English Legal System in Context takes a unique and highly praised analytical approach to the subject of the English Legal System. Frequent examples are incorporated throughout the text, illustrating the link between theory and practice, while the concise and engaging style enables students to have an excellent understanding of the subject as a whole. A wide range of traditional core areas are covered in the text, such as the courts, case law, legal professionals and civil and criminal proceedings. However, the authors also discuss areas such as the role of private policing and the work of non-police agencies, giving students a balanced overview of the subject area. Additionally, the text provides a wealth of references for students who want to gain a deeper understanding of the legal system. With a clear and logical structure, this perceptive and wide ranging text provides a unique introduction to the English Legal System.

This book addresses three major questions about law and legal systems: (1) What are the defining and organising forms of legal institutions, legal rules, interpretative methodologies, and other legal phenomena? (2) How does frontal and systematic focus on these forms advance understanding of such phenomena? (3) What credit should the functions of forms have when such phenomena serve policy and related purposes, rule of law values, and fundamental political values such as democracy, liberty, and justice? This book seeks to offer general answers to these questions and thus gives form in the law its due. The answers not only provide articulate conversancy with the subject but also reveal insights into the nature of law itself, the oldest and foremost problem in legal theory and allied subjects.

Due Process is one of the most interesting and conceptually challenging areas of the common law, and in recent years there has been a major revival of interest in the sheer range and applicability of the term. In this major new book, the author of the widely admired Discretionary Powers offers a study of the underlying principles of due process and fair procedures, and sets the discussion within a broad comparative and theoretical framework. In landmark decisions such as Ridge v. Baldwin (1968) the courts in Britain and other parts of the Commonwealth have begun to recognize the importance of procedural fairness across a broad spectrum of official powers and decisions. Principles have begun to emerge, and yet the courts have not yet developed an approach which is entirely adequate to the task. In this timely book, the author traces the development of these principles within a framework which includes analysis and critique of legal developments in the major common law jurisdictions, and which relates these developments to similar ideas under both the European Convention on Human Rights and the American Constitution. Original, scholarly and thought-provoking, this major new study will be required reading for lawyers with interests in public law, civil and criminal procedure, civil liberties, legal theory and comparative law.

Focusing on the Maghrib in the period between 1300 and 1500, in this 2002 book David Powers analyses the application of Islamic law through the role of the mufti. To unravel the sophistication of the law, he considers six cases which took place in the Marinid period on subjects as diverse as paternity, fornication, water rights, family endowments, the slander of the Prophet and disinheritance. The source for these disputes are fatwas issued by the muftis, which the author uses to situate each case in its historical context and to interpret the principles of Islamic law. In so doing he demonstrates that, contrary to popular stereotypes, muftis were in fact dedicated to reasoned argument, and sensitive to the manner in which law, society and culture interacted. The book represents a groundbreaking approach to a complex field. It will be read by students of Islamic law and those interested in traditional Muslim societies.

What is the founding relationship between Kant s general principle of rational law and his categorical imperative? On the one hand, Mosayebi answers this question by showing how Kant consistently developed the general principle of law from his moral philosophy. On the other hand, he demonstrates those transcendental critical moments that characterize this principle in contrast to the categorical imperative."

Jewish law is a singular legal system that has been evolving for generations. Often conflated with Biblical law or Israeli law, Jewish law needs to be studied in its own right. An Introduction to Jewish Law expounds the general structure of Jewish law and presents the cardinal principles of this religious legal system. An introduction to modern Jewish law as it applies to the daily life of Jews around the world, this volume presents Jewish law in a way that answers all the questions that a student of comparative law would ask when encountering an unfamiliar legal system. Sources of Jewish law such as revelation, rabbinical and communal legislation, judicial decisions, and legal reasoning are defined and analyzed, and the authority of who decides what Jewish law is and why their decisions are binding is investigated.

Customary Law in the Modern World is the study of a coherent and well-established legal system, which is now operating in the context of a modern nation-state and therefore poised between remaining relevant and the threat of marginalization. Focusing on Sudan, the author places customary law in its historical and cultural context, analyzing the fundamental and traditional values that underlie customary law and the impact of the war between the North and the South that lasted intermittently for half a century. He deals with the substance of customary law, covering a wide variety of areas: family law, property law, torts and criminal liability. Drawing on interviews conducted with judges, legislators and practicing lawyers on customary law and its future in the modern context, the book challenges the development of customary law to build on the positives of tradition and the reform of its shortcomings, particularly in the areas of human rights, gender equality and the protection of children. This book fills a gap in the literature on customary law, and will be of great interest to anyone interested in law, anthropology and politics.

