The book analyzes the most relevant developments in the relation between contracts and technology, from automatically concluded contracts to today's revolutionary "smart contracts" developed through blockchain, which are beginning to and will increasingly disrupt many economic and social relations. First of all, the author offers a broad analysis of the peculiarities and evolution of the relation between contracts and technology. The main features and elements of electronic contracts are then examined in depth to highlight the specific rules applicable to them in the international comparative legal framework. In turn, the book provides a detailed explanation of the technology, economic and social dynamics, and legal issues concerning blockchain and smart contracts. The analysis focuses on the question of the legal nature of smart contracts, the issues posed by their development and the first legal solutions adopted in some countries. The comparative approach pursued makes it possible to focus attention on the first solutions adopted until now in various systems, with particular regard to the circulation of models and ideas and to the specificities of their local variations, in terms of e.g. applicable law and jurisdiction. In reviewing the characteristics of distributed ledger technologies, and in particular of the blockchain technology on which smart contracts are based, above all the peculiarities of the latter are taken into consideration, especially automatic execution and resistance to tampering, which simultaneously present significant opportunities and complex legal issues. A comprehensive framework is then provided to reconcile smart contracts with comparative contract law, in order to define the scope and specificities of their binding force, legal effectiveness and regulation in various legal systems. Lastly, with specific reference to the elements, pathologies and contractual remedies for smart contracts, the book examines the peculiarities of their application and the main issues that emerge in comparative contract law in order to promote their harmonized use, in keeping with the transnational nature of such a revolutionary tool.

This book states that sustainable development has become an influential discourse worldwide. Climate change is not only an urgent problem, but it is also a fundamental spiritual question concerning social justice and sustainable peace development as well as solidarity among people of various religious backgrounds and different countries. Thus, this global problem must be faced and recognized for future actions and strategies. However, the politics of fear must be replaced with a culture of peace, hope, and compassion, and this urgent problem must be faced with an optimistic attitude and a certain degree of preparedness. Climate change is evident in many forms, such as, for example, the most obvious-recent weather fluctuations that happen around the world. Floods, droughts, and hurricanes are those visible signs of climate change. Human-caused climate change is projected to greatly impact marine, freshwater, and terrestrial life. Temperatures in Alaska and the Arctic have increased over the last 50 years at a rate more than twice as fast as the global average temperature. Poor people are vulnerable to man-made climate change and respond rapidly to its impacts. Diverse knowledge of and approaches to climate change help understand this growing problem; global average air temperature has increased in the recent past by approximately 1.0 DegreesC (1.8 DegreesF). According to the Climate Science Special Report, the last several years have been record-breaking, and the period of 1901-2016 is the warmest. Greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions are still rising, with damaging effects on the Earth's climate. At the moment, the concentration of CO2 is higher than at any point in time-at least the past 800,000 years. However, carbon dioxide (CO2) is not the only GHG that impacts human-induced climate change.

This book brings together some of the most respected Asian and Australasian experts on medical liability to provide insightful perspectives on civil and criminal law from selected Australasian jurisdictions. It focuses on the idiosyncrasies of the existing law and case law in this part of the world with regard to medical liability, adopting a comparative and critical perspective. The aim is to provide an overview of the basic elements of medical liability in Asian and Australian jurisdictions, as well as the latest developments and general trends in jurisprudence. Given the broad range of jurisdictions covered, the book offers lawmakers, health administrators and practitioners, both in law and medicine, an alternative approach to the delivery of health care. Further, it is essential reading for all those (academics, lawyers, judges, researchers, practicing doctors and those involved in the growing area of legal medicine) working in medical liability, specially in the Australasian context.

