The concept of the cultural commons has become increasingly important for legal studies. Within this field, however, it is a contested concept: at once presented as a sphere for creativity, democratic access and freedom of speech, but one that denies property rights and misappropriates the public domain. In this book, Merima Bruncevic takes up the cultural commons not merely as an abstract notion, but in its connection to physical spaces such as museums and libraries. A legal cultural commons can, she argues, be envisioned as a lawscape that can quite literally be entered and engaged with. Focusing largely on art in the context of the copyright regime, but also addressing a number of cultural heritage issues, the book draws on the work of Deleuze and Guattari in order to examine the realm of the commons as a potential space for overcoming the dichotomy between the owner and the consumer of culture. Challenging this dichotomy, it is the productive and creative potential of law itself that is elicited through the book’s approach to the commons as the empirical basis for a new legal framework, which is able to accommodate a multitude of interests and values.

In this timely book Christa Roodt demonstrates how the structure and method of private international law can be applied in its expanding relationship with cultural heritage law. In particular, she explores the use of private international law in the co

What is the place assigned to religion in the constitutions of contemporary States? What role is religion expected to perform in the fields that are the object of constitutional regulation? Is separation of religion and politics a necessary precondition for democracy and the rule of law? These questions are addressed in this book through an analysis of the constitutional texts that are in force in different parts of the world. Constitutions are at the centre of almost all contemporary legal systems and provide the principles and values that inspire the action of the national law-makers. After a discussion of some topics that are central to the constitutional regulation of religion, the book considers a number of national systems covering countries with a variety of religious and cultural backgrounds. The final section of the book is devoted to the discussion of the constitutional regulation of some particularly controversial issues, such as religious education, the relation between freedom of speech and freedom of religion, abortion, and freedom of conscience.

By providing a systematic analysis of how international law is incorporated and implemented in over two dozen states, this book analyzes how the international order and national legal systems interact with each other. It highlights the mutual influence of international and domestic legal systems and how changes in each are modifying the other.

This book provides a comprehensive overview of European Patent Law. It presents a critical analysis of the European patent law system and the proposed changes to it. The book explores the strengths and weaknesses of the European Patent Convention, and the interaction between the national and the European level, as well as across borders.

Drugs Law and Legal Practice in Southeast Asia investigates criminal law and practice relevant to drugs regulation in three Southeast Asian jurisdictions: Indonesia, Singapore and Vietnam. These jurisdictions represent a spectrum of approaches to drug regulation in Southeast Asia, highlighting differences in practice between civil and common law countries, and between liberal and authoritarian states. This book offers the first major English language empirical investigation and comparative analysis of regulation, jurisprudence, court procedure, and practices relating to drugs law enforcement in these three states.

This volume is the first in a new series of Studies on the Frontiers of International Law. The term ‘frontier’ is traditionally associated with proximity to a boundary or a demarcation line. But it is also a connecting point, i.e., a passage or channel between spaces that are usually considered as separate entities. The Series aims to explore the visible and imaginary boundaries of scholarship in International Law. It is designed to test the existing table of contents, vocabulary and limits of ‘Public International Law’, to investigate lines and linkages between ‘centre’ and ‘periphery’, and to re-map or re-think some of its conceptual boundaries. The current volume is written in this spirit. It deals with the tension between unity and diversification which has gained a central place in the debate under the label of ‘fragmentation’. It explores the meaning, articulation and risks of this phenomenon in a specific area: International Criminal Justice. It brings together established and fresh voices who analyse different sites and contestations of this concept, as well as its context and specific manifestations in the interpretation and application of International Criminal Law. The volume thereby connects discourse on ‘fragmentation’ with broader inquiry on the merits and discontents of legal pluralism in ‘Public International Law’.

Offers an accessible overview of Hong Kong's legal system and guides first-year law students in legal research and methods.

This book provides a comparative analysis of the legal frameworks of six Latin American central banks to determine whether there is legal certainty regarding central bank autonomy. Based on this, it ascertains whether the way in which legal institutions are designed – specifically those that rule the autonomy of the central bank – provides reasons to believe that central banks can keep inflation at bay even if governments face fiscal problems or pursue contradictory objectives. The analysis covers three key areas: a constitutional analysis, a detailed study of the central bank statutes and a study of a number of underexplored threats to central bank autonomy. After defining and identifying different types of legal certainty and linking them to the credibility of government promises, the author goes on to examine the grounds that the law provides for confidence that central banks operate independently of political influence. The second part of the book focuses on a granular analysis of the legal design of the central banks’ objectives and autonomy. Lastly, the third part features two case studies that represent little-known and unusual institutional threats to legal certainty relating to central bank autonomy, such as the interventions by the Constitutional Court of Colombia in the autonomy of the Colombian central bank, and the interventions of the Argentinean executive and legislative branches in the autonomy of Argentina’s central bank through stabilization plans introduced via emergency laws and decrees.In sum, the book suggests that there are serious doubts about the ability of Latin American central banks to maintain price stability over time. Although central banks were granted a degree of autonomy, authorities in Latin American countries are able to affect central bank decisions. Most importantly, a lack of clarity, inconsistencies, or generous exceptions in the law provide ways for authorities to influence central banks even without bending or disregarding the rules.

Foundations of Property Law: Things as Objects of Property Rights is an abridged translation of the first volume of Christian von Bar's Gemeineuropäisches Sachenrecht -a milestone in European private law theory, and in comparative property law more broadly. Radical in content and scope, the English version examines the dynamics of interaction between the objects, contents, and holders of property. The conceptual framework of 'property law' is presented as a domain of erga omnes monopoly rights that govern the relationship between persons and objects of value. Within that framework, a reciprocal relationship is illustrated between "property rights" and their objects; property rights play a role in constituting the very objects ("things") in which they are held. With comprehensive comparative analysis, insights are gleaned from all the jurisdictions of the European Union and the United Kingdom, presenting a critical evaluation of property law systems in both Common and Civil Law traditions. This book joins all the national legal systems in a single inquiry, treating their traditions and arguments with the respect they deserve and taking advantage of the knowledge embodied in the diversity of European private law. A scholastic work, offering deep and unique insights into the European property law systems, Foundations of Property Law will quickly become a go-to resource for anyone interested in European private law and comparative property law.