The provisions of the French Civil Code governing the law of obligations have remained largely unchanged since 1804 and have served as the model for civil codes across the world. In 2016, the French Government effected major reforms of the provisions on the law of contract, the general regime of obligations and proof of obligations. This work explores in detail the most interesting new provisions on French contract law in a series of essays by French lawyers and comparative lawyers working on French law and other civil law systems. It will make these fundamental reforms accessible to an English-speaking audience.

This book addresses the pressing challenges presented by the proliferation of international surrogacy arrangements. The book is divided into three parts. Part 1 contains National Reports on domestic approaches to surrogacy from Argentina, Australia, Belgium, Brazil, China, Czech Republic, France, Germany, Greece, Guatemala, Hungary, India, Ireland, Israel, Mexico, Netherlands, New Zealand, Russia, South Africa, Spain, Ukraine, United Kingdom, United States and Venezuela. The reports are written by domestic specialists, each demonstrating the difficult and urgent problems arising in many States as a result of international surrogacy arrangements. These National Reports not only provide the backdrop to the authors' proposed model regulation appearing in Part 3, but serve as a key resource for scrutinising the most worrying incompatibilities in national laws on surrogacy. Part 2 of the book contains two contributions that provide international perspectives on cross-border surrogacy such as the 'human rights' perspective. Part 3 contains a General Report, which consists of an analysis of the National Reports appearing in Part 1, together with a proposed model of regulation of international surrogacy arrangements at the international level written by the two co-editors, Paul Beaumont and Katarina Trimmings. The research undertaken by Katarina Trimmings and Paul Beaumont from 2010 to 2012 was funded by the Nuffield Foundation.

Professor Ewoud Hondius has been one of the most successful architects of comparative law research and education in The Netherlands. He has undertaken numerous efforts to advocate the unification and harmonisation of private law by means of comparative studies which during his career have been welcomed all over the world. His understanding of the law of many jurisdictions is exceptional and his global network is impressive. He is a great European legal scholar and an ambassador for Dutch law, as witnessed by the innumerable publications which he has authored. This book, in honour of Professor Ewoud Hondius, has been compiled in order to appropriately admire his inspiring contributions to the elaboration of European contract law. The general topic of The Future of European Contract Law has been divided into five themes, many of them coinciding with the special interests of the honoured scholar himself:
- European Contract Law: its Possibility, Feasibility and Desirability
- The Common Frame of Reference and the Principles of Contract Law
- The Europeanization of National Contract Law
- The Better Law Approach in European Contract Law
- Consumer Contracts in Europe
The wealth of material in this book contains a treasure of observations and visions on where contract law in Europe currently stands as well as on how it should develop in the future. A collection of outstanding authors have contributed to this book. As a result it represents the current legal scholarship in the field of European contract law and hence the book is bound to be of great value, not only to academics, but also to lawyers involved in cross-border practice such as international business andconsumer transactions.

This second edition collection of Legal Letters written by Attorney Andrew Agatston to Children's Advocacy Centers, child advocates and detectives builds upon the 2009 book, "The Legal Eagles of Children's Advocacy Centers: A Lawyer's Guide to Soaring in the Courtroom." It is critical for Children's Advocacy Center professionals, and others who work on behalf of children who have alleged sexual abuse, to have a thorough understanding of the legal system and the legal rules and requirements that directly affect their professional responsibilities. This book is a second collection of Legal Letters that Mr. Agatston has written to his "Legal Eagles" as part of his weekly List Serv that now has subscribers in 35 states.

Contract Law is designed to provide coverage of the fundamental legal principles at play in this area. Written in the authors' trademark clear and engaging style and incorporating a range of student-focused features, the book also introduces critical and contextual analysis to help you to develop your own critique and deepen your understanding of the law of contract.

The twenty-first century has been significantly shaped by the growing importance of religion in international politics resulting in rising polarization among nation states. This new dynamic has presented new challenges to international human rights principles. This book deals with some of these new challenges, particularly the growing demand by Muslim states for protection of Islamic religion from blasphemy and defamation. Member states of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC), through resolutions at the United Nations, made efforts to introduce laws that globally protect Islamic religion from blasphemy and defamation. The bid by OIC member states faced opposition from Western countries. The conflicting claims of the two sides are discussed in this book. The book clearly shows the impact of blasphemy and defamation of religion laws on certain aspects of fundamental human rights principles.