To most Americans, the law--especially noncriminal (civil) law--is a mystery that only someone with a law degree can solve. With a masterful mixture of explanatory text, real cases showing the law at work, and the reflections of important historical and contemporary legal thinkers, "Understanding Law in a Changing Society" renders the complexity of law at a level that everyone can understand. The book walks students through the structure of the legal system, different divisions of civil law, and the core concepts and distinctions that underlie contemporary legal thought. It also provides insight into the way law and social change effect one another.In this revised and updated third edition, important developments in judicial selection, the state secrets doctrine, and family law (including same-sex marriage, child custody, and unwed fathers' rights) are highlighted.Author team This distinguished author team includes scholars and award-winning teachers from political science and public justice, as well as one who has practiced law in a private setting before joining the scholarly world.Multidisciplinary appeal Over the years, this text has been a reliable one for a variety of courses in a variety of departments introducing the American court system to students in political science, pre-law, criminal justice, and law & society courses.Features In the new edition, the authors have provided updated information for every chapter in a compact introduction to the text. Updates include new cases, readings, discussion questions, legal terms to know, further readings, and "You Be the Judge" items--all the features (including chapter objectives) that have made this text stand out from its inception.Updates Highlights of the updates include important developments in judicial selection, the state secrets doctrine, and family law including same-sex marriage, child custody, and unwed fathers' rights.New Features In addition, this edition includes for the first time annotated Websites for legal studies and a full text Glossary. This website for the book includes live links to the new sites in the book.How to Brief a Case For students new to law who may find the case format intimidating, the text opens with a section explaining step by step how to approach this task.Distinctiveness What sets this text apart from others you may consider? We think that its combination of casebook, reader, and basic text material is skillfully and uniquely woven together in a presentation designed for student interest and comprehension. Fascinating cases have been edited and introduced at just the right pitch and level. Students will come away with a solid understanding not just of the rule of law, but of how it works. The process of legal decisionmaking is at least as important as the laws themselves, for understanding the process helps students deal with complexity and inevitable change in the system.Finally, even with the new material and updates, this text is more compact than other introductory texts, offered in paperback, and competitively priced. In addition to its many other attributes, students will appreciate this text Websites from the Revised and Updated Third Edition

Terrorism: Documents of International and Local Control is a hardbound series that provides primary-source documents on the worldwide counter-terrorism effort. Chief among the documents collected are transcripts of Congressional testimony, reports by such federal government bodies as the Congressional Research Service and the Government Accountability Office, and case law covering issues related to terrorism. Most volumes carry a single theme, and inside each volume the documents appear within topic-based categories. The series also includes a subject index and other indices that guide the user through this complex area of the law. Lebanon and Hezbollah charts the course of Hezbollah's rise and Lebanon-based violence over the last five tumultuous years of that country's history. The documents collected in this volume demonstrate not just key details in Hezbollah's direct war on Israel but also the organization's public relations and financial efforts, both over the Internet and in collaboration with Iran. But this volume's usefulness can be found not just in its detailed history of Hezbollah's multi-front campaign but also in several documents' analysis of the suffering endured by Lebanese citizens, including the harm wrought by Israel's response to Hezbollah. To complete the picture of Lebanon's difficult recent history, Volume 92 also provides two classes of UN documents: Lebanon's own reports on its counter-terror work, and the Security Council's measures related to the tribunal investigating Hariri's assassination. For researchers seeking one volume in which all parties affected by the Lebanese crisis present their view, this volume will prove quite valuable.

Terrorism: Documents of International and Local Control is a hardbound series that provides primary-source documents on the worldwide counter-terrorism effort. Chief among the documents collected are transcripts of Congressional and Parliamentary testimony, reports by quasi-governmental organizations, and case law covering issues related to terrorism. The series also includes a subject index and other indices that guide the user through this complex area of the law. Overall, the series keeps users up-to-date on the panoply of terrorism issues now facing the U.S. and the world. Presidential Powers and the Global War Against Terrorists provides readers with a detailed and insightful exposition of the law of presidential war powers. The recent expansion of those powers by the Bush Administration has created uncertainty as to where the legal limits for Executive Branch military and surveillance activity currently lie. In this volume, Professor Doug Lovelace identifies those limits through both his presentation of relevant documents and his expert commentary of the meaning behind those documents.

Die historisch gewachsenen nationalen Haftungsrechte in der EU stehen vor einer unbewaltigten doppelten Herausforderung: Zum einen die Anpassung an die (post)industrielle Moderne (Stichworte: Risiken, Versicherung, Unternehmenshaftung); zum anderen die Harmonisierung in dem gemeinsamen Binnenmarkt der EG und in dem Verfassungsraum der EU. Der Verfasser misstraut allfalligen Kodifikations- und Vereinheitlichungsinitiativen. Er setzt auf die Annaherung "von unten," d. h. uber die vorfindlichen Rechtsordnungen der Mitgliedstaaten. Dies setzt einen europaischen Diskurs uber Struktur, Prinzipien und Schutzbereich voraus. Hierzu leistet der Verfasser fur das Haftungsrecht einen Beitrag. In kritischer Auseinandersetzung mit dem deutschen Recht und mit vergleichendem Blick auf das englische und amerikanische sowie das franzosische Recht arbeitet er Entwicklungsperspektiven fur ein europaisches Haftungsrecht heraus."

