Law and Modern Society

Law and Modern Society
Author: P. S. Atiyah
Publisher: Oxford University Press, USA
Total Pages: 176
Release: 1983
Genre: Language Arts & Disciplines
ISBN:

The law in a modern society is a bulky and complex instrument, with a tendency to become less fixed, less rule-oriented, and more discretionary. An institution made by men for the government of men, the law today can all too readily confuse and dismay us. How and why is so much new law made? By what right does a judge order that a man be sent to jail? Why is so much law so bad, and why should we, the people, accept the laws made by those who claim the right to govern us? In this lucid, stimulating and completely updated survey which presupposes no specialist knowledge of the subject, P. S. Atiyah introduces the reader to a number of fundamental issues about the law, the legal profession, and the adjudicative process. This new edition gives greater emphasis to the effect of membership of the European Community on English law, and gives an expanded account of the European convention on Human Rights with its subsequent effects on English law. Atiyah also looks at the recent controversy over the independence of the judiciary, problems arising from the cost of legal services and legal aid, and the many appalling miscarriages of justice which have disfigured the legal system in the past decade.

Law in Modern Society

Law in Modern Society
Author: Roberto Mangabeira Unger
Publisher: Simon and Schuster
Total Pages: 324
Release: 1977-07
Genre: Law
ISBN: 0029328802

"Law in Modern Society" is a comparative study of the place of law in societies as well as a criticism of social theory. Under what conditions do different kinds of law emerge? What are the bases of the rule of law ideal that marks advanced liberal, capitalist societies? What can the study of law teach us about social hierarchy and moral vision in these societies, and, indeed, about the specificity of Western civilization? Why do we find it necessary to struggle for the rule of law and impossible to achieve it? What political possibilities are closed or opened by present-day changes in the established styles of legality and legal thought? Unger deals with these questions in a broad range of historical settings. But he also relates them to the central issues of social theory: the method of explanation, the conditions of social order, and the nature of 'modern' society. the book argues that to resolve its own internal dilemmas the science of society must once again become both metaphysical and political.

Common Law and Modern Society

Common Law and Modern Society
Author: Mary Arden
Publisher: Oxford University Press
Total Pages: 328
Release: 2015
Genre: Law
ISBN: 0198755848

Law is a lasting social institution, but it must also be responsive to change. In this volume Mary Arden draws upon her experience to examine how judge-made law adapts to the evolving demands of society, how law reform works in practice, and the future of the judiciary in our diverse modern culture.

Common Law and Modern Society

Common Law and Modern Society
Author: Mary Arden
Publisher: Oxford University Press
Total Pages: 328
Release: 2015-12-17
Genre: Law
ISBN: 0191074004

Law is a lasting social institution, but it must also be open to change. How is law made, and what prompts change? How can society influence the law, and how does the law respond to societal change? The first volume of Shaping Tomorrow's Law examined human rights and European law. In this second volume Mary Arden turns her attention to domestic law, providing a judge's viewpoint on the roles of society, government, and the judiciary in the transformation and reform of the law. The first section of Common Law and Modern Society explains what we mean by judge-made law and shows how the law responds to the needs of a changing society. Adaptation may be in response to shifting values, or in response to constitutional change. This is demonstrated in chapters on assisted reproduction and assisted dying, both modern concerns, and a far older example, that of the law on water, which has been evolving over the centuries in response to society's changing demands. The law also needs to reflect constitutional change, as in the case of Welsh devolution. The second section of the book looks at the necessary simplification of the law and systematic legal reform. These tasks lie at the heart of the work of the Law Commission, which celebrated its 50th anniversary in 2015. Drawing on her own experience as former Chairman of the Law Commission, Mary Arden argues that statute law can be made simpler by codification, and that the success of codification may vary depending on the field of law. The final section looks ahead to tomorrow's judiciary. The accountability of judges is a continuing area of discussion, and this includes ensuring that the reasoning behind their decisions is understood by the relevant people. Mary Arden goes on to argue that the vision for the judiciary today and tomorrow should be one of greater diversity in the widest sense. This will help to ensure not only greater fairness and wider opportunity but also better decision-making. The book concludes with advice and encouragement for future legal professionals.

Americanization of the Common Law

Americanization of the Common Law
Author: William Edward Nelson
Publisher: University of Georgia Press
Total Pages: 301
Release: 1994-01-01
Genre: Law
ISBN: 0820315877

Americanization of the Common Law remains one of the standard works on the transformation of law in America from the late colonial period to the end of the early republic. In a straightforward manner, William E. Nelson analyzes the profound ideological movement that grew out of the American Revolution and caused substantial structural change in the legal and social order of Massachusetts and, by extension, in the nation at large. The Revolution, Nelson argues, transformed a hierarchical and communitarian legal and social order into an egalitarian and individualistic one. For this edition, Nelson has written a new preface in which he discusses the book's initial reception and the relevant historiographical issues that have arisen since it was first published in 1975.

Law in Modern Society

Law in Modern Society
Author: Denis Galligan
Publisher: OUP Oxford
Total Pages: 400
Release: 2006-09-14
Genre: Law
ISBN: 0191018864

Providing an introduction to law in modern society, D. J. Galligan considers how legal theory, and particularly H. L. A Hart's The Concept of Law, has developed the idea of law as a highly developed social system, which has a distinctive character and structure, and which shapes and influences people's behaviour. The concept of law as a distinct social phenomenon is examined through reference to, and analysis of, the work of prominent legal and social theorists, in particular M. Weber, E. Durkheim, and N. Luhmann. Galligan's approach is guided by two main ideas: that the law is a social formation with its own character and features, and that at the same time it interacts with, and is affected by, other aspects of society. In analysing these two ideas, Galligan develops a general framework for law and society within which he considers various aspects including: the nature of social rules and the concept of law as a system of rules; whether law has particular social functions and how legal orders run in parallel; the place of coercion; the characteristic form of modern law and the social conditions that support it; implementation and compliance; and what happens when laws are used to change society. Law in Modern Society encourages legal scholars to consider the law as an expression of social relations, examining the connections and tensions between the positive law of modern society and the spontaneous relations they often try to direct or change.

Law and Society

Law and Society
Author: Steven E. Barkan
Publisher: Routledge
Total Pages: 353
Release: 2015-12-08
Genre: Social Science
ISBN: 1317346882

Law and Society is written to be highly accessible to the average undergraduate student. This multidisciplinary text draws on the work of anthropologists, historians, law professors, political scientists, psychologists, and sociologists to clearly outline how law is an essential social institution that shapes society, while also being shaped by it.

The Oldest Social Science?

The Oldest Social Science?
Author: W. T. Murphy
Publisher: Oxford University Press
Total Pages: 292
Release: 1997
Genre: Law
ISBN: 9780198265597

This original book challenges the assumption that the post-war period is hallmarked by the triumph of the rule of law. It presents a sophisticated interpretation of the true role played by law in modern society, sidestepping the usual emphasis in legal theory on normative questions. Tim Murphy approaches his subject by focusing on adjudication as a social practice and as a set of governmental techniques. From this viewpoint, he explores how the relationship between law, government and society has changed in the course of history in significant ways. In so doing, he addresses the central concerns of scholars, students, and the public in relation to the future of law.

Equity and Law

Equity and Law
Author: John C. P. Goldberg
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Total Pages: 483
Release: 2019-08
Genre: Law
ISBN: 1108421318

The fusion of law and equity in common law systems was a crucial moment in the development of the modern law. In this volume leading scholars assess the significance of the fusion of law and equity from comparative, doctrinal, historical and theoretical perspectives.