One of the major shortcomings of the current drug discovery and development process is the inability to bridge the gap between early stage discoveries and pre-clinical research to advance innovations beyond the discovery phase. This book examines a novel drug discovery and development model where the respective expertise of academia and industry are brought together to take promising discoveries through to proof of concept as a way to de-risk the drug discovery and development process. Expert author Helen Yu explores integrated drug discovery by analyzing the intersection of intellectual property law and competition law and discusses the role of stakeholders in efficient translation and commercialization of publically funded research. Considering the transactional risks associated with drug discovery and development, this book advocates for a greater emphasis on contractual freedom and economic efficiency when assessing collaborative partnerships between industry and public research organizations. This standout book bridges the gap between theoretical research and legal practice by providing a research-based applied perspective on university-industry collaborations in drug discovery and development. Achieving Proof of Concept in Drug Discovery and Development has an international appeal, especially in countries actively involved in drug discovery and development, such as the United States, the United Kingdom, Switzerland, Germany, Japan, India and China. Organizations and associations in the drug discovery and development field would likely be interested in reading a book that provides a research-based applied perspective as well.

The risk of athletes sustaining concussion while participating in professional team sports raises two serious concerns both nationally and internationally. First, concussion in sport carries a public health risk, given that injured athletes may have to deal with significant long-term medical complications, with some of the worst cases resulting in Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy (CTE). Secondly, sports governing bodies are now exposed to the risk of financial and reputational damage as a consequence of legal proceedings being filed against them. A good example of this, among many other recent examples, is the case of the United States of America's National Football League (NFL), the governing body for American football, which, in 2015, committed to pay US$ 1 billion to settle the class action filed by its former professional players. This book examines how to most efficiently reduce these public health and legal risks, and proposes a harmonised solution across sports and legal systems.

What will European patent litigation look like in 10 years time? With the coming into force of seismic reforms, European Patent Litigation in the Shadow of the Unified Patent Court combines close analysis of the current regime with a novel use of qualitative survey data to assess the introduction of the Unified Patent Court (UPC) and the new European Patent with Unitary Effect. Not long ago only scant data were publicly available on the subject of patent litigation in EU member states. Using recently published data, Luke McDonagh paints a detailed picture of the patent litigation system in the key European jurisdictions of the UK, Germany, France and the Netherlands. He then outlines the rationale for reform - the perceived need to provide a more efficient, cost effective, harmonious litigation system - as well as the structure of the key reformative innovations. Making use of evidence from within the business and legal communities, this book highlights the key issues concerning the new system and examines what the impact of the reforms is likely to be on Europe's patent litigation system in the near future. This illuminating book will be useful to scholars, including postgraduate students, practitioners and policy makers wishing to learn more about the future of patent litigation in Europe.

Winner of the 2010 Pacific Sociological Association Distinguished Contribution to Scholarship Award

A lesbian couple rears a child together and, after the biological mother dies, the surviving partner loses custody to the child's estranged biological father. Four days later, in a different court, judges rule on the side of the partner, because they feel the child relied on the woman as a "psychological parent." What accounts for this inconsistency regarding gay and lesbian adoption and custody cases, and why has family law failed to address them in a comprehensive manner?

In Courting Change, Kimberly D. Richman zeros in on the nebulous realm of family law, one of the most indeterminate and discretionary areas of American law. She focuses on judicial decisions--both the outcomes and the rationales--and what they say about family, rights, sexual orientation, and who qualifies as a parent. Richman challenges prevailing notions that gay and lesbian parents and families are hurt by laws' indeterminacy, arguing that, because family law is so loosely defined, it allows for the flexibility needed to respond to--and even facilitate -- changes in how we conceive of family, parenting, and the role of sexual orientation in family law.

Drawing on every recorded judicial decision in gay and lesbian adoption and custody cases over the last fifty years, and on interviews with parents, lawyers, and judges, Richman demonstrates how parental and sexual identities are formed and interpreted in law, and how gay and lesbian parents can harness indeterminacy to transform family law.

This book discusses the main legal and economic challenges to the creation and enforcement of security rights in intellectual property and explores possible avenues of reform, such as more specific rules for security in IP rights and better coordination between intellectual property law and secured transactions law. In the context of business financing, intellectual property rights are still only reluctantly used as collateral, and on a small scale. If they are used at all, it is mostly done in the form of a floating charge or some other "all-asset" security right. The only sector in which security rights in intellectual property play a major role, at least in some jurisdictions, is the financing of movies. On the other hand, it is virtually undisputed that security rights in intellectual property could be economically valuable, or even crucial, for small and medium-sized enterprises - especially for start-ups, which are often very innovative and creative, but have limited access to corporate financing and must rely on capital markets (securitization, capital market). Therefore, they need to secure bank loans, yet lack their own traditional collateral, such as land.

The Modern Studies in Property Law Conference has become well-known as a unique opportunity for property lawyers to meet and confer both formally and informally. The eighth biennial conference was held at the University of Oxford in March 2010, and this book is the sixth in the series Modern Studies in Property Law. The volume is a refereed and revised selection of the papers given at the Oxford conference, covering a broad range of topics of contemporary importance, both nationally and internationally. The book includes chapters written by the key speakers at the conference: Lady Justice Arden, Professor Kevin Gray and Law Commissioner, Professor Elizabeth Cooke.

