This thought-provoking book develops and elaborates on the artifact theory of law, covering a wide range of related theoretical and practical topics. Offering a range of perspectives that flesh out the artifact theory of law, it also introduces criticisms of previous formulations of the theory and inquires into its potential payoffs. Featuring international contributions from both noted and up-and-coming scholars in law and philosophy, the book is divided into two parts. The first part further explores and evaluates the concept of law as an artifact and analyses the background and theoretical basis of the theory. The second part comprises three sections on legal ontology, semantics and legal normativity, specifically in relation to law's artifactual nature. Providing cutting-edge insights at the intersection of law and philosophy, this book will appeal to scholars and students in philosophy of law, empirical legal studies, social ontology and the philosophy of society.

In this incisive and thought-provoking book, Francois Venter illuminates the issues arising from the fact that the current language of constitutional law is strongly premised on a particular worldview rooted in the history of the states around the North Atlantic Ocean. Highlighting how this terminological hegemony is being challenged from various directions, Venter explores the problem that all constitutional comparatists face: that they all must use the same words to express different meanings. Offering a compact but comprehensive constitutional history, Venter investigates the ways in which the standard vocabulary does not fit comfortably in many contemporary constitutional orders, as well as examining how its cogency is increasingly being questioned. Chapters contextualize comparative constitutional methods to demonstrate how the language choices made by comparatists are shaped by their own perspectives, arguing that careful explanation of the meanings attached to constitutional terms is imperative in order to be persuasive or even understood. Tackling the foundational elements of the field, this book will be a critical read for constitutional scholars across the globe. It will also be of interest to high-level practitioners of constitutional law and political scientists for its investigation of terminology that is crucial to their work.

This commemorative work marks the hundredth year in which law has been taught at the University in Pietermaritzburg. It details the history of the teaching of law in Pietermaritzburg, and gathers contributions from top academics connected in various ways with the Faculty in Pietermaritzburg. The title includes a diverse range of articles and 19 photographs.

The Mindful Law Student is an innovative guide to learning about mindfulness and integrating mindfulness practices into the law school experience. Through the use of metaphor, insight, mindfulness practices, and relaxation, and self-care exercises, students are reminded of the tools they have long carried with them to navigate the exciting and challenging environment of law school and the practice of law. Scott Rogers brings readers on a journey through the law school experience with seven hypothetical students who experience situations that make tangible the challenges, benefits, and promise of mindfulness. He provides real-world examples of applying mindfulness in law school using language of the law to impart mindfulness insights and practices. This novel guide is an approachable and valuable resource for any law student.

Elgar Advanced Introductions are stimulating and thoughtful introductions to major fields in the social sciences, business and law, expertly written by the world's leading scholars. Designed to be accessible yet rigorous, they offer concise and lucid surveys of the substantive and policy issues associated with discrete subject areas. Drawing on historical, normative, theoretical, and economic methodologies, Pier Giuseppe Monateri offers a fresh critical analysis of various dimensions of comparative law methods. Comprehensive and engaging with a multidisciplinary approach, this Advanced Introduction spans the fields of comparative legal studies, law and finance and global law. Key features include: uses analysis of current issues to offer a genuinely advanced perspective use of theory for evaluating methods and approaches in comparative law a comprehensive treatment of the main themes and approaches in comparative law discussions. This insightful Advanced Introduction will be an excellent resource for both law students and scholars alike. It will also be a useful guide for those working in international law, as well as law clerks and legal advisors. Professor Emeritus, Kent Law School, UK

Elgar Advanced Introductions are stimulating and thoughtful introductions to major fields in the social sciences, business and law, expertly written by the world’s leading scholars. Designed to be accessible yet rigorous, they offer concise and lucid surveys of the substantive and policy issues associated with discrete subject areas. This Advanced Introduction to Substantive Criminal Law explores the doctrines, issues and controversies in the substantive field of criminal law. Chapters cover important theoretical and doctrinal topics, including the justifications for state blame and punishment, the foundations for criminalization, the prima facie case, affirmative defences of justification and excuse, and sentencing. Stephen J. Morse uses copious concrete examples drawn from cases, statutes and extended case studies, including the intricate grading of homicide, to enliven the discussion. Key Features: Concise and accessible format Theoretical explication of doctrinal intricacies Informative coverage and real world examples of criminal law Discussion of the challenges and responsibilities surrounding legal concepts of the person Providing a compact and succinct introduction to the rich scholarship of the field, this Advanced Introduction will be an ideal read for lawyers and law students interested in criminal law and justice. It will also be a valuable resource for law enforcement personnel and anyone looking to understand the role of criminal law as a means to achieve justice and social safety.

Contemplating the nature, practice and study of private law, this comprehensive book offers a detailed overview of private law's theoretical dimensions. It promotes a reflective attitude towards the topic, encouraging the reader to question how private law is practiced and studied, what this implies for their own engagement in the field and what kind of private lawyer they want to be. Marc Loth explores the central notion that private law is a multi-layered system which can only be fully apprehended in context. This thought-provoking book draws on examples from a range of legal systems to provide philosophical perspectives on the diverse dimensions of private law. Chapters examine the concept, history, language, values, methods and discipline of private law, as well as legal professionalism and the expertise of the private lawyer. Private Law in Context will be a key resource for scholars and postgraduate students interested in legal theory, legal philosophy, law and society and the nature of private law as a system and a practice.

Reforming Intellectual Property brings together 19 of the world's leading scholars in the field to offer their unique insight into the future of intellectual property. Providing a diverse array of perspectives on the most pressing reforms needed in the current IP regime, whether in terms of legislation at national and international levels, or interpretation of existing law, this exceptional book highlights the key issues in this area and sets out an agenda for future research and policy. Examining the question of what changes to IP law and policy are most urgent and would have the most impact, chapters cover a wide range of subjects, with some focusing on specific topics such as the reform of non-traditional trademarks, or the fair use and research exemption in patent law. Other contributions take a broader approach, such as a reappraisal of performers' rights in audio and audiovisual media that encompasses implications for creativity, welfare and ethics in the film industry, and a proposal for the creation of an International Intellectual Property Treaty. This book will prove to be crucial reading for all scholars and students of IP law, as well as policymakers and practitioners in the field. It will also be of interest to researchers working in related fields such as competition and human rights law for its intersecting analysis of these areas.

Elgar Advanced Introductions are stimulating and thoughtful introductions to major fields in the social sciences and law, expertly written by the world's leading scholars. Designed to be accessible yet rigorous, they offer concise and lucid surveys of the substantive and policy issues associated with discrete subject areas. In this carefully drafted work, Ernst Hirsch Ballin uncovers the foundations of legal research methods, an area of legal scholarship distinctly lacking in standardisation. Offering a critical overview of the theories underlying methodological research, as well as the methods themselves, the book explores how such methods differ along critical, empirical, and fundamental lines, and how, by building on these approaches, legal research may contribute to well-considered developments in the law. Such explorative research, the author argues, is crucial in overcoming crises and restoring trust in the law. Key features include: an exploration of the common object of legal research: law in the sense of legal rules, decisions, principles and values special emphasis on the legal-grammatical category of personhood and on constitutional foundations a consideration of law as a normative language intended to guide behaviour a consideration of the theoretical underpinnings of legal research methods. This Advanced Introduction will greatly benefit legal scholars who seek to understand the object and methods of their work, as well as law and philosophy students looking to grasp the theoretical and methodological foundations of law and legal development.

Foundations of Public Contracts undertakes an in-depth survey of the foundations of public contracts in three legal systems: American, French, and Brazilian. The comparison of these three systems highlights the legal phenomenon's historical, philosophical, and social origins. The book transcends the functional commonalities to penetrate into how American, French, and Brazilian lawyers think about the essence of government contracts law, the phenomenon of exceptionalism: preferential treatment that public procurement law provides to the state in its contractual dealing with private entities. Comparative public law professors and students will find great value in this exploration of the material sources of public contracts, an area that has heretofore received little attention in legal academia.

This revised second edition of Comparative Tort Law offers an updated and enriched framework for analysing and understanding the current state of tort law around the world. Using a critical comparative methodology, it examines common issues such as causation, economic and non-economic damages, product and professional liability, and the relationship between tort law and crime, insurance and public welfare schemes. Featuring contributions from international experts, this book also provides a comprehensive comparative assessment of tort law cultures, contextualising them within the legal systems and societies that sustain them. Chapters cover many jurisdictions often overlooked in the mainstream literature, and explore illuminating case studies from tort systems in Europe, the US, Latin America, Asia and sub-Saharan Africa, including new chapters specifically discussing tort law in Brazil, India and Russia. Comparative Tort Law is a critical tool for students, scholars and academic researchers, especially those specialising in tort and comparative law. It will also be useful to policymakers, practitioners and judges, in particular those dealing with differing tort law systems.

This timely book builds bridges between the notions of art and aesthetics, human rights, universality, and dignity. It explores a world in which art and justice enter a discussion to answer questions such as: can art translate the human experience? How does humanity link individuality and community building? How do human beings define and look for their identity? The fields of human rights and art are brought together in order to open the discussion. This interdisciplinary book brings together experts in the fields of art, cultural heritage, social justice, human rights, international law, and transitional justice, and presents the idea that a complex interplay between morality, politics, law, and aesthetics remains present in concrete settings such as the rights of cultural creators, the right to artistic expression, art as a catalyst of change in times of conflict, and post-conflict restitutions. Such Chapters offer vignettes of the current debates in the fields of art and human rights, tackling the issues at the confluence of these fields by providing both a general framework to understand the basis upon which the conversation can be built, and also by bringing to the discussion a diverse range of contemporary themes and concrete case analyses. This book will be an ideal read for academics interested in international law, transitional justice and human rights. Historians, lawyers, artists, and activists looking to explore the relationship between art and human rights in times of war, peace, and transition through their assessment of contemporary issues will also benefit from this comprehensive book.

This innovative Handbook provides an expansive interrogation of the spaces and places of law, exploring how we engage relationally in a material world, within which we are inter-dependent and reliant, and governed by laws in a dynamic process. It advances novel insights into the numerous intersections of space, place and law in our lives. International contributors offer a range of activity-orientated analyses, focusing on methodology, embodied experience, legal pluralism, conflict and resistance, and non-human and place agency. The Handbook examines a number of cross-cutting themes including social inequality, environmental justice, sustainability, urban development, Indigenous legal systems, the effects of colonialism and property law. Representing a diversity of locales from all around the world, the chapters encompass both urban and rural, terrestrial and marine areas, agential and storied spaces, and fictional as well as ''real'' places. Taking a multidisciplinary approach that incorporates law, human and legal geography, planning, sociology, political ecology, anthropology, and beyond, this comprehensive Handbook will be critical reading for scholars and students of these and cognate areas. Its discussion of empirical examples will also be beneficial for practitioners and policymakers interested in these fields.

The first-person plural - 'we, ourselves' - is the hallmark of a democracy under the rule of law in the modern age. Exploring the roots of this 'rule of recognition', Bert van Roermund offers an in-depth reading of Rousseau's work, focusing on its most fundamental leitmotif: the sovereignty of the people. Providing an innovative understanding of Rousseau's politico-legal philosophy, this book illustrates the legal significance of plural agency and what it means for a people to act together: What do people share when using the word 'we'? What makes a people's actions political? And what exactly is 'bodily' about their joint commitment? Testing these ideas in three controversial modern debates - bio-technology, immigrant rights and populism - Van Roermund offers a critical assessment of 'political theology' in contemporary legal environments and establishes a new interpretation of joint action as bodily entrenched. Incisive and cutting-edge, this book is crucial reading for scholars of jurisprudence and legal and political philosophy, particularly those with a focus on Rousseauian theory. Students of jurisprudence and constitutional theory will also benefit from its philosophical and political insights, as well as its discussions of pressing real-world issues.

This innovative book proposes new theories on how the legal system can be made more comprehensible, usable and empowering for people through the use of design principles. Utilising key case studies and providing real-world examples of legal innovation, the book moves beyond discussion to action. It offers a rich set of examples, demonstrating how various design methods, including information, service, product and policy design, can be leveraged within research and practice. Providing a forward-thinking outlook, this book presents an in-depth examination of how a human-centred, visual and participatory design approach can improve legal services and outcomes. Spanning numerous fields of legal practice, from education, housing and contracts to intellectual property, it highlights how visuals, information design and better communication can help prevent and solve legal problems. Chapters explore a new vision of lawyering and its potential to encompass a more creative and collaborative approach to legal practice. Legal Design will be of benefit to students and scholars seeking an up-to-date analysis of current trends related to legal design thinking and execution. It will also be a key resource for legal practitioners, policy-makers, government officials and business professionals looking to deepen their understanding of the field and improve their own design tools.

Conceptualizing the nature of reality and the way the world functions, Ekaterina Yahyaoui Krivenko analyzes the foundations of human rights law in the strict subject/object dichotomy. Seeking to dismantle this dichotomy using topo-logic, a concept developed by Japanese philosopher Nishida Kitaro, this topical book formulates ways to operationalize alternative visions of human rights practice. Subject/object dichotomy, Yahyaoui Krivenko demonstrates, emerges from and reflects a particular Western worldview through a quest for rationality and formal logic. Taking a metaphysical and epistemological perspective, this book explores the alternative views of reality and logic, developed by Kitaro, to demonstrate how topo-logic can enable both a theoretical and a practical renewal of human rights and overcome the subject/object dichotomy. Examining the recent growth of social movements, decolonization and diversification of discourses about human rights, and substantive equality, the book identifies these developments in contemporary human rights as indications of a movement towards a topo-logical view beyond the subject/object dichotomy. Students and scholars of critical legal studies, legal theory and philosophy, and international human rights law will find this book to be an invigorating read. Laying ground for the possible renewal and enhancement of human rights law, it will also be a useful resource for practitioners of human rights law.