How has the Ismaili branch of Shi'i Islam interacted with other Islamic communities throughout history? The groups and movements that make up Islamic civilisation are diverse and varied yet, while scholarship has analysed many branches of Islam in isolation, the exchanges and mutual influences between them has not been sufficiently recognised. This book traces the interactions between Ismaili intellectual thought and the philosophies of other Islamic groups to shed light on the complex and interwoven nature of Islamic civilisation. Based on a broad range of primary sources from the early medieval to the late nineteenth century, the book brings together different disciplines within Islamic Studies to cover polemical and doctrinal literature, law, mysticism, rituals and philosophy. The main Ismaili groups, such as the Fatimids, Nizaris and Tayyibis, are represented, as well as lesser known traditions such as that associated with the mountain region of Badakhshan in Central Asia. Religious syncretism, particularly in the Indian subcontinent and in Yemen, is considered alongside cultural interactions as reflected in the circulation of books in Fatimid markets, and various literary and mythical traditions, some still little explored. The chapters include contributions from leading experts in the field shed new light on the close and complex relationships very different Islamic groups and movements have enjoyed throughout the centuries.

Prior to the progressive development of the law of armed conflict heralded by the 1949 Geneva Conventions - most particularly in relation to the concepts of international and non-international armed conflict-the customary doctrine on recognition of belligerency functioned for almost 200 years as the definitive legal scheme for differentiating internal conflict from "civil wars", in which the law of war as applicable between states applied de jure. Employing a legal historical approach, this book describes the thematic and practical fundamentals of the doctrine, and analyzes some of the more significant challenges to its application. In doing so, it assesses whether, how, and why the doctrine on recognition of belligerency was considered "fit for purpose," and seeks to inform debate as to its continuity and utility within the modern scheme of the law of armed conflict.

This book provides a critical study of environmental regulation and its enforcement in New Zealand, situated within green criminology. It seeks to address the question of whether the offences in the Resource Management Act 1991 are 'working', by drawing on a range of sources including: central government data, local government policies and reports on enforcement, information requests of councils, studies of local authority enforcement behaviour and case law to. Through highly layered and richly textured analysis, the project exposes the problems that can arise when an expansive approach is taken to offences, penalties and institutional arrangements in an environmental regulatory statute. It emphasizes how discussions of harm and what should be unlawful will ensure that law-makers' enforcement tools will align with their goals for punishment. It examines higher-level issues such as 'wrongfulness' and 'criminality' in the environmental regulatory context and explores the relevance of its findings to jurisdictions outside of New Zealand. It also discusses the pros and cons of criminalisation and punishment versus restoration. It speaks to those interested in green criminology, regulatory compliance and enforcement, and applications of criminal law.

The central question of the Arab Spring - what democracies should look like in the deeply religious countries of the Middle East - has developed into a vigorous debate over these nations' secular identities. But what, exactly, is secularism? What has the West's long familiarity with it inevitably obscured? In "Questioning Secularism", Hussein Ali Agrama tackles these questions. Focusing on the fatwa councils and family law courts of Egypt just prior to the revolution, he delves deeply into the meaning of secularism itself and the ambiguities that lie at its heart. Drawing on a precedent-setting case arising from the family law courts - the last courts in Egypt to use Shari'a law - Agrama shows that secularism is a historical phenomenon that works through a series of paradoxes that it creates. Digging beneath the perceived differences between the West and Middle East, he highlights secularism's dependence on the law and the problems that arise from it: the necessary involvement of state sovereign power in managing the private spiritual lives of citizens and the irreducible set of legal ambiguities such a relationship creates. Navigating a complex landscape between private and public domains, "Questioning Secularism" lays important groundwork for understanding the real meaning of secularism as it affects the real freedoms of a citizenry, an understanding of the utmost importance for so many countries that are now urgently facing new political possibilities.

This book provides a detailed analysis of Islamic juristic writings on the topic of rape and argues that classical Islamic jurisprudence contained nuanced, substantially divergent doctrines of sexual violation as a punishable crime. The work centers on legal discourses of the first six centuries of Islam, the period during which these discourses reached their classical forms, and chronicles the juristic conflict over whether or not to provide monetary compensation to victims. Along with tracing the emergence and development of this conflict over time, Hina Azam explains evidentiary ramifications of each of the two competing positions, which are examined through debates between the H anafi and Ma liki schools of law. This study examines several critical themes in Islamic law, such as the relationship between sexuality and property, the tension between divine rights and personal rights in sex crimes, and justifications of victim's rights afforded by the two competing doctrines.

