activities, naval forces, penal regulations, religion, politics and inter-state affairs.
Dr Arnaoutoglou explores the significance of legislation in ancient Greece, the differences and similarities between ancient Greek legislation and legislators and their modern counterparts and also provides fresh translations of the legal documents themselves.

Reflection on natural law reaches a highpoint during the Middle Ages. Not only do Christian thinkers work out the first systematic accounts of natural law and articulate the framework for subsequent reflection, the Jewish and Islamic traditions also develop their own canonical statements on the moral authority of reason vis-à-vis divine law. In the view of some, they thereby articulate their own theories of natural law. These various traditions of medieval reflection on natural law, and their interrelation, merit further study, particularly since they touch upon many current philosophical concerns. They grapple with the problem of ethical and religious pluralism. They consider whether universally valid standards of action and social life are accessible to those who rely on reason rather than divine law. In so doing, they develop sophisticated accounts of many central issues in metaethics, action theory, jurisprudence, and the philosophy of religion. However, do they reach a consensus about natural law, or do they end up defending incommensurable ethical frameworks? Do they confirm the value of arguments based on natural law or do they cast doubt on it? This collection brings together contributions from various expert scholars to explore these issues and the pluralism that exists within medieval reflection on natural law. It is the first one to study the relation between the natural law theories of these various traditions of medieval philosophy: Jewish, Islamic, Byzantine, and Latin. Each of the first four essays surveys the 'natural law theory' of one of the religious traditions of medieval philosophy—Jewish, Islamic, Byzantine, and Latin—and its relation to the others. The next four essays explore some of the alternative accounts of natural law that arise within the Latin tradition. They range over St. Bonaventure, Peter of Tarentaise, Matthew of Aquasparta, John Duns Scotus, and Marsilius of Padua.

Modern systems theory provides a new paradigm for the analysis of society. In this volume, Niklas Luhmann, its leading exponent, explores its implications for our understanding of law. Luhmann argues that current thinking about how law operates within a modern society is seriously deficient. In this volume he lays out the theoretical and methodological tools that, he argues, can advance our understanding of contemporary society and, in particular, of the identity, performance, and function of the legal system within that society. In systems theory, society is its communications: they are its empirical reality; the items that can be observed and studied. Systems theory identifies how communications operate within a physical world and how different sub-systems of communication operate alongside each other. In this volume, Luhmann uses systems theory to address a question central to legal theory: what differentiates law from other parts of society? However, unlike conventional legal theory, this volume seeks to provide an answer in terms of a general social theory: a methodology that answers this question in a manner applicable not only to law, but also to all the other complex and highly differentiated systems within modern society, such as politics, the economy, religion, the media, and education. This truly sociological approach offers profound insights into the relationships between law and all of these other social systems.

This book examines the transgressions of the credit rating agencies before, during and after the recent financial crisis. It proposes that by restricting the agencies' ability to offer ancillary services there stands the opportunity to limit, in an achievable and practical manner, the potentially negative effect that the Big Three rating agencies - Standard & Poor's, Moody's and Fitch - may have upon the financial sector and society moreover. The book contains an extensive and in-depth discussion about how the agencies ascended to their current position, why they were able to do so and ultimately their behaviour once their position was cemented. This work offers a new framework for the reader to follow, suggesting that investors, issuers and the state have a 'desired' version of the agencies in their thinking and operate upon that basis when, in fact, those imagined agencies do not exist, as demonstrated by the 'actual' conduct of the agencies. The book primarily aims to uncover this divergence and reveal the 'real' credit rating agencies, and then on that basis propose a real and potentially achievable reform to limit the negative effects that result from poor performance in this Industry. It addresses the topics with regard to financial regulation and the financial crisis, and will be of interest to legal scholars interested in the intersection between business and he law as well as researchers, academics, policymakers, industry and professional associations and students in the fields of corporate law, banking and finance law, financial regulation, corporate governance and corporate finance.

The book poses the fundamental question of what objectivity means in practical legal discourse and what is its role. By applying critical discourse analysis to the applications of the term "objectivity" in judicial discourse - based on cases from Poland - the book identifies a rich taxonomy of objectivity's uses that judges make of the concept of objectivity. The main results are that objectivity has a special meaning in the legal discourse based on legal authority, and that a case can be made for a stronger interconnection between objectivity and intersubjectivity. These results challenge the theoretical foundations of the debate on objectivity in the legal discourse and open new perspectives for the justification of this concept in modern societies.