The number one best-selling legal skills guide, covering all the practical and academic skills a student needs throughout their studies. Legal Skills is the essential text for students new to law, helping them make the transition from secondary education and equipping them with the skills they need to succeed from the beginning of their degree, through to final-year exams and dissertations. · Written in an accessible and friendly style, structured in three parts: Sources of Law, Academic Legal Skills, and Practical Legal Skills · Self-test questions and practical activities throughout allow students to take a hands-on approach to learning a wide range of legal skills · Diagrams, screenshots and examples used frequently to illustrate key concepts · New chapter on drafting skills, introducing writing skills necessary in legal practice · New 'skills beyond study' feature which helps students identify the transferability of legal skills · Updated coverage of the impact of Brexit and retained EU law · New section on taking care of yourself during the assessment period and how to find support for mental health and accessibility · Videos on presentation, mooting, and negotiation refreshed Digital formats and resources The ninth edition is available for students and institutions to purchase in a variety of formats, and is supported by online resources. - The e-book offers a mobile experience and convenient access along with embedded self-assessment activities, and multi-media content including a series of supportive videos and links that offer extra learning support: www.oxfordtextbooks.co.uk/ebooks - The study tools that enhance the e-book are all also available as stand-alone online resources for use alongside the print book. They include answers to the self-test questions and practical exercises from the book, and a glossary of all the keywords and terms used. There is also an extensive range of videos with guidance on topics from what to expect from lectures and tutorials, how to research for essays and structure problem questions, to examples of good and bad practice in mooting and negotiations.

Over the last ten years mobile payment systems have revolutionised banking in some countries in Africa. In Kenya the introduction of M-Pesa, a new financial services model, has transformed the banking and financial services industry. Giving the unbanked majority access to the financial services market it has attracted over 18 million subscribers which is remarkable given that fewer than 4 million people in Kenya have bank accounts. This book addresses the legal and regulatory issues arising out of the introduction of M-Pesa in Kenya and its drive towards financial inclusion. It considers the interaction between regulation and technological innovation with a particular focus on the regulatory tools, institutional arrangements and government decisional processes through the examination as a whole of its regulatory capacity. This is done with a view to understanding the regulatory capacity of Kenya in addressing the vulnerabilities presented by technological innovation in the financial industry for consumers after financial inclusion. It also examines the way that mobile payments have been regulated by criticising the piecemeal approach that the Central Bank of Kenya has taken in addressing the legal and regulatory issues presented by mobile payments. The book argues there are significant gaps in the regulatory regime of mobile banking in Kenya.

Natural law theory has been undergoing a revival, especially in political philosophy and jurisprudence. Yet, most fundamentally, natural law theory is not a political theory, but a moral theory, or more accurately a theory of practical rationality. According to the natural law account of practical rationality, the basic reasons for actions are basic goods that are grounded in the nature of human beings. Practical rationality aims to identify and characterize reasons for action and to explain how choice between actions worth performing can be appropriately governed by rational standards. These standards are justified by reference to features of the human goods that are the fundamental reasons for action. This book is a defence of a contemporary natural law theory of practical rationality, demonstrating its inherent plausibility and engaging systematically with rival egoist, consequentialist, Kantian and virtue accounts.

The dominant and deceptively simple theme of this book is the relationship between the moral environment of the courtroom and that of the society in which the court is situated. Like other Past and Present conference proceedings, the volume ranges widely across time and space, from ancient Greece to twentieth-century Africa. As a consequence, it encompasses not only the highly professional legal systems of the Roman, later medieval and modern worlds, but also the relatively unprofessionalized courts of classical Athens and of the early Middle Ages and the alien, imposed legal systems of colonial Rhodesia and Kenya. The Moral World of the Law is based upon papers delivered at the conference of that name, sponsored by the journal Past and Present and held at the University of Birmingham in 1996.

What is objectivity? What is the rule of law? Are the operations of legal systems objective? If so, in what ways and to what degrees are they objective? Does anything of importance depend on the objectivity of law? These are some of the principal questions addressed by Matthew H. Kramer in this lucid and wide-ranging study that introduces readers to vital areas of philosophical enquiry. As Kramer shows, objectivity and the rule of law are complicated phenomena, each comprising a number of distinct though overlapping dimensions. Although the connections between objectivity and the rule of law are intimate, they are also densely multi-faceted.