For a construction business to function properly, architects, engineers, and contractors need to understand how the various state and federal laws affect their business and how to avoid disputes and exposure to liability. This book offers a comprehensive review of the US legal environment, both criminal and civil, focusing on the key legal concepts and issues applicable to a typical construction project. Construction professionals will find clear, concise introduction to a wide range of contractual issues related to project participants, as well as issues related to the actual construction and litigation.

This pioneering study examines the process of reasoning in Islamic law. Some of the key questions addressed here include whether sacred law operates differently from secular law, why laws change or stay the same and how different cultural and historical settings impact the development of legal rulings. In order to explore these questions, the author examines the decisions of thirty jurists from the largest legal tradition in Islam: the Hanafi school of law. He traces their rulings on the question of women and communal prayer across a very broad period of time - from the eighth to the eighteenth century - to demonstrate how jurists interpreted the law and reconciled their decisions with the scripture and the sayings of the Prophet. The result is a fascinating overview of how Islamic law has evolved and the thinking behind individual rulings.

This book provides a comprehensive, global exploration of the scale, scope, threats, and drivers of wildlife trafficking from a criminological perspective. Building on the first edition, it takes into account the significant changes in the international context surrounding these issues since 2013. It provides new examples, updated statistics, and discusses the potential changes arising as a result of COVID-19 and the IPBES 2019 report. It also discusses the shift in trafficking 'hotspots' and the recent projects that have challenged responses to wildlife trafficking. It undertakes a distinctive exploration of who the victims and offenders of wildlife trafficking are as well as analysing the stakeholders who are involved in collaborative efforts to end this devastating green crime. It unpacks the security implications of wildlife trade and trafficking and possible responses and ways to combat it. It provides useful and timely information for social and environmental/life scientists, law enforcement, NGOs, and policy makers.

This book consists of updated and refreshed papers written by international law scholars and practitioners from the ASEAN region and published by the Journal of East Asia and International Law, comprehensively covering almost all contemporary international legal issues related to ASEAN. Legal analysis of the ASEAN integration as one community with one vision in this book provides readers with a better understanding of the current social climate and future developments of ASEAN. Each section within the book covers a highly topical issue on ASEAN cooperation and dispute resolution from an international law perspective. ASEAN is one of the biggest economic communities in the world and the ASEAN+3 covers nearly half of global GDP. Given the region's global impact, this book is of interest to Asia watchers, academics and policymakers alike.

This book discusses how Coal Bed Methane (CBM) could help the acceleration of the energy transition in a 'just' way in Indonesia, due to the country's potential CBM reserves (and current dependence on climate damaging coal). Developing countries face multiple challenges in achieving their energy transitions. CBM in Indonesia could potentially be a catalyst for energy transition and subsequently improve access to energy. However, CBM faces numerous challenges and although Indonesia first developed its domestic CBM sector over more than a decade ago, they are still to implement this successfully. This book exposes the challenges and opportunities of CBM, exploring what lessons other countries could learn from Indonesia to improve the industry with a view to achieving energy transition and climate change targets. This book will be an invaluable reference for researchers and practitioners working in this field.

This text, edited by experienced academic and private otolaryngologists at different points in their careers, as well as an attorney, reviews the current literature related to otolaryngology malpractice litigation, and discusses strategies to decrease liability and enhance patient safety. It examines the most recent trial decisions in otolaryngology and determines which procedures are most commonly litigated in the current medicolegal environment. The text provides otolaryngologists with tips and pearls on how to prevent malpractice litigation, and discusses key actions to take when faced with malpractice litigation. Strategies for minimizing liability as well as the factors brought up in malpractice litigation related to otolaryngology - head and neck surgery are also discussed.Litigation In Otolaryngology will be a useful resource for all involved in the care of otolaryngologic patients (physicians, nurse practitioners, physician assistants, etc.), those concerned with the legal aspect of such care (including malpractice attorneys), and healthcare policy makers.

