This book provides a selective and somewhat cheeky account of prominent positions in legal theory, such as American legal realism, modern legal positivism, sociological systems theory, institutionalism and critical legal studies. It presents a relational approach to law and a new perspective on legal sources. The book explores topics of legal theory in a playful manner. It is written and composed in a way that refutes the widespread prejudice that legal theory is a dreary subject, with a cast of characters that occasionally interact in order to illustrate the claims of the book. Legal experts claim to know what the law is. Legal theory-or jurisprudence-explores whether such claims are warranted. The discipline first emerged at the turn of the 20th century, when the self-confidence of both legal scholarship and judicial craftsmanship became severely shattered, but the crisis continues to this day.

This textbook on the sociology of law is organised according to the theoretical traditions of sociology, and oriented towards providing an accessible, but sophisticated, introduction to, and overview of, the central themes, problems and debates in this field. The book employs an international range of examples - including the state, minority rights, terrorism, family violence, the legal profession, pornography, mediation, religious tolerance, and euthanasia - in order to distinguish a sociological approach to law from 'black-letter', jurisprudential and empirical policy-oriented traditions. Beginning with 'classical', 'consensus' and 'critical' sociological approaches, the book covers the full range of contemporary perspectives, including the new institutionalism, feminism, the interpretive tradition, postmodernism, legal pluralism and globalisation. It then concludes with a consideration of current theoretical issues, as well as a reflection upon the importance of a sociological approach to law. Understanding Law and Society provides a clear, but critical, discussion of the relevant literature, along with study questions and guides to further reading. It is designed to support courses in law and society and in the sociology of law, but will also be of value to others with interests in these areas.

The sociology of law has made impressive progress over the last decades. The present volume brings together scholars from Austria, Britain, Germany and Scandinavia to discuss major developments. The book starts with analyses of the sociology of law advanced by the most outstanding theorists in the field, Max Weber and Niklas Luhmann. Their legacy is assessed by Hubert Treiber, Frank Welz and Inger-Johanne Sand. Next, Hakan Hyden emphases the gain sociology of law could have from a stronger focus on norms. Armin Holand and Ole Hammerslev ask about the effects courts have. Klaus F. Rohl provides an international overview on "alternatives of law", one of the main topics of socio-legal studies since the 1960s. The final article by Stefan Machura in this volume addresses the media's impact on the public's perception of the legal system.

Sovereignty, Knowledge, Law investigates the notion of sovereignty from three different, but related perspectives: as a legal question in relation to the sovereign state, as a political question in relation to sovereign power, and as a metaphysical question in relation to sovereign self-knowledge. The varied and interchangeable uses of legal sovereignty, political sovereignty and metaphysical sovereignty in contemporary debates have resulted in a situation where the word ‘sovereignty’ itself has become something of a non-concept. Panu Minkkinen shows here how these three perspectives have informed one another, by addressing their shared relationship to law, and to the ‘autocephalous’ function of sovereignty; that is, the attempt to provide a single source and foundation for law, power, and self-knowledge. Through an effort to domesticate the intrinsically ‘heterocephalous’ nature of power, the juridical and jurisprudential aim has been to confine power within the closed vertical hierarchy of traditional legal thinking. Sovereignty, Knowledge, Law thus elaborates this heterocephaly, proposing new understandings of sovereignty, as well as of law and of legal scholarship.

To most Americans, the law-especially noncriminal law-is a mystery that only someone with a law degree can solve. Understanding Law in a Changing Society renders the complexity of law at a level that everyone can understand. The book walks readers 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 affect one another. With this revised and updated third edition, the authors have incorporated an updated preface and a new introduction; outlined a "How to Brief a Case" section; included new case studies, readings, and "You be the Judge" features for selected chapters; and for the first time added a glossary of legal terms and key websites to the book. Important developments in judicial selection, the state secrets doctrine, and family law (including same sex marriage, child custody, and unwed fathers' rights) are highlighted.

The only comprehensive volume of its kind, Lowrys' Handbook is the TOTAL reference guide for everyone who deals with any aspect of Right-To-Know requirements-a self-contained guide to coping with Right-To-Know laws that relate to hazardous materials as they affect worker safety and community emergency planning. The federal statutes and regulations on the subject are explained and interpreted, and their relations to other laws are described. Included are descriptions of both administrative and civil remedies that might be taken when there are alleged violations, as well as the statutorily permitted penalties. Problems, benefits, and consequences are covered. Extensive practical guidance is given for dealing with the many features of the laws-including a valuable comprehensive discussion of the many material hazards (both physical and health hazards), with examples. This discussion also includes guidance regarding avoidance of and protection from the hazards.

In Ancient Law and Modern Understanding Alan Watson proposes that ancient law is relevant and important for understanding history, theology, sociology, and literature. "Law, though technical," he writes, "is not remote from scholarship on other matters, and law is a central element in society." From Homeric Greece to present-day Armenia, Watson examines law's influence. Without a sensitivity to technical legal language, scholars of literature or history miss much: the use of puns in Plautus, Sulla's claim that Julius Caesar was descended from a slave, the relationship between the Synoptic Gospels. Legal history is an essential tool for understanding society, Watson argues, but it must be applied with knowledge of how law moves from one society to the next, legal reliance on authority, juristic concern with apparent trivia, and the impact on legal growth.

This text offers an overview of the tort system for the non-lawyer or new law undergraduate. This new edition looks at topics such as the theories of tort law, accident compensation and its future, the rise of negligence, and issues in economic loss.