Although relatively new as a distinct field of study, transitional justice has become rapidly established as a vital field of enquiry. From vaguely exotic origins on the outer edges of political science, the study of 'justice' in times of transition has emerged as a central concern of scholarship and practical policy-making. A process of institutionalisation has confirmed this importance. The ICTY, the ICTR, the ICC, hybrid tribunals in Sierra Leone and East Timor and 'local' processes such as the Iraqi Higher Tribunal (IHT) have energised international law and international criminal justice scholarship. The South African TRC was for a time lauded as the model for dealing with the past and remains one of the most researched institutions in the world. It is one of approximately two dozen such institutions established in different transitional contexts over the past twenty years to assist conflicted societies to come to terms with a violent past. At the national level, international donors contribute huge sums of money to 'Rule of Law' programmes designed to transform national justice systems. This collection seeks to offer something quite different to the mainstream of scholarship in this area, emphasising the need for bespoke solutions to different transitions rather than 'off the shelf' models. The collection is designed to offer a space for diversity, prompted by a series of perspectives "from below" of societies beset by past violent conflict which have sought to effect their transition to justice. In doing so the contributors have also sought to enrich discussion about the role of human rights in transition, the continuing usefulness of perspectives from above, and the still contested meanings of "transition".

1875. The author examines the customs out of which the law has developed. He explains in the introduction that all laws float in men's minds long before they send down a precipitate of imperative words. For example, it must have been understood by men that theft-the act of taking the property of another without his consent-was wrong before they made a law to punish the thief, with the view of preventing similar depredations. But long before men made a law they had bolts to their doors, and if they caught the robber they exercised their right by taking his booty from him and possibly even by inflicting upon him a vengeful punishment. This was not done by one man but by many, and we see in it the embryonic custom out of which the law has developed.

Why do some people take a neighbor to court over a barking dog or some other nuisance while others accept the pains and losses associated with defective products or discrimination without seeking legal recourse? Patricia Ewick and Susan S. Silbey collected accounts of the law from more than four hundred people of diverse backgrounds in order to explore the different ways that people use and experience it. Their fascinating and original study identifies three narratives of law common to the stories people tell. One is based on the perception that the law is magisterial and remote. Another views the law as a game with rules that can be manipulated to one's advantage. A third describes the law as an arbitrary power that can be actively resisted. Drawing on these extensive case studies, Ewick and Silbey interweave individual experiences with an analysis that constructs a coherent and compelling theory of legality. A groundbreaking study of law and narrative, The Common Place of Law shows an institution as it is lived: strange and familiar, imperfect and ordinary, and at the center of daily life.

The Rights of War and Peace establishes a system of international law based on the concept of natural law. Natural law, as Grotius describes it, is law that applies to all people, regardless of country or nationality. This law establishes concepts like "justifiable war" and "natural justice." Grotius discusses situations under which countries should go to war, and then further explains the proper way in which wars should be prosecuted. There are, he says, certain rules in warfare that must be observed, regardless of whether the parties involved have signed any specific agreement to do so. Philosophy and law students, as well as those with an interest in international politics, will be amazed at how modern many of Grotius's ideas seem and intrigued by this foray into international law that still has repercussions in the world today. HUGO GROTIUS (1583-1645) was born in the city of Delft in the Dutch Republic. Staggeringly intelligent, he entered the University of Leiden at age eleven and graduated at age fifteen. He was a philosopher and Christian apologist now remembered for his work in establishing a philosophical basis for international law.

It has become increasingly difficult to speak or even think social or legal justice in an age when words have left their moorings. Perhaps images are more stable than words; maybe images and imagery possess a certain viscosity,even a sensory quality, which prevents them from evaporating. This 'maybe' is what this book is about. The contributors to this collection explore the issue of how the Imaginary (images, imagery, imagination) has a role in the production and reproduction of 'visions' of legal and social justice. It argues that 'visions' of justice are inevitably bounded. Boundaries of 'visions' of justice, however, are also 'imaginary'. They emerge within imaginary spaces, and, as they are 'imaginary', they are inherently unstable. The book captures an emerging interest (in the humanities and social sciences) in images and the visual, or the Imaginary more broadly. This collection will appeal to scholars and students of social and legal theory, visual culture, justice and governance studies, media studies, and criminology.

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.

This noteworthy book develops a new theory of the natural law that takes its orientation from the account of the natural law developed by Thomas Aquinas, as interpreted and supplemented in the context of scholastic theology in the twelfth and thirteenth centuries.

Though this history might seem irrelevant to twenty-first-century life, Jean Porter shows that the scholastic approach to the natural law still has much to contribute to the contemporary discussion of Christian ethics. Aquinas and his interlocutors provide a way of thinking about the natural law that is distinctively theological while at the same time remaining open to other intellectual perspectives, including those of science.