Economic Principles of Law, first published in 2007, applies economics to the doctrines, rules and remedies of the common law. In plain English and using non-technical analysis, it offers an introduction and exposition of the 'economic approach' to law - one of the most exciting and vibrant fields of legal scholarship and applied economics. Beginning with a brief history of the field, it sets out the basic economic concepts useful to lawyers, and applies these to assess the core areas of the common law - property, contract, tort and crime - with particular emphasis on their doctrinal structure and remedies. This is done using leading cases drawn from the birthplace of the common law (England & Wales) and other common law jurisdictions. The book serves as a primer to the wider use of economics which has become increasingly important for law students, lawyers, legislators, regulators and those concerned with our legal system generally.

A signal feature of legal and political institutions is that they exercise coercive power. The essays in this volume examine institutional coercion with the aim of trying to understand its nature, justification and limits. Included are essays that take a fresh look at perennial questions what, if anything, can legitimate state exercises of coercive force? What is coercion in politics and law? and essays that take a first or nearly first look at newer questions may the state coercively hold certain terrorists indefinitely? Does the state coerce those seeking to join in same-sex marriage when it refuses to extend legal recognition to same-sex marriage? Can there be a just international order without some agency possessed of the final and rightful authority to coerce states? Leading scholars from philosophy, political science and law examine these and related questions shedding new light on an apparently inescapable feature of political and legal life: Coercion."

This book is the first comprehensive study of the meaning and measure of enforceability. While we have long debated what restraints should govern the conduct of our social life, we have paid relatively little attention to the question of what it means to make a restraint enforceable. Focusing on the enforceability of legal rights but also addressing the enforceability of moral rights and social conventions, Mark Reiff explains how we use punishment and compensation to make restraints operative in the world. After describing the various means by which restraints may be enforced, Reiff explains how the sufficiency of enforcement can be measured, and he presents a unified theory of deterrence, retribution, and compensation that shows how these aspects of enforceability are interconnected. Reiff then applies his theory of enforceability to illuminate a variety of real-world problem situations.

The rule of law is the most important political ideal today, yet there is much confusion about what it means and how it works. This 2004 book explores the history, politics, and theory surrounding the rule of law ideal, beginning with classical Greek and Roman ideas, elaborating on medieval contributions to the rule of law, and articulating the role played by the rule of law in liberal theory and liberal political systems. The author outlines the concerns of Western conservatives about the decline of the rule of law and suggests reasons why the radical Left have promoted this decline. Two basic theoretical streams of the rule of law are then presented, with an examination of the strengths and weaknesses of each. The book examines the rule of law on a global level, and concludes by answering the question of whether the rule of law is a universal human good.

This book offers original contributions to the debate over the issue of equality of opportunity. Lesley Jacobs sets out a theory of equality of opportunity that presents equal opportunities as a normative device for the regulation of competition for scarce resources. He then considers the practical ways that courts, legislatures or public policy makers can address racial, class or gender injustices. Jacobs examines standardized tests, affirmative action, workfare, universal health-care, comparable worth, and the economic consequences of divorce in this context.

Peter Sutton highlights fundamental anthropological issues concerned with customary rights, kinship, identity and spirituality that are highly relevant to land claim cases. Native land claims continue to be one of the most controversial political, legal and moral issues in contemporary Australia. Ever since the High Court's Mabo decision of 1992, the attempt to understand and adapt "native title" to different contexts and claims has been an ongoing concern for all involved.

Native title has often been one of the most controversial political, legal and indeed moral issues in Australia. Ever since the High Court's Mabo decision of 1992, the attempt to understand and adapt native title to different contexts and claims has been an ongoing concern for that broad range of people involved with claims. In this book, originally published in 2003, Peter Sutton sets out fundamental anthropological issues to do with customary rights, kinship, identity, spirituality and so on that are relevant for lawyers and others working on title claims. Sutton offers a critical discussion of anthropological findings in the field of Aboriginal traditional interests in land and waters, focusing on the kinds of customary rights that are 'held' in Aboriginal 'countries', the types of groups whose members have been found to enjoy those rights, and how such groups have fared over the last 200 years of Australian history.

David Powers analyzes the application of Islamic law through six cases which took place during the period 1300 to 1500 in the Maghrib. The source for these disputes are fatwas issued by the muftis, which Powers uses to situate each case in its historical context and to interpret the principles of law. He demonstrates that, contrary to popular stereotypes, muftis were dedicated to reasoned argument. The book represents a ground-breaking approach to a complex subject area for students and scholars.