The notion and understanding of law penetrated society in Ancient Rome to a degree unparalleled in modern times. The poet Juvenal, for instance, described the virtuous man as a good soldier, faithful guardian, incorruptible judge and honest witness.
This book is concerned with four central questions: Who made the law? Where did a Roman go to discover what the law was? How has the law survived to be known to us today? And what procedures were there for putting the law into effect? In The Sources of Roman Law, the origins of law and their relative weight are described in the light of developing Roman history. This is a topic that appeals to a wide range of readers: the law student will find illumination for the study of the substantive law; the student of history will be guided into an appreciation of what Roman law means as well as its value for the understanding and interpretation of Roman history. Both will find invaluable the description of how the sources have survived to inform our legal system and pose their problems for us.

The notion and understanding of law penetrated society in Ancient Rome to a degree unparalleled in modern times. The poet Juvenal, for instance, described the virtuous man as a good soldier, faithful guardian, incorruptible judge and honest witness. This book is concerned with four central questions: Who made the law? Where did a Roman go to discover what the law was? How has the law survived to be known to us today? And what procedures were there for putting the law into effect? In this volume the origins of law and their relative weight are described in the light of developing Roman history. This is a text that may appeal to a wide range of readers: the law student for the study of the substantive law, and the student of history for a guide to what Roman law means as well as its value for the understanding and interpretation of Roman history.

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.

Environmental crimes are primarily driven by financial motives. The combined financial value of illicit trade in protected wildlife, illegal logging and waste trafficking is estimated to come directly after counterfeiting, the narcotic drugs trade and illegal gambling. Logically, the proceeds of these crimes must also be laundered. Goods, however, are not the only money maker for environmental criminals. Corporations may also try to 'save' costs by not complying with environmental regulations and thus commit crimes of omission rather than commission. From an enforcement and compliance perspective focusing on the proceeds of crime may therefore be an effective strategy. This book brings together different perspectives on the financial aspects of environmental crime and harm from a green criminological viewpoint. It addresses the role of economic systems, the value of environmental performance for corporations, money laundering in the context of environmental crime, financial investigation and questions of regulation and penalties. 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 financial dimensions of crime and the environment.

This work is devoted to analyzing three major frames of justice--group justice, individual desert, and life affirmation--and their implications for social policy as well as their reflections in contemporary social policies. Pelton finds that all three frames of justice are reflected in the Bible and, later, the Koran. He contends that there is no evidence in the Bible of a genesis or development from one frame of justice to another. Rather, a sense of justice has existed in the human mind from time immemorial, with the three frames coexisting and manifesting themselves in both inter- and intra-group relations. The prominence of one frame over another at any particular point in history or in a particular geographical location is influenced by a variety of factors, though it is ultimately open to human choice. Pelton compares and contrasts the philosophies of nonviolence and liberalism in regard to the frames, and explores the relationships between principle, sentiment, reason, justice, and policy. He discusses social science's problematic relationship to justice in policymaking--for instance, how scholars have focused more on the effectiveness of policies, largely in terms of statistical outcomes reflecting aggregate data analyses, than on their justice. He goes on to explore in depth how frames of justice give direction to social policies, including those of genocide. Frames of Justice is an outstanding work that analyzes the question of justice and social policy, while simultaneously exploring the notion of desert in religion, philosophy, and legislation--especially within the context of the moral question of the relationship between means and ends--and contrasting it with the principle of life affirmation.

Legal Pluralism in Central Asia reports on historical, anthropological and legal research which examines customary legal practices in Kyrgyzstan and relates them to wider societal developments in Central Asia and further afield. Using the term legal pluralism, the book demonstrates that there is a spectrum of approaches, available avenues, forms of local law and indigenous popular justice in Kyrgyzstan's predominantly rural communities, which can be labelled living law. Based on her extensive original research, Mahabat Sadyrbek shows how contemporary peoples systematically address challenging problems, such as disputes, violence, accidents, crime and other difficulties, and thereby seek justice, redress, punishment, compensation, readjustment of relations or closure. She demonstrates that local law, expressed through ritually structured communicative exchange, through dictums and proverbs with binding characters and different legal practices or processes undertaken in specific ways, deem the solutions appropriate and acceptable. The reader is thereby enabled to see the law in people's deepest assumptions and beliefs, in codes of shame and honour, in local mores and ethics as well as in religious terms. In this way, the book reveals the dynamic, changing and living character of law in a specific context and in a region hitherto insufficiently researched within legal anthropology.

There have been few studies of the Law Lords, and no study of them by a political scientist for more than ten years. This book concentrates on the arguments the Law Lords use in justifying their decisions, and is concerned as much with the legal methodology as with the substance of their decisions. Very close attention is paid to the different approaches and styles of judicial argument, but the book is not restricted to this traditional analytic approach. One chapter applies the statistical techniques Americans call 'jurimetrics' and have successfully used on the US Supreme Court. The main theme is that the Law Lords enjoy and fully utilise far more discretion in their judgements than is normally admitted, and that much depends on exactly which judges happen to hear a case. the second part of the book shows the impact this extreme discretion has had in shaping both public law and areas of civil law.