In the course of her work, Porter examines the scholastics' assumptions and beliefs about nature, Aquinas's account of happiness, and the overarching claim that reason can generate moral norms. Ultimately, Porter argues that a Thomistic theory of the natural law is well suited to provide a starting point for developing a more nuanced account of the relationship between specific beliefs and practices. While Aquinas's approach to the natural law may not provide a system of ethical norms that is both universally compelling and detailed enough to be practical, it does offer something that is arguably more valuable -- namely, a way of reflecting theologically on the phenomenon of human morality.

Restorative Justice has emerged around the world as a potent challenge to traditional models of criminal justice, and restorative programmes, policies and legislative reforms are being implemented in many western nations. However, the underlying aims, values and limits of this new paradigm remain somewhat uncertain and those advocating Restorative Justice have rarely engaged in systematic debate with those defending more traditional conceptions of criminal justice. This volume, containing contributions from scholars of international renown, provides an analytic exploration of Restorative Justice and its potential advantages and disadvantages. Chapters of the book examine the aims and limiting principles that should govern Restorative Justice, its appropriate scope of application, its social and legal contexts, its practice and impact in a number of jurisdictions and its relation to more traditional criminal-justice conceptions. These questions are addressed by twenty distinguished criminologists and legal scholars in papers which make up this volume. These contributions will help clarify the aims that Restorative Justice might reasonably hope to achieve, the limits that should apply in pursuing these aims, and how restorative strategies might comport with, or replace, other penal strategies. Contributors: Andrew Ashworth, Anthony E Bottoms, John Braithwaite, Kathleen Daly, James Dignan, R A Duff, Carolyn Hoyle, Barbara Hudson, Leena Kurki, Allison Morris, Kent Roach, Julian V Roberts, Paul Roberts, Mara Schiff, Joanna Shapland, Clifford Shearing, Daniel van Ness, Andrew von Hirsch, Lode Walgrave, Richard Young. 'Discussions of restorative justice as a complement to or alternate to criminal or retributive justice remain in their infancy, yet this collection assures that this critically important discussion moves forward. These thought-provoking essays on a timely topic need to be read by people in the punishment business. Summing up: Highly recommended.' MA Foley, Marywood University, December 2003. 'This book is essential reading for anybody interested in the development of restorative justice and the future of criminal justice. Each contribution is significant and well written.' Gerry Johnstone, in the Howard Journal of Criminal Justice, February 2004 'One of the strengths of this collection is the way it places restorative justice developments in context. In this publication, and the earlier 'Restorative Justice for Juveniles: Conferencing, Mediation and Circles', Hart Publishing establishes a reputation for publishing some of the best, and most thoughtful, material on restorative justice.' Declan Roche, in the British Journal of Sociology, January 2004

In recent years, there has been a great revival of interest in natural law thinking, one that has occurred across a range of disciplines and perspectives - from the philosophical and theological to the most contemporary debates in the area of legal and political philosophy. Much of this recent work is traced to the thouht of St. Thomas Aquinas. To explore and evaluate the current revival, this volume brings together many of the foremost scholrs on natural law. They examine the relation between Thomistic natural law and the larger philosophical and theological tradition. Furthermore, they assess the contemporary relevance of St. Thomas's natural law doctrine to current legal and political philosophy. The book contains an extensive introduction to the topic, followed by four sections that treat various aspects of natural law thinking. The first section examines some of the philosophical foundations of natural law, especially the understanding of nature it presupposes. The second section is devoted to the theological context in which St. Thomas's natural law doctrine is situated. The essays in the third section discuss the new natural law theory espoused by Germain Grisez and John Finnis and the hotly debated question as to whether their theory is genuinely Thomistic. The final section explores several contemporary legal and political issues in light of St. Thomas's natural law thinking.

The country's leading libertarian scholar sets forth the essential principles for a legal system that best balances individual liberty versus the common good.

A compilation of lectures delivered by the renowned and prolific law scholar, who was formerly Chief Judge of Oyo State and Justice of the Supreme Court of Nigeria. His essays cover ethics in business; democracy and civil society; constitutionalism; democracy, individual rights and law; human rights; international human rights norms and their domestic application; human rights in judicial decisions; the Nigerian judiciary and its role in post-colonial Africa into the twenty-first century; interpretations of statutes, and certainties in law.

If your adult child becomes incapacitated or dies, you do not automatically gain custody of your grandchildren. Sometimes, depending on the age of the children and whether or not they are adoptable will determine who gets custody. Hundreds of thousands of dollars in federal bonus monies are given to states each year when they exceed the number of adoptions from the previous year. Your grandchild may be needed to help reach the numbers necessary for your state to receive its bonus.