Now in its second edition, Personal Injury Law: Liability, Compensation and Procedure (previously known as Compensation for Personal Injuries in the 1st edition) is a uniquely convenient and reliable reference work, providing clear summaries of the law, and easy access to the key relevant claims, practice rules, statutes and materials across the whole range of modern personal injury practice. This edition has been fully updated and covers a number of new cases along with more practical advice. Each of the 64 chapters begins with a concise account of the main points of law followed by the relevant source material, annotated with case references and finer details The book also includes: * All relevant statutory texts * Relevant parts of the key Health and Safety Regulations * Full text of the 2004 JSB Guidelines * Extracts from the Ogden Tables * The CICA scheme and MIB agreements * Legal and medical glossaries * Anatomical illustrations Whether concerned mainly with claimants or defendants, users of this book can rely on it as a sure guide in the complex area of personal injury law and practice. A companion website dedicated to developments in this area of the law, will keep the book up-to-date. This can be found at the following location: http://www.oup.com/uk/law/practitioner/cws

This innovative and important book applies classical Sunni Muslim legal and religious doctrine to contemporary issues surrounding armed conflict. In doing so it shows that the shari'a and Islamic law are not only compatible with contemporary international human rights law and international humanitarian law norms, but are appropriate for use in Muslim societies. By grounding contemporary post-conflict processes and procedures in classical Muslim legal and religious doctrine, it becomes more accessible to Muslim societies who are looking for appropriate legal mechanisms to deal with the aftermath of armed conflict. This book uniquely presents a critique of the violent practices of contemporary Muslims and Muslim clerics who support these practices. It rebuts Islamophobes in the West that discredit Islam on the basis of the abhorrent practices of some Muslims, and hopes to reduce tensions between Western and Islamic civilizations by enhancing common understanding of the issues.

This innovative and important book applies classical Sunni Muslim legal and religious doctrine to contemporary issues surrounding armed conflict. In doing so it shows that the shari'a and Islamic law are not only compatible with contemporary international human rights law and international humanitarian law norms, but are appropriate for use in Muslim societies. By grounding contemporary post-conflict processes and procedures in classical Muslim legal and religious doctrine, it becomes more accessible to Muslim societies who are looking for appropriate legal mechanisms to deal with the aftermath of armed conflict. This book uniquely presents a critique of the violent practices of contemporary Muslims and Muslim clerics who support these practices. It rebuts Islamophobes in the West that discredit Islam on the basis of the abhorrent practices of some Muslims, and hopes to reduce tensions between Western and Islamic civilizations by enhancing common understanding of the issues.

This book discusses and studies the basic course of ecological civilization construction in the 70 years since the founding of the People's Republic of China and summarizes the experience and lessons. It contains 75 articles from 75 top experts and government officials in the field of ecological civilization policy-making and basic theory research in China, including Xi Jinping Thought on Ecological Civilization, ecological culture, green industry economy, environmental quality, legal system, ecological security and so on, so as to provide reference for understanding and studying the progress of ecological environment protection since the founding of China.

Former Archbishop of Canterbury Rowan Williams triggered a storm of protest when he suggested that some accommodation between British law and Islam's shari'a law was 'inevitable'. His foundational lecture introduced a series of public discussions on Islam and English Law at the Royal Courts of Justice and the Temple Church in London. This volume combines developed versions of these discussions with new contributions. Theologians, lawyers and sociologists look back on developments since the Archbishop spoke, and forwards along trajectories opened by the historic lecture. The contributors provide and advocate a forward-looking dialogue, asking how the rights of all citizens are honoured and their responsibilities met. Twenty specialists explore the evolution of English law, the implications of islam, shari'a and jihad, and the principles of the European Convention on Human Rights, family law and freedom of speech. This book is for anyone interested in the interaction between religion and secular society.

The third edition of this classic resource provides mental health professionals with simple, practical advice for testifying in court. In this book, Stan Brodsky maintains his witty, conversational style of teaching while modeling ideal testimony. Short chapters blend humorous anecdotes with accessible guidelines drawn from Brodsky's decades of experience as an expert witness and trainer, and from colleagues in various fields, including medical professionals. Each chapter concludes with a pithy maxim that emphasizes the most important takeaway for readers, making this book an ideal reference that can be consulted just prior to court appearances. New to this edition are: substantial updates and revisions to existing guidelines and case examples; new and updated topics, including advice for virtual testimony and revised coverage of culture and diversity in forensic evaluations; a clearer organization with chapters grouped by themes such as pretrial preparations, direct examination, and cross-examination, and; an appendix that gathers all the book's maxims together for easy reference.

Now in its third edition Construction Law by Julian Bailey is the definitive work of reference for construction law practitioners internationally. In three volumes, it provides the most comprehensive treatment of the major issues arising out of construction and engineering projects, with extensive references to case law, statutes and regulations, standard forms of contract and legal commentary. The book in its new updated form is an indispensable work of reference for law practitioners and is now accessibly priced for the post-graduate student market.