This textbook is an ambitious and engaging introduction to the more advanced writings on family law, primarily designed to allow students to 'get under the skin' of the topic and begin to build their critical thinking and analysis skills. Each chapter is structured around key questions and debates that provoke deeper thought and, ultimately, a clearer understanding. The aim of the book is therefore not to present a complete overview of theoretical issues in family law, but rather to illustrate the current debates which are currently going on among those working in shaping the area. The text features summaries of the views of notable experts on key topics and each chapter ends with a list of guided further reading.
An engaging introduction to the more advanced writings on criminal law, designed to provide the additional insights necessary to excel in the study of the subject.
An acclaimed portrait of Edmund Burke, Thomas Paine, and the origins of modern conservatism and liberalism In The Great Debate, Yuval Levin explores the roots of the left/right political divide in America by examining the views of the men who best represented each side at its origin: Edmund Burke and Thomas Paine. Striving to forge a new political path in the tumultuous age of the American and French revolutions, these two ideological titans sparred over moral and philosophical questions about the nature of political life and the best approach to social change: radical and swift, or gradual and incremental. The division they articulated continues to shape our political life today. Essential reading for anyone seeking to understand the basis of our political order and Washington's acrimonious rifts today, The Great Debate offers a profound examination of what conservatism, progressivism, and the debate between them truly amount to.
From the two-time winner of the prestigious Lincoln Prize, a stirring and surprising account of the debates that made Lincoln a national figure and defined the slavery issue that would bring the country to war. In 1858, Abraham Lincoln was known as a successful Illinois lawyer who had achieved some prominence in state politics as a leader in the new Republican Party. Two years later, he was elected president and was on his way to becoming the greatest chief executive in American history. What carried this one-term congressman from obscurity to fame was the campaign he mounted for the United States Senate against the country’s most formidable politician, Stephen A. Douglas, in the summer and fall of 1858. As this brilliant narrative by the prize-winning Lincoln scholar Allen Guelzo dramatizes, Lincoln would emerge a predominant national figure, the leader of his party, the man who would bear the burden of the national confrontation. Lincoln lost that Senate race to Douglas, though he came close to toppling the “Little Giant,” whom almost everyone thought was unbeatable. Guelzo’s Lincoln and Douglas brings alive their debates and this whole year of campaigns and underscores their centrality in the greatest conflict in American history. The encounters between Lincoln and Douglas engage a key question in American political life: What is democracy's purpose? Is it to satisfy the desires of the majority? Or is it to achieve a just and moral public order? These were the real questions in 1858 that led to the Civil War. They remain questions for Americans today.
"Children's rights": the phrase has been a legal battle cry for twenty-five years. But as this provocative book by a nationally renowned expert on children's legal standing argues, it is neither possible nor desirable to isolate children from the interests of their parents, or those of society as a whole. From foster care to adoption to visitation rights and beyond, Martin Guggenheim offers a trenchant analysis of the most significant debates in the children's rights movement, particularly those that treat children's interests as antagonistic to those of their parents. Guggenheim argues that "children's rights" can serve as a screen for the interests of adults, who may have more to gain than the children for whom they claim to speak. More important, this book suggests that children's interests are not the only ones or the primary ones to which adults should attend, and that a "best interests of the child" standard often fails as a meaningful test for determining how best to decide disputes about children.
This book introduces students to the great debates in EU law. Rather than simply presenting traditional approaches that provide descriptions (often in historical order) of substantive and constitutional elements of Union law, this book clusters material around these debates in an engaging and lively way. By offering concise analyses of core dilemmas and tensions in EU law, the book provides a different kind of introduction, one that helps students place the discussions within a boarder context and narrative. The authors have found in their teaching that students often struggle with individual aspects and materials without understanding broader narratives, which are traditionally developed in monographs or journal articles that are beyond the reach of undergraduate readers.
An engaging introduction to the more advanced writings on property law, designed to provide the additional insights necessary to excel in the study of the subject.
This engaging textbook provides a critical analysis of the legitimacy and effectiveness of the European Convention on Human Rights and its practical operation. In a succinct way, the book investigates questions around the legitimacy of how the European Court of Human Rights develops its law, the obligations of states to comply with its judgments, the adequacy of the Convention in securing basic goods, and the effectiveness of the system in protecting rights 'in the real world'. It assesses some under-explored areas of the Convention that are often overlooked. Presenting a number of debates about the legitimacy and effectiveness of the system in a provocative and critical style, this book encourages debate, discussion, and self-reflection on how, when and why the Convention protects human rights in Europe. An ideal text for Law students at English and Welsh universities and higher education institutions taking a module in The European Convention on Human Rights (LLB or LLM level), and for GDL/CPE students and those taking the postgraduate LPC training course.
Ideas and Debates in Family Law is written for family law students, at undergraduate level and beyond, who are looking for less orthodox ideas about family law. The book's first section looks at themes in family law, addressing challenges facing the family justice system, rights and responsibilities, and the internationalisation of the law regulating families. The second section is focused on adult relationships: it suggests new ways for the law to allocate legal consequences for families, debates the consequences of the 'contractualisation' of marriage, and explores the value of 'fairness' in family finances. The third section is about children, discussing the welfare principle, parental responsibility and practical parenting. Although these issues sound common enough in a family law book, the discussions found here are far from common. Useful by itself or alongside a textbook, Ideas and Debates in Family Law offers new and thought-provoking perspectives on family law issues. 'Rob George is a new, distinctive and powerful voice in family law scholarship. In this book he subjects received and emerging opinions to incisive examination, providing readers with the intellectual invigoration associated with first class seminars. Above all, he re-claims family law as a significant branch of the idea and practice of justice.' John Eekelaar, Pembroke College, Oxford 'Building on a successful format for undergraduate seminars in Oxford, this unique student text presents an exciting array of thought-provoking debates and intellectually stimulating, sometimes unorthodox, ideas. It will help students to situate their knowledge and to think more deeply and critically about family law and policy. I applaud this book's focus and content and Rob George's vision in writing it.' Stephen Gilmore, King's College London 'Whether you are a student looking for interesting points to make your work first class or an academic wanting an overview of family law theory, this is the book for you. Rob George has brilliantly captured the main issues facing family lawyers and policy makers at this fascinating time. All the major concepts in family law - marriage; parenthood; family - are having to be rethought and redefined. This book provides an excellent starting point for how we might go about reimagining family law and policy.' Jonathan Herring, Exeter College, Oxford
The first textbook to consider gender perspectives in relation to the whole undergraduate law curriculum in England and Wales. Gender is of central importance in every area of law and every area of people's lives but is rarely mentioned in the formal LLB syllabus; this book is designed to fill some of those gaps. 18 chapters, written by experts in the field, cover all the core modules on the English LLB together with 11 of the most popular options. Aimed at students and lecturers on undergraduate and postgraduate Gender and Law modules, the book will also be useful for all LLB and LLM students studying English law, who may use it to accompany their studies from their first to their final year, and also for prospective law students, legal scholars from outside England and Wales, and scholars in other disciplines.