This journal of the international natural law society includes featured articles, book reviews, and an annotated bibliography. (Legal Reference)

Lon Fuller coined the term "eunomics" for "the study of good order and workable social arrangements." The essays in this volume--representing most of the work of his mature years--are his "exercises in eunomics." They are studies of the principal forms of legal order, including contract, adjudication, mediation, legislation, and administration. In addition, the volume includes several essays on legal education and the ethics of lawyering. Fuller thought of lawyers as "architects of social structure," that is, creators and managers of the various forms of legal order. These responsibilities require close attention to problems of institutional design, in which the concern is with ends as well as means. Accordingly, Fuller believed that legal education should shift from the analysis of appellate court cases to a problem-solving orientation, attending to the conditions for "orderly, fair, and decent" governance. In a lecture on freedom published for the first time in this edition, Fuller develops the idea that the forms of legal order are the diverse vehicles by which freedom is effectively exercised in society. Lon Fuller taught contracts and jurisprudence at the Harvard Law School from 1939 to 1972, where he was Carter Professor of General Jurisprudence. His writings, such as "The Case of the Speluncean Explorers," are classics of the legal literature.

This collection of essays focuses attention on the global impact of legal policies on levels of poverty. They illustrate the distinct dimensions of poverty in a range of different political and cultural settings and also show how poverty is exacerbated by quite discrete local cultural factors in some instances. There is,nonetheless a universal element which runs through all the contributions. The fate of those who are disadvantaged in society depends crucially on their access to goods through the world of work. Thus gender, ethnic background or disability can result in individuals having a much higher chance of experiencing poverty than those outwith these groups and the success of these groups in achieving a measure of prosperity is bound up with a multiplicity of geographical and political factors. This book is part of the Onati International Series in Law and Society.

Against a backdrop of seven hundred years of bourgeois struggle, eminent lawyer and educator, Michael E. Tigar, develops a Marxist theory of law and jurisprudence based upon the Western experience. This well-researched and documented study traces the role of law and lawyers in the European bourgeoisies's conquest of power and in the process complements the analyses of such major figures as R.H. tawney and Max Weber. Using a wide frange of primary sources, Tigar demonstrates that the legal theory of insurgent bourgeoisie predated the Protestant Reformation and was a major ideological ingredient of the bourgeois revolution.

Effective policy-making in the administration of justice requires a solid understanding of public behaviour. This book presents the results of the most wide-ranging survey ever conducted by an independent body or government agency into the experiences of ordinary citizens as they grapple with the sorts of problems that could ultimately end in the civil courts. Funded by the Nuffield Foundation, the survey identifies how often people experience problems for which there might be a legal solution and how they set about solving them.

Revealing crucial differences in the approach taken to different kinds of potential legal problems, the study describes the factors that influence decisions about whether and where to seek advice about problems, and whether and when to go to law. In addition to exploring experiences of courts, tribunals and ADR processes, the study also provides important insights into public confidence in the courts and the judiciary. For the first time the study reveals the public's perspective on access to civil justice and makes a significant contribution to debate about how far civil justice reforms coincide with public experience and expectations about resolving justiciable problems.

Leaving Iberia: Islamic Law and Christian Conquest in North West Africa examines Islamic legal responses to Muslims living under Christian rule in medieval and early modern Iberia and North Africa. The fall of al-Andalus, or reconquista, has long been considered a turning point, when the first substantial Muslim populations fell under permanent Christian rule. Yet a near-exclusive focus on conquered Iberian Muslims has led scholars to overlook a substantial body of legal opinions issued in response to Portuguese and Spanish occupation in Morocco itself, beginning in the early fifteenth century. By moving beyond Iberia and following Christian conquerors and Muslim emigrants into North Africa, Leaving Iberia links the juristic discourses on conquered Muslims on both sides of the Mediterranean, critiques the perceived exceptionalism of the Iberian Muslim predicament, and adds a significant chapter to the story of Christian-Muslim relations in the medieval Mediterranean. The final portion of the book explains the disparate fates of these medieval legal opinions in colonial Algeria and Mauritania, where jurists granted lasting authority to some opinions and discarded others. Based on research in the Arabic manuscript libraries of five countries, Leaving Iberia offers the first fully annotated translations of the major legal texts under analysis.

This text presents a general theory of law based on the principles of liberation theology. Robert Rodes also points out the compatability of this theology with traditional doctrines of natural law and traditional Catholic social teaching.

The political editor of The Congressional Quarterly looks at how a bill becomes law--both on the open floors of Congress and behind closed doors. Using the Family and Medical Leave Act of 1993 as his focus, Ronald D. Elving shows how the bill was gradually expanded to draw support from both parties. "Authoritative and suspenseful".--The Washington Post Book World.

He argues for the reconstruction of legal analysis as a discipline of institutional imagination. He shows how a changed practice of legal analysis can help us re-imagine and reshape the dominant institutions of representative democracy, market economy and free civil society. The search for basic social alternatives, largely abandoned by philosophy and politics, can find in such a practice a new point of departure. Unger criticizes the dominant, rationalizing style of legal doctrine, with its obsessional focus upon adjudication and its urge to suppress or contain conflict or contradiction in law. He shows how we can turn legal analysis into a way of talking about the alternative institutional futures of a democratic society. The programmatic proposals of Unger's Politics are here placed within a wider field of possibilities. A major concern of the book is to explore how professional specialties such as legal thought can inform the public debate in a democracy. The book exemplifies this connection: Unger's arguments are accessible to those with no specialized knowledge of law or legal theory.