This study examines the Law Reports of Sir John Davies and litigation pleaded before the central Irish courts during the period in which Davies served in Ireland as solicitor-general (1603–6) and attorney-general (1606–19). The author’s main concern is to explicate the legal and jurisprudential issues involved and to draw out their deeper political implications. He argues that, in the absence of a malleable parliament, judge-made law became the instrument by which the Jacobean regime consolidated the Tudor conquest. The book also touches on the influence of the implementation of the law on the Irish coinage, Gaelic tenurial customs and religious conformity. More controversial themes include the origins of precedent in the Anglo-American legal tradition, the use of continental civil law in common law litigation and the relationship of early modern Ireland to the development of an imperial jurisprudence.

Focusing on U.S. property rights law and the notions of private property and the Rule of Law, this book paints an unconventional picture of law and rights in general. Law and rights shift and cycle as systematic factors like increasing numbers and complexity produce tough institutional choices and unexpected combinations of goals and institutions, such as private property best protected by the unconstrained political process and communitarian values best achieved through exit and atomistic markets. These forces also frustrate attempts to export the U.S. image of rights. Although there may be an important role for law, rights and courts both in the U.S. and abroad, it can not be easily defined. This book proposes a way to define that role and to change the way we look at law.

This book looks at the first eight Sanskrit law codes written in India, between 600 BCE and 570 ACE. It focuses on the legal, religious and ethical customs which were codified in this period and their impact on the social and political life of women. The volume analyzes texts such as the Dharma Sutras, the Arthasastra, the Manu Smriti, the Yajnyavalkya Smriti, and Narada Smriti, amongst others. It studies discourses on justice, conduct, virtues and duties, and how early laws were used to systematize patriarchy and the varna caste system in South Asia. It examines how patrimonial laws and male property rights highlighted social anxieties about female chastity and varna lineage, which led to the subordination of women and the lower varnas. These anxieties are most evident in codes from the late Vedic and early classical eras when diverse new settlers arrived upon the subcontinent. At this time, kings decentralized governance and allowed local groups to practice communal laws, while they meted out court justice with a specific law code. As the state became prosperous from trade conducted by merchants of diverse castes, sects, and classes, and social peace was ensured by officials from disparate backgrounds, kings began to rely upon a law code that aspired for equity above intolerance. These chapters examine heterodox Theravada Buddhism and Jainism, their origins in the oligarchic state, their impact on the royal Sanskritic state, as seen in canonical literature. They especially focus on women's roles in heterodox sects, and the emergence of new spaces for women, as such changes were adopted in disparate ways and degrees by other South Asian communities. The volume will be a useful resource for students and researchers of history, women and gender studies, social anthropology, sociology, and law. It will also serve as an information guide for readers who are interested in the political, and social life of women in early India

This book examines the legal, ethical and regulatory debates surrounding the rise of the cosmetic procedures industry. In the past, cosmetic procedures were often seen as limited to a small number of wealthy older women. Today, such procedures have gone mainstream, partly facilitated by the rise of 'non-invasive' techniques, such as the use of Botox and Dermal Fillers. While still a business dominated by the female consumer, there is also an increasing number of males undertaking cosmetic procedures as social expectations around appearance and ageing are challenged. At the same time, the rapid expansion of this business and the incoherent, diverse approach to its regulation have given rise to concern. It has been seen as a 'Wild West'. If cosmetic procedures go wrong, such procedures give rise to real risks of harm. This book examines the historical backdrop, current practice and risks associated with cosmetic procedures. It discusses the ethical and regulatory challenges for this area. It also examines the current legal frameworks concerning people, practitioners and products in the UK. The book also draws lessons from regulatory approaches in other jurisdictions with particular reference to the United States, Brazil and France. It then sets out a legal and regulatory framework that might better protect and empower the cosmetic consumer, now and in the future. The book is likely to be of particular interest to those working in the areas of health and medical law, socio-legal studies and political science.

Given that persons typically have a right not to be subjected to the hard treatment of punishment, it would seem natural to conclude that the permissibility of punishment is centrally a question of rights. Despite this, the vast majority of theorists working on punishment focus instead on important aims, such as achieving retributive justice, deterring crime, restoring victims, or expressing society's core values. Wellman contends that these aims may well explain why we should want a properly constructed system of punishment, but none shows why it would be permissible to institute one. Only a rights-based analysis will suffice, because the type of justification we seek for punishment must demonstrate that punishment is permissible, and it would be permissible only if it violated no one's rights. On Wellman's view, punishment is permissible just in case the wrongdoer has forfeited her right against punishment by culpably violating (or at least attempting to violate) the rights of others. After defending rights forfeiture theory against the standard objections, Wellman explains this theory's implications for a number of core issues in criminal law, including the authority of the state, international criminal law, the proper scope of the criminal law and the tort/crime distinction, procedural rights, and the justification of mala prohibita.