Common law Books

Book SynopsisProfessor Paul Mitchell joined University College London as Professor of Laws in 2010, and has previously taught at King's College London, Queen Mary University of London, and Oxford University. His main research interests include tort law, Roman law, and contract law. Much of his work is historical, exploring how and why the law developed as it did.

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Book SynopsisOxford''s variorum edition of William Blackstone''s seminal treatise on the common law of England and Wales offers the definitive account of the Commentaries'' development in a modern format. For the first time it is possible to trace the evolution of English law and Blackstone''s thought through the eight editions of Blackstone''s lifetime, and the authorial corrections of the posthumous ninth edition. Introductions by the general editor and the volume editors set the Commentaries in their historical context, examining Blackstone''s distinctive view of the common law, and editorial notes throughout the four volumes assist the modern reader in understanding this key text in the Anglo-American common law tradition. Book I: Of the Rights of PeopleVolume Editor: David LemmingsBook II: Of the Rights of ThingsVolume Editor: Simon SternBook III: Of Private WrongsVolume Editor: Thomas P. GallanisBook IV: Of Public WrongsVolume Editor: Ruth Paley

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Book SynopsisNicholas J. McBride is a Fellow of Pembroke College, Cambridge; he was formerly a Fellow of All Souls College, Oxford. Roderick Bagshaw is a Fellow of Magdalen College, Oxford.

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Book SynopsisThe only variorum edition of Blackstone's seminal treatise on the common law, tracing the evolution of Blackstone's thought from the first to the ninth edition. The second volume addresses central topics of land and property law, known as 'the rights of things'.Trade Reviewa unique and valuable contribution to scholarship ... future scholars will benefit immensely from this exceptionally valuable contribution to legal history. * Ian Williams, The Journal of Legal History *Blackstone's Commentaries remain a central source for understanding both historical and modern Anglo-American law - as well as debates in Anglo-American legal philosophy - and Oxford University Press's new edition of the Commentaries offers a valuable new resource for studying them. * Brian Bix, Frederick W. Thomas Professor of Law and Philosophy, Jotwell *Table of ContentsBOOK THE SECOND: OF THE RIGHTS OF THINGS

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Book SynopsisEnglish Legal System Concentrate is written and designed to help you succeed. Written by experts and covering all key topics, Concentrate guides help focus your revision and maximise your exam performance. Each guide includes revision tips, advice on how to achieve extra marks, and a thorough and focused breakdown of the key topics and cases. Revision guides you can rely on: trusted by lecturers, loved by students... I have always used OUP revision and Q&A books and genuinely believe they have helped me get better grades - Anthony Poole, law student, Swansea UniversityThe detail in this revision textbook is phenomenal and is just what is needed to push your exam preparation to the next level - Stephanie Lomas, law student, University of Central LancashireIt is a little more in-depth than other revision guides, and also has clear diagrams and teaches ways to obtain extra marks. These features make it unique - Godwin Tan, law student, University College LondonThe concentrate revision guiTrade ReviewProvides the perfect amount of information. Detailed without being too long or cumbersome, succinct but doesn't miss anything out. Absolutely spot on. * Hollie Walsh, law student, University of Manchester *Clear, concise, and very useful for building your understanding of tricky concepts. A great help for revision, clarification, and seminar preparation! * Meraj Sakaria, law student, Swansea University *Table of Contents1: Introduction to the English Legal System 2: Introduction to Sources of Law and Court Structure 3: Sources of Law I: Domestic Legislation 4: Sources of Law II: Case Law 5: Sources of Law III: Effect of EU and International Law 6: Personnel of the English Legal System 7: The Criminal Justice System 8: The Civil Justice System 9: Funding Access to the English Legal System

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Book SynopsisHow the medieval right to appoint a parson helped give birth to English common lawTrade Review“A praiseworthy and original investigation of a subject that straddled the line between secular and spiritual: the early history of the English common law of advowsons.”—R. H. Helmholz, University of Chicago Law School“It has been a great pleasure to watch what began as a tentative, but intriguing, doctoral dissertation turn through a series of articles on seemingly small points into the small masterpiece that is this book.”—Charles Donahue Jr., Harvard Law School

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Book SynopsisIn this unique book Lord Woolf recounts his remarkable career and provides a personal and honest perspective on the most important developments in the common law over the last half century. The book opens with a comprehensive description of his family background, which was very influential on his later life, starting with the arrival of his grandparents as Jewish immigrants to England in 1870. His recollections of his early years and family, education and life as a student lead into his early career as a barrister and as a Treasury Devil, moving on to his judicial career and the many roles taken therein. The numerous standout moments examined include his work on access to the judiciary, prison reform, and suggested reforms to the European Court of Human Rights. Fascinating insights into the defining cases of his career, T AG v Jonathan Cape, Gouriet v Union of Post Office Workers, Tameside, Hazel v Hammersmith, M v Home Office, remind the reader of how impactful his influence has been. He considers the setting of the mandatory component of the life sentences of Thompson and Venables and the Diane Blood case. Alongside the case law, and the Woolf Reforms, the Constitutional Law Reform Act 2005 is also explored. Considering the ebb and flow of changes over his remarkable judicial life, Lord Woolf identifies those he welcomes, but also expresses regret on what has been lost. A book to remind lawyers, be they students, practitioners or scholars, of the power and importance of law. All author profits from the book will be donated to the Woolf Institute.Trade ReviewAn Uncommon Lawyer traces the author’s unbroken ascent up the ladders of bar and bench – helpfully, for the lay reader, with explanations of what his various roles involved. It also describes the development of his aim to make the law more accessible and more humane … He has indeed been an uncommon lawyer, as well as an honourable and much honoured man. -- Michael Beloff * The Times Literary Supplement *Table of Contents1. The Start 2. Happy Days 3. Becoming a Member of the Bar 4. A Barrister Taking the Crown’s Shilling as the Revenue and Treasury Junior 5. Crossing the Strand/A Change of Robes 6. A Change of Robes and Strangeways 7. Life as a Law Lord 8. Access to Justice 9. My Responsibilities as Master of the Rolls 10. Lord Chief Justice 11. Return to Civilian Life and Further Commissions 12. Interfaith Relations – The Woolf Institute 13. Back to Judging 14. For Family and Justice