This book addresses challenges that new technologies and the big data revolution pose to existing regulatory and legal frameworks. The volume discusses issues such as blockchain and its implications for property transactions and taxes, three (or four) dimensional title registration, land use and urban planning in the age of big data, and the future of property rights in light of these changes. The book brings together an interdisciplinary collection of chapters that revolve around the potential influence of disruptive technologies on existing legal norms and the future development of real estate markets. The book is divided into five parts. Part I presents a survey of the current available research on blockchain and real estate. Part II provides a background on property law for the volume, grounding it in fundamental theory. Part III discusses the changing landscapes of property rights while Part IV debates the potential effects of blockchain on land registration. Finally the book concludes with Part V, which is devoted to new technological applications relevant to real estate. Providing an interdisciplinary perspective on emerging technologies that have the potential to disrupt the real estate industry and the regulation of it, this book will appeal to a broad audience, consisting of scholars, policy-makers, practitioners, and students, interested in real estate, law, economics, blockchain, and technology policy.

California Adoption Law and Procedure explains the law governing contested adoptions. It covers the four types of adoptions (independent, agency, stepparent and intercountry), and briefly discusses those aspects of guardianship and juvenile dependency law which relate to adoptions. This book explores the "best interests of the child" and the home study process. It also seeks to explain "consent," whose consent must be obtained, and whether consent may be revoked. The book further describes the roles of attorneys, adoption service providers, adoption facilitators, adoption agencies and governmental agencies. It seeks to clarify the rights of the adoptive parents, the child, and of third parties, whether or not a Postadoption Contact Agreement is in place. This text discusses interstate conflicts and how laws such as the Uniform Child Custody Jurisdiction and Enforcement Act operate. It also covers the new federal statutes and regulations which implement the Hague Convention on Intercountry Adoption. Prof. Everett L. Skillman is a member of the adjunct faculty at the University of San Diego School of Law. He and his wife Shelley were foster parents for three years and adoptive parents for 12 years after that. At seminars conducted by social services agencies and private agencies, Prof. Skillman had the good fortune of meeting many wonderful, committed fellow foster parents, and learning how they overcame a wide variety of challenges. Prof. Skillman has been licensed to practice law since 1990; he has taught several courses on Adoption Law; he has helped many others complete their adoptions; and he has been certified since 2000 by the California State Bar as a specialist in appellate law.

Drawing on interdisciplinary research methods from musicological and legal scholarship, this book maps the historical terrain of forensic musicology. It examines the contributions of musical expert witnesses, their analytical techniques, and the issues they encounter assisting courts in clarifying the blurred lines of music copyright.

This accessible textbook provides an introductory guide to tort law, with a structured explanation of the key concepts and doctrines. Using a comparative approach, the discussion is illustrated with case law and provisions from three key jurisdictions: England, France and Germany. With liberal reference to other codes and cases from around the world, the book gives readers a contextual understanding and will appeal to classes with a global outlook. Key Features: Examples of different solutions show how tort law is implemented in a variety of jurisdictions Direct comparison of legal systems helps readers to match different kinds of property or damage in civil and common law systems Translated provisions from codes and statutes facilitate access to the systems of French and German law in particular Clarification of corresponding concepts and terminology, as well as guidelines and examples to help readers find their way in a legal environment that is not restricted to a single jurisdiction Introductory guidance to tort law systems outside Europe Providing readers with a working knowledge of major tort law systems as well as a greater understanding of the main concepts in tort law, this textbook will be an important resource for both undergraduate and postgraduate students.

This review discusses the most important and influential papers in the field of Equity and Trusts. While taking seriously the intimate and historical relationship between English Equity and the law of trusts, it also addresses new and comparative perspectives on the subject, bringing together common law and civil law, doctrinal scholarship and socio-legal analysis, historical approaches to Equity and functional ones. The review includes a wide range of authors and outlooks ranging from Frederic Maitland to recent material on fiduciary obligations and discretionary trusts, highlighting the universality of Equity as a body of law, and the nature of the Trust as a fundamental juristic institution. This literary piece promises to be a useful tool for academics captivated by this subject area.

There has been growing enthusiasm for the use of mediation to seek a resolution for cases arising under the Hague Convention of October 25, 1980 on the Civil Aspects of International Child Abduction. However, despite being endorsed by the conclusions of experts, judicial comment, and even legislative changes, there have been relatively few cases where mediation has played a significant role. It has been suggested that the reason underlying this dichotomy between the widespread support for the use of mediation and the current limited practice is that there are several key questions regarding the use of mediation in the context of the Convention which remain to be answered. Specifically, what is meant by Convention mediation? How can a mediation process fit within the constraints of the Convention? Why offer mediation in Convention cases given the existing legal framework? This book addresses these questions and, in doing so, encourages a movement from enthusiasm about the use of mediation in the Convention context to greater practice. It will be useful as a point of reference for practitioners, and stimulating and interesting to academics. (Series: Studies in Private International Law - Vol. 7)