Originally published in 1981 Law, State and Society confronts many of the most important issues within the developing field of law and society. The essays cover the key political debates and the subject of the sociology of law through two key debates, the first tackling the wider theoretical and political system, while the other essays are concerned with more concrete aspects of both the political and social face of law. Together, the essays show how crucial the potential is that exists for a considerable extension and integration of work that focuses explicitly on empirical problems, yet is at the same time more conscious of the theoretical issues that underpin the effectivity of law.

Law is a double-edged sword. It is not just an instrument for implementing social policy, social control, and social rights, but an instrument, in the hands of those with the motivation, power and economic resources to wield it, for undermining them. This topical volume presents seminal socio-legal essays encompassing a diverse range of issues, including criminal justice, tax avoidance and corporate finance, to fully explore the topics of crime, compliance and control.

Originally published in 1981 Law, State and Society confronts many of the most important issues within the developing field of law and society. The essays cover the key political debates and the subject of the sociology of law through two key debates, the first tackling the wider theoretical and political system, while the other essays are concerned with more concrete aspects of both the political and social face of law. Together, the essays show how crucial the potential is that exists for a considerable extension and integration of work that focuses explicitly on empirical problems, yet is at the same time more conscious of the theoretical issues that underpin the effectivity of law.

The adoption by companies of Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) policies is routinely characterised as voluntary. But if CSR is self-governance by business, it is self-governance that has received a firm push from external social and market forces, from forces of social accountability. Law is also playing a more significant role than the image of CSR suggests, and this legal accountability - the focus of the book - is set to increase. Legal intervention should not, however, be seen as making social accountability redundant. Wider ethical standards and social and market forces are also necessary to make legal regulation effective. Law is being brought into play in innovative and indirect ways. The initiative lies as much with private organizations as with the state. At the same time governments are using social and market forces to foster CSR. In the context of corporate social responsibility, a new, multi-faceted, corporate accountability is emerging.