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Book SynopsisIn this collection, one of the key commentators on the modern law of tort presents 12 of his most important articles and book chapters. These are accompanied by an introductory chapter in which the author comments on the impact and reception of the pieces that make up the collection, and by a provocative new essay in which he argues against strict product liability in the law of tort. A coherent and compelling exploration of topical issues in core areas of tort law, the collection is divided into 3 parts, dealing with negligence; nuisance and Rylands v Fletcher; and tort in general. The essays in this collection are a significant contribution to debates about the limits and scope of tortious liability in common law systems. Students, scholars and practitioners alike will find it an invaluable resource for understanding tort law in the early 21st century.

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Book SynopsisAlways the serious student''s choice for a Trusts Law textbook, the new seventh edition of Moffat''s Trusts Law once again provides a clear examination of the rules of Trusts, retaining its hallmark combination of a contextualised approach and a commercial focus. The impact of statutory developments and a wealth of new cases including the Supreme Court and Privy Council decisions in Patel v. Mirza [2016] UKSC 42, PJS v. News Group Newspapers Ltd [2016] UKSC, Burnden Holdings v. Fielding [2018] UKSC 14, and Federal Republic of Brazil v. Durant [2015] UKPC 35 are explored. A streamlining of the chapters on charitable Trusts, better to align the book with the typical Trusts Law course, helps students understand the new directions being taken in the areas of Trust Law and equitable remedies.Table of ContentsPreface to the Seventh Edition; Acknowledgements; Table of Abbreviations; Useful Websites; Table of Statutes; Table of Statutory Instrument; Table of Cases; 1. Trusts Introduced; 2. The Evolution of the Private Express Trust; 3. Creating the Trust – I; 4. Creating the Trust – II; 5. Trusts and Public Policy; 6. Flexibility in Relation to Beneficial Entitlement; 7. An Introduction to Trustees and Trusteeship; 8. Aspects of the Management of Trusts; 9. Trusteeship, Control and Breach of Trust; 10. Implied Trusts and the Family Home; 11. Trusts in Commerce I: Commerce and Equitable Remedies; 12. Trusts in Commerce II: Commerce, Credit and the Trust; 13. Trusts in Commerce III: Fiduciary Relationships, Commerce and the Trust; 14. Trust, Contract and Unincorporated Associations; 15. An Introduction to the Law of Charity; 16. The Legal Definition of 'Charity'; 17. Trusts – an International Dimension; Index

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Book SynopsisThis book discusses the dominant corrective justice and distributive justice approaches to private law and identifies their strengths and weaknesses. It goes on to propose a general approach to private law, including contract, tort and private property, and explains how it can provide solutions to some longstanding problems. Two general ideas inform this approach: the ‘standpoint limitation’ and ‘remedial consistency’. The standpoint limitation explains the distinctive character of private law, that is to say why it is focussed mainly, though not exclusively, on particular individual interests rather than the common welfare. Remedial consistency explains the way in which remedies depend on and give effect to primary rights. The book also discusses the nature of common law legal reasoning and its relationship to the suggested understanding of private law.Table of Contents1. Introduction 2. Theories of law 3. The structure of private law 4. The distributive justice theory of private law 5. The corrective justice theory of private law 6. The standpoint limitation approach 7. The standpoint limitation applied to tort and contract 8. Private property 9. Private property rights and claims 10. The common law

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Book SynopsisThe Plot to Change America exposes the myths that help identity politics perpetuate itself. This book reveals what has really happened, explains why it is urgent to change course, and offers a strategy to do so. Though we should not fool ourselves into thinking that it will be easy to eliminate identity politics, we should not overthink it, either. Identity politics relies on the creation of groups and then on giving people incentives to adhere to them. If we eliminate group making and the enticements, we can get rid of identity politics.The first myth that this book exposes is that identity politics is a grassroots movement, when from the beginning it has been, and continues to be, an elite project. For too long, we have lived with the fairy tale that America has organically grown into a nation gripped by victimhood and identitarian division; that it is all the result of legitimate demands by minorities for recognition or restitutions for past wrongs. The second myth is that identity politics is a response to the demographic change this country has undergone since immigration laws were radically changed in 1965. Another myth we are told is that to fight these changes is as depraved as it is futile, since by 2040, America will be a minority-majority country, anyway. This book helps to explain that none of these things are necessarily true.Trade Review“Michael Gonzalez shows us that the idea of ‘identity’ did not just innocently emerge. It was invented for the purpose of dividing citizens into groups to be used as political pawns in a plot to change America. Identity politics turns citizens into ‘innocent victims’ in need of governmental carve-outs, and promotes brokers who do their bidding. Gonzalez lays out just how this madness can be brought to an end. A very timely book. Highly recommended.” —Joshua Mitchell, author of American Awakening“Penetrating and insightful....Mr. Gonzalez's illuminating research is particularly relevant now.” —Roger Clegg, National Review Online“Gonzalez goes beyond standard critiques, performing much-needed spadework to trace the left’s steady infiltration of universities, government agencies, courts, foundations, and school boards since the 1960s. His perspective as an assimilated Cuban-American lends authenticity and urgency to the book.” —Eric Kaufmann, Law & Liberty“Gonzalez’s book should be widely read for its valuable insights.” —George R. La Noue, The Federalist “Identity politics is at risk of tearing apart a nation which aspires to be 'indivisible, with liberty and justice for all.' Mike Gonzalez explains in The Plot to Change America how identity politics starting in the 1970s has tried to tear the nation apart—and how, sometimes, it has boomeranged on its practitioners.” —Michael Barone, Senior political analyst, The Washington Examiner, Longtime co-author, The Almanac of American Politics“Persuasive and clarifying, this book is a must read for anyone who wishes to understand how we arrived at the sordid identity politics of today and what must be done to tear it down. Gonzalez reminds Americans of all races and ethnicities that we are better off choosing individual agency, pride, and success over a culture of victimhood.” —Ying Ma, author of Chinese Girl in the Ghetto“Mike Gonzalez is a tremendous voice for conservatism. In his new book, The Plot to Change America, Mike irrefutably wrecks the identity politics arguments of the political Left, which have been tearing the country apart for years.” —Ben Shapiro, host of “The Ben Shapiro Show” and #1 New York Times bestselling author of The Right Side of History“A forceful call to stop the cancerous spread of identity politics and begin to undo the terrible damage it has done to our country.” —David Azerrad, Hillsdale College

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Book SynopsisThis is a time when the rule of law is seriously challenged, when governments threaten deliberately to break the law, and the independence of justice is jeopardised by unrelenting pressure from both the executive and the media. This book aims at contributing to restoring trust in judges as custodians of the law and justice, through a comparison between Civil and Common Law countries. It offers a rare opportunity to gather the expertise of eminent judges and legal authorities from five different countries, providing a unique insight into their work and the way they deliver justice based on their respective professional experience and practise of the law. Far from being a highly technical debate between experts, however, the book is accessible to students and the general public, and raises important contemporary legal issues that involve them both as citizens, with justice as a shared aspiration, and a common attachment to the rule of law.Trade Review"This impressive collection of essays is an important reminder of the pressures to which the rule of law is subject. The expert contributors, speaking from a wide range of different perspectives, demonstrate how these challenges can be overcome and, in the process, provide valuable insights into how judges and justice work." --Lord Lloyd-Jones, Justice of the Supreme Court of the United Kingdom -- Lord Lloyd-Jones, Justice of the Supreme Court of the United Kingdom"This collection of essays is a timely analysis of the centrality of an independent judiciary to a democracy. It offers a powerful insight into the pressures as they arise in Canada, Denmark, England, France, Spain and Wales, and a cross-jurisdictional approach to issues such as diversity, political neutrality and training." --Lord Thomas of Cwmgiedd, Lord Chief Justice of England and Wales 2013–17 -- Lord Thomas of Cwmgiedd, Lord Chief Justice of England and Wales 2013–17Table of ContentsList of Abbreviations Introduction: Judges’ common threats and challenges, Elizabeth Gibson-Morgan Part One: Judicial Independence Chapter One: Reflections on judges in civil law and common law countries, Lord Judge Chapter Two: A Customary Scale of Punishment; Judicial Sentencing in England and Wales, Victor Bailey Chapter Three: National perceptions of Judges and Lawyers in the UK, Matthias Kelly Chapter Four: Judicial independence in Spain, Ana Maria Neira-Pena and David Soto Diaz Part Two: Judicial Diversity Chapter Five: Diversity and Judicial Independence in Denmark, Peter Gjørtler Chapter Six: Diversity and Judicial Independence in Quebec and Canada, Michel Morin Part Three: Access to Justice Chapter Seven: Judging access to justice: the case of the United Kingdom and France, Géraldine Gadbin-George Chapter Eight: Demystifying the laws and the work of judges in Wales, Milwyn Jarman Part Four: Judicial training reform Chapter Nine: The status and influence of judges of France and of common law jurisdictions: Recruitment, training and reform, Winston Roddick Chapter Ten: The Declaration of Judicial Training Principles: Judicial Training ‘as part of the judicial role’, Benoît Chamouard Conclusion: Elizabeth Gibson-Morgan Bibliography Index

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Book SynopsisThe book collects almost thirty-five opinion pieces, essays, and two poems by the author on a wide variety of public policy topics written and published between 2006 and 2022. The author, a self-described “militant moderate,” draws on his participation in many public debates. The articles are grouped into six, topical groupings that range widely: the growing need for moderate voices in policy debates; the nature of American exceptionalism; the challenge of civic discourse; the depredations of the Trump years; and policies concerning immigration, citizenship, and refugees.Trade Review“In this book, Peter Schuck demonstrates compellingly that being a ‘moderate’ need not mean being wishy-washy. He rejects cant from all quarters, demands disciplined examination of factual evidence, and comes to provocative conclusions. Ideologues of all stripes should be forewarned: this book exemplifies intellectual independence.” — Richard Fallon, Story Professor of Law, Harvard Law School.“In this welcome sequel to his superb ‘Meditations of a Militant Moderate,’ Peter Schuck gives an object lesson in the two traits which our intellectual discourse desperately needs: common sense and wise judgment. His verve and passion dispatch the myth that moderates are milquetoasts. Slaying shibboleths about everything from abortion and immigration to cancel culture and campus crybullies, Schuck shows again why his voice is unique and necessary.” — Jonathan Rauch, Senior Fellow at the Brookings Institution. “Suffering from low blood pressure? Peter Schuck’s More Meditations of a Militant Moderate is the perfect cure. Whether you are politically left, right, or center, you will find thrilling support for and infuriating refutation of positions you embrace. But most of all, you will revel in the pleasure of reading the muscular prose of a vigorous intellect wrestling honestly with issues that will surely matter deeply to you.” — Henry J. Aaron, Bruce and Virginia MacLaury Fellow, the Brookings Institution.Table of ContentsPart 1: Preface and Part 1; Part 2: American Exceptionalism; Part 3: Civic Discourse; Part 4: The Misbegotten Trump Presidency; Part 5: Campus Follies; Part 6: Immigrants, Citizens, and Refugees

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Book SynopsisLord Denning, an influential but controversial English judge, stated that 'Words are the lawyer's tools of trade'. This course book reflects that conviction as it focuses on words, the language of the law - legal terms, expressions, and grammar - introduced systematically with relevant aspects of the law, and examined in context through analytical reading activities based on original legal texts selected for their interest and importance in different branches of the common law system. This book explores constitutional law, criminal law, tort, and contract; yet includes international legal contexts, with a particular focus on human rights and European law. The presentation of legal concepts and terminology in context in each chapter is graded so that the course progresses, building on the vocabulary and law encountered in earlier chapters. Each chapter, organized thematically, includes a series of activities - tasks - to complete, yet the book does not presuppose previous knowledge of legal English or of the common law: full answer keys and reflective commentary on both legal and linguistic aspects are given and sections marked 'Advanced' offer especially challenging materials. Consolidation sections are designed to test students' global comprehension of the legal texts analysed, including precise usage of legal vocabulary in context, with solutions. Common Law Legal English and Grammar is addressed to the non-native speaker of English, and in particular, intermediate to advanced students who are studying law, or academics with a professional interest in Anglo-American law. Practising lawyers will also find that the book offers valuable analysis of the language of legal documents. Please note, this book is not available for purchase in Italy.Trade ReviewThe book provides the reader with a vast and thorough analysis of the legal language; however, we should not be discouraged by the 503 pages of the book, since the authors use plain English and clearly explain the features of the legal jargon. ... definitely the title to remember for those interested in not only learning legal English terminology but also understanding the usage of the legal terms of art in context. The authors teach the readers legal terminology but also equip them with legal knowledge. They use brilliant and memorable examples to illustrate the use of language, selecting them from the history of common law but also literature and news satisfying in this way the tastes of both lawyers are linguists. I will strongly recommend the book to my colleagues - legal English practitioners - as well as my most ambitious and linguistically advanced law students. -- Aleksandra Luczak, Kozminski University * www.luczak.edu.pl *Table of ContentsPart I English in Legal Contexts in Common Law and International Perspectives Chapter 1 Language and Law – English Legal Contexts, Texts and Terminology Chapter 2 Legal Grammar – Text Layout and Use of Formal Terminology Part II The Language of a Legal System and the British Constitution Chapter 3 Language and Law – Sources of Law and the Constitution of the UK Chapter 4 Legal Grammar – Punctuation Consolidation Part II – Language Focus Tasks Part III International Treaties, Human Rights and European Integration Chapter 5 Language and Law – Treaties and Human Rights in the European Dimension Chapter 6 Legal Grammar – Basic Sentence Structure Chapter 7 Language and Law – Common Law Perspectives of Crime and Punishment Chapter 8 Legal Grammar – Verb Forms Chapter 9 Language and Law – Judicial Precedent and the Law of Torts Chapter 10 Legal Grammar – Word Formation Chapter 11 Language and Law – Contract and Commercial Agreements Chapter 12 Legal Grammar – Adverbial Clauses and Nominal Structures

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Book SynopsisThis original book fills a significant gap in legal literature by providing an exploration of research methodologies in public law, a field of research in which research methods are becoming increasingly prominent and sophisticated. Featuring thoughtful chapters written by leading scholars in the field, this book provides a thorough explanation of the key features, characteristics, and challenges of distinct methodological approaches to public law research. Divided into four broad categories; traditional, institutional, technical and critical, chapters cover a wide range of approaches, from doctrinal and interpretive methods to empirical, socio-legal, and Marxist approaches. The book promotes critical reflection on many of the most common methodological approaches and aims to demystify research methodologies in public law for new scholars and interdisciplinary researchers alike.Researching Public Law in Common Law Systems will be essential reading for academics and students in public law, suitable for advanced scholars and those who are new to the field. It will also be relevant to those with an interest in empirical methods, legal methods, and research methodologies more broadly in the social sciences.Trade Review‘Public law scholarship in recent years has become richer and more complex – expanding our capacity to address new questions, but also creating new methodological challenges. In this important new volume, Paul Daly and Joe Tomlinson bring together some of the leading public lawyers in the common law world to help unpack and navigate these challenges. Bringing together theoretical, doctrinal, sociolegal and comparative perspectives, the volume is essential reading for those new to and established in the field.’ -- Rosalind Dixon, University of New South Wales, Australia‘Public law scholarship in recent years has become richer and more complex – expanding our capacity to address new questions, but also creating new methodological challenges. In this important new volume, Paul Daly and Joe Tomlinson bring together some of the leading public lawyers in the common law world to help unpack and navigate these challenges. Bringing together theoretical, doctrinal, sociolegal and comparative perspectives, the volume is essential reading for those new to and established in the field.’ -- Rosalind Dixon, University of New South Wales, Australia‘This excellent collection shines a bright light onto issues of method in public law research. It is a hugely useful and welcome contribution to the field, and is a “must-read” for anyone engaging seriously with the question of how we know what we think we know.’ -- Simon Halliday, University of Strathclyde, UKTable of ContentsContents: List of contributors vii 1 Introduction to Researching Public Law in Common Law Systems 1 Paul Daly and Joe Tomlinson PART I THE TRADITIONAL 2 History to Understand, and History to Reform, English Public Law 25 J.W.F. Allison 3 Interpretive Theory in Public Law 58 Farrah Ahmed and Adam Perry 4 Mapping Doctrinal Methods 70 Jason NE Varuhas PART II THE INSTITUTIONAL 5 Researching Public Law and the Administrative State 105 Paul Daly and Joe Tomlinson 6 Public Law and Legislative Studies 118 Louise Thompson 7 Studying Judicial Decision-making 136 Emmett Macfarlane PART III THE TECHNICAL 8 Comparative Public Law 151 Theunis Roux 9 Mapping the Theoretical Turn in British Public Law Scholarship 175 Samuel Tschorne and Martin Loughlin vi Researching public law in common law systems 10 Public Law and Empirical Legal Research 207 Sarah Nason PART IV THE CRITICAL 11 Marxism and Public Law 231 Paul O’Connell 12 But Interrupting the Flow … Socio-Legal Approaches to Public Law 251 Helen Carr and Ed Kirton Darling 13 Public Law in Indigenous Contexts: Indigenous Law in the Contexts of Public Law 270 Janna Promislow Index 294

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Book SynopsisThis, the first volume to appear in the landmark new Oxford History of the Laws of England series, covers the years 1483 - 1558, a period of immense social, political, and intellectual change, which profoundly affected the law and its workings.Trade ReviewThis volume of The Oxford History of the Laws of England, the first of twelve volumes to appear in print, is a remarkable achievement. A work of vast erudition, based on exhaustive research in the manuscript as well as printed sources, it provides comprehensive coverage of all aspects of the law during the early Tudor period while also presenting a unifying thesis that is rare in works of this sort. To the extent that the volume incorporates much of Baker's earlier scholarship, it also serves as a monument to his unrivaled contribution to the field of early modern English legal history. * Brian P. Levack, Law and History Review Vol 23, No. 3 *There can be no doubt that this series will stand as an enduring testament to the sheer fecundity of the contemporary study of English legal history. * Law Quarterly Review *Despite the mass of scholarship shoe-horned into its pages, great care has been taken that this volume should be reasonably accessible to non-specialists and it is ... an excellent volume. * Law Quarterly Review *Table of ContentsPreface ; Contents ; Abbreviations ; Table of Cases ; Table of Statutes ; I. English Law and the Renaissance ; II. The Constitution ; III. Courts ; IV. Civil Proceedure and Pleading ; V. The Legal Profession and its Learning ; VI. Criminal Law and Procedure ; VII. Persons ; VIII. The Law of Property ; IX. The Law of Torts ; X. The Law of Contract ; Bibliography ; Index of People and Places ; Index of Matters

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Book SynopsisThis book offers a collection of essays by arguably the most popular legal historian writing today. Most of the essays have not been previously published, and those which have appeared previously have been re-written to make the collection read more coherently. The collection is centred upon the theme of the leading case - a case where the judgment has established a long-lasting or far reaching precedent in common law, and the author has selected a number of these cases in order to illustrate how the precedents established by the cases have little or nothing to do with the trials themselves.Trade Reviewengaging and profoundly subversive book...If there is a more painstaking and ingenious researcher of local knowledge, a shrewder and more avid excavator of miscellanies, than Brian Simpson, I have never run across him: Simpson seems to have dug up pretty nearly everything that seems even remotely relevant to understanding his cases, and a great deal more besides. Indeed, so overwhelming is the mass of contextual detail that the reader is rescued from psychic inundation only by the inherent fascination of much of the background and Simpson's seductive charm as a storyteller. This is a very funny book. * Michigan Law Review *This book is a classic. Professor Simpson, who is one of the world's greatest legal historians, has comprehensively reserached the background to a number of leading cases in the common law. * International Trade and Business Law Journal *his historical miniatures are valuable...Each historical interlude is well-reserached, sympathetic and well-written in Professor Simpson's laconic and ironic style. The volume is particularly recommended to beginning law students, to reassure them that the real world of the law is firmly placed in the real world of human passions and desires. * Ottawa Law Review *A good-humoured and forgiving cynicism pervades his interpretation of the legal past. * The Cambridge Law Journal *Leading Cases in the Common Law should be on the shelves of all academic, courthouse and large private law libraries, and in the personal collection of every lawyer who ever wondered about the nature of the law and what they do all day. Not only is this book informative and educational, it is also a good read...Professor Simpson has produced a most useful and welcome addition to a too often neglected area of legal scholarship. * Canadian Law Libraries *Three of four of the ten pieces in this collection were published earlier, and some are already modern classics...These pieces show an astonishing erudition and breadth of historical knowledge, and will delight and instruct both specialists and general readers... This summary of the contents should justify any lover of the common law in reading the book... He is born story-teller, and often the case-law he selects seems only to be a pretext to tell the reader something interesting and amusing about the past...May we see many more books flow from Professor Simpson's wonderful and original pen. * Legal History *Table of ContentsIntroduction ; The Study of Cases ; Politics and Law in Elizabethan England: Shelley's Case ; The Timeless Principles of Common Law: Keeble V. Hickeringill (1707) ; Legal Science and Legal Absurdity: Jee v. Audley ; The Beauty of Obscurity Raffles v. Wickelhaus and Busch ; Victorian Judges and the Problems of Social Cost: Tipping v. St Helen's Smelting Company (1865) ; Bursting Reservoirs and Victorian Tort Law: Rylands and Horrocks v. Fletcher (1868) ; The Ideal of the Rule of Law: Regina v. Keyn (1876) ; Quackery and Contract Law: Carlill v. Carbolic Smoke Ball Company (1893)

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Book SynopsisThis collection of essays brings together the work of many of the world''s leading Contract Law scholars. It focuses upon a common central theme---the question of good faith and fair dealing in the Law of Contract. The book is divided into several parts: the first part is an Introduction; Part II examines the requirement of good faith and its role in the formation of contracts; Part III is concerned with contractual obligations; Part IV examines Breach of Contract and Remedial Issues. The work will be of widespread interest to scholars of Private Law in both Common and Civil Law jurisdictions.Trade Reviewexcellent collection of essays.../ It is an extremely important contribution to the burgeoning literature on fairness, good faith and contract theory more generally./ ... it is most appropriate as backup reading for students doing courses in contract, commercial or consumer law at undergraduate and postgraduate level... it will be very important backup reading, as it has something to say on most of the key areas in a contract law course./ Chris Willett, University of Warwick, Student Law Review, Spring 1999, Vol 26.

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Book SynopsisThis volume is based closely on the lectures delivered by The Hon. Justice W. M. C. Gummow at Oxford University in 1999 as part of the Clarendon law lectures series, sponsored by Oxford University Press. These lectures take up themes of continuity and change in the law, particularly as they appear in the great common law jurisdictions.Trade ReviewThe strength of Justice Gummow's work is its detailed and authoritive discussion concerning the various approaches used to develop and adapt the law. The table of cases and index are convenient additions to the text. Change and continuity: statute, equity, and federalism is thought-provoking reading and offers an informative perspective of the nature of law and doctrinal development. * International Trade and Business Law Annual *What Gummow has to say is a useful and delicate balance of theory and legal analysis. * J.H.Bogart, The Law and Politics Book Review Vol.10 No.3, March 2000. *What Gummow has to say is a useful and delicate balance of theory and legal analysis. * J H Bogart, The Law and Politics Book Review Vol 10 No 3 (March 2000) *...Justice Gummow gives us plenty of food for thought. * Roger Brownsword Law Quaterly Review October 2000 *"...there is a great deal of subject matter and thought in this small, yet panoramic, treatise." * Prof P H Lane The Australian Law Journal November 2000 *Table of ContentsPreface ; Table of Cases ; Lecture 1 The Common Law and Statute ; Lecture 2 Equity Follows the Law ; Lecture 3 Federalism ; Index

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Book SynopsisThe common law is almost universally regarded as a system of case-law, increasingly supplemented by legislation, but this is only partly true. There is an extensive body of lawyers'' law which has a real existence outside the formal sources but is seldom acknowledged or discussed either by theorists or legal historians. This will still be so even when every judicial decision is electronically accessible. In the heyday of the inns of court, this second body of law was partly expressed in `common learning''. a corpus of legal doctrine handed on largely by oral tradition and a system of education informing the mind of every common lawyer. That common learning emanated from a law school in which the judges actively participated, and in which the lecturers of one generation provided the judiciary of the next. Some of it was written down, though the texts were until recently forgotten, and its importance was overlooked by historians as a result of changes in the common-law system during the Trade ReviewThere is much here to engage and challenge the historian. * English Historical Review *The Law's Two Bodies is undoubtedly of general interest to legal historians of any period, as well as to other critical analysts of law and its interpretation, at two levels. Firstly, Baker's lectures are an important lesson in how the meaning (or a fuller meaning; or an alternative meaning) of written law in its various forms may be found by researching related systems of legal knowledge, such as the education of legal personnel. Secondly, The Law's Two Bodies is a valuable study of how recorded law is not necessarily the absolute source of authority it may appear - or be claimed - to be. * Law Quarterly Review *Table of ContentsI. Case-Law and Statute-Law ; II. Legal Fictions ; III. Common Usage and Common Learning ; Appendices: Some Illustrative Texts ; A. Common Practice and Communis Error ; B. Fictions in Writs and Pleadings ; C. Fictions in Trial: Benefit of Clergy for Laymen ; D. Linguistic Fictions ; E. Improper Fictions ; F. Common Learning ; G. Opinions of Counsel ; Index

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Book SynopsisThere are many countries that use and apply the common law, which collectively may be called the common law world. A feature of this world is that nowadays it largely operates through statutes enacted by a country''s democratic legislature, and that these mainly fall to be construed according to a uniform system of rules, presumptions, principles and canons evolved over centuries by common law judges. The statutes subject to this interpretative regime may be called common law statutes. They are the main subject of this book, along with the said uniform system. The book distills and updates within a brief compass the author''s published writings on statute law and statutory interpretation which span a period of nearly forty years, being contained in half a dozen books and many more articles. The chief books are Statute Law (Longman, third edition 1990), Halsbury''s Laws of England, Title Statutes (Butterworths, 4th edition reissue 1995), and Bennion on Statutory Interpretation (LexisNexTrade ReviewFrancis Bennion brings with him years of experience in legislative drafting ... The treatment is uniformly illuminating, and the style is homely. * The Commonwealth Lawyer *Readers who have come to expect a degree of iconoclasm from Francis Bennion will not be disappointed. he includes the occasional throwaway line which reverberates. All this serves only to increase the pleasure of reading the book: it never affects the careful objectivity which Bennion brings to bear on his subject. * Law Quarterly Review Vol. 118, July 2002 *... fascinating and entertaining ... The text is clear and accessible, enlivened by examples and enhanced by chapter summaries. * New Law Journal, 8 Feb 2002 *For Bennion: "Legislation is what the legislator says it is. The meaning of legislation is what the court says it is"...A major difference in craft, which Bennion highlights, lies in the drafting style of legislation in the common law...the issues of differences in drafting may be less of a problem in relation to legal interpretation and be more of a matter concerning what Bennion helpfully describes as "law management"-the techniques of dealing with statutory materials. In terms of "learning the craft of law", techniques of law management may be more significant than techniques of legal interpretation. Bennion's work is at its clearest in describing the procedures to be followed for processing an enactment...As he suggests, the process of understanding and compiling a statute depends on understanding how it was drafted in the first place... * Professor John Bell, Legal Studies, Vol. 22 No. 3, September 2002 *This book lays down most lucidly the fundamentals of common law legislation, the drafting techniques and the interpretation principles. In his voluminous treatise on Interpretation, Bennion has seminally carved out new spheres of interpretative jurisprudence and this book could be said to be a prologue to the main treatise. It proved very useful in the course on Interpretation as not many books give the jurisprudential foundations of interpretation principles which it does. * Rishabh Sancheti, National Law University, India, September 2006 *[This book] not only makes a good reading on understanding common law legislation but also delves into 'global techniques' of interpretation of statutes. It also offers a blue print of law curriculum on interpretation of statutes. * K. I. Vibhute, Scholastcus, January 2004 *Bennion is one of Great Britain's leading scholars in the area of statutory construction. This is one of the best books on statutory construction that I have read. * Gary O'Connor, Statutory Construction Zone *The book is based on writings which span nearly four decades. It covers not only issues relating to the enactment of common law statutes and the various rules governing their interpretation, but also legal policy, the nature of discretionary powers, the jurisprudential basis of the common law method, and techniques of law management. The treatment is uniformly illuminating and the style is homely. The author's philosophy is best summed up in his observation that, "Up and down the land, statutes are not some out of the way dusty nuisance. They are part of everyday life, and we had better understand them if we can." * Dr Venkat Iyer, The Commonwealth Lawyer vol.11 no.2, August 2002 *Bennion is outstanding in conceptualising statutory interpretation. * Jeffrey Barnes, Law Trobe University, Australia, 2001 *Table of Contents1. Basic concepts I: common law statutes; the enactment; legal meaning; factual outline and legal thrust; implied ancillary rules ; 2. Basic concepts II: opposing constructions; literal, purposive and developmental interpretations ; 3. Grammatical and strained meanings ; 4. Consequential and rectifying constructions ; 5. Contradictory enactments and updating construction ; 6. Drafting techniques and the Interpretation Act ; 7. Transitional provisions and the Cohen question ; 8. Words in pairs ; 9. Rules of interpretation ; 10. Legal policy ; 11. Interpretative presumptions ; 12. Linguistic canons and interpretative technique ; 13. The nature of judgment ; 14. The nature of discretion ; 15. The European Union and the HRA ; 16. The jurisprudential basis of the common law method ; 17. The common law system in America ; 18. Techniques of law management

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Book SynopsisWhat does it mean when civil lawyers and common lawyers think differently? In Charting the Divide between Common and Civil Law, Thomas Lundmark provides a comprehensive introduction to the uses, purposes, and approaches to studying civil and common law in a comparative legal framework. Superbly organized and exhaustively written, this volume covers the jurisdictions of Germany, Sweden, England and Wales, and the United States, and includes a discussion of each country''s legal issues, structure, and their general rules. Professor Lundmark also explores the discipline of comparative legal studies, rectifying many of the misconceptions and prejudices that cloud our understanding of the divide between the common law and civil law traditions. Students of international law, comparative law, social philosophy, and legal theory will find this volume a valuable introduction to common and civil law. Lawyers, judges, political scientists, historians, and philosophers will also find this book valTrade ReviewThomas Lundmark rightly challenges taxonomic and static appreciation of 'legal families' in the world and does so in the most effective manner, through detailed and informed appreciation of the institutions of specific jurisdictions... The treatment is erudite and cosmopolitan, the conclusions irresistible. It is a splendid book. * H. Patrick Glenn, Peter M. Laing Professor of Law, McGill University *Thomas Lundmark explains what makes legal systems unique and questions the value of the conventional distinction between 'civil law' and 'common law' systems. He illustrates this through an impressive survey of scholarship, particularly on Germany and the USA, as well as England and Wales and Sweden. He offers a sophisticated picture of legal reasoning that includes the structure of language and jurisprudential traditions, professions, and the interpretation of statues and precedents. He demonstrates convincingly that such a picture reveals the individuality of legal systems and the need to avoid traditional stereotypes in the classification of legal families. * John Bell, Professor of Law, Faculty of Law, University of Cambridge, UK *This book is different! It is not about comparison at the level of specific doctrines of private law such as contract or tort law. Instead, it reaches out to the structural level and touches the very core of the different approaches that we can discern between Common Law and Civil Law. Lundmark's book offers new and fascinating deeper insights even to a reader who has been engaged in comparative law from an academic as well as from a practical aspect for decades. * Professor Dr. Ingeborg Schwenzer, LL.M., Basel, Switzerland *Table of ContentsINTRODUCTION ; CHAPTER ONE: The Discipline of Comparative Law ; CHAPTER TWO: Comparative Legal Linguistics ; CHAPTER THREE: Comparative Jurisprudence ; CHAPTER FOUR: Lawyers ; CHAPTER FIVE: Judges and Judiciaries ; CHAPTER SIX: Lay Judges and Juries ; CHAPTER SEVEN: Legal Reasoning ; CHAPTER EIGHT: Statutes and their Construction ; CHAPTER NINE: Judicial Precedents ; CONCLUSION

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Book SynopsisWilliam E. Nelson''s first volume of the four-volume The Common Law of Colonial America (2008) established a new benchmark for study of colonial era legal history. Drawing from both a rich archival base and existing scholarship on the topic, the first volume demonstrated how the legal systems of Britain''s thirteen North American colonies-each of which had unique economies, political structures, and religious institutions -slowly converged into a common law order that differed substantially from English common law. The first volume focused on how the legal systems of the Chesapeake colonies--Virginia and Maryland--contrasted with those of the New England colonies and traced these dissimilarities from the initial settlement of America until approximately 1660. In this new volume, Nelson brings the discussion forward, covering the years from 1660, which saw the Restoration of the British monarchy, to 1730. In particular, he analyzes the impact that an increasingly powerful British governTrade Review"This volume continues a multi-volume history of the common law in America by our greatest authority on the foundations of the American legal system. Like his other work, it is the product of unmatched meticulous research into the archival record of legal institutions as they affected the lives of ordinary Americans - male and female, white and black, powerful and weak. It is as much a human study as it is an institutional one, and it takes its well-earned place as a classic in legal history." - David Thomas Konig, Professor of History and Professor of Law at Washington University in St. LouisTable of ContentsTABLE OF CONTENTS ; INTRODUCTION ; I. DUTCH AND PURITAN LAW IN NEW NETHERLAND ; A. The Dutch Legal System of New ; B. "Rude, Untechnical" Law in the Early English Settlements ; II. NEW YORK: THE PERSISTENCE OF DUTCH AND PURITAN ; A. The Persistence of Dutch Law along the Upper Hudson ; B. New England Law on the Islands and in Westchester ; III. NEW YORK: THE TRIUMPH OF THE COMMON LAW ; A. The Emergence of Common Law in New York City ; B. The Triumph of Common Law in the Colony at Large ; IV. COMMON LAW IN THE CITY-STATE OF CHARLESTON, SOUTH CAROLINA . ; A. The Success and Failure of Ashley's Plans ; B. Creating Law ; C. The End of the Proprietary Regime and the Beginning of Royal Government ; V. POLITICIZING THE COURTS AND UNDERMINING THE LAW IN NORTH CAROLINA ; A. The Colony on the Albemarle Sound ; B. The Judicial System's Collapse ; VI. PENNSYLVANIA: GOVERNMENT BY JUDICIARY ; A. The Immediate Adoption of the Common Law ; B. The Disempowerment of Juries ; C. Law, Order, and Stability ; D. Explaining Hegemony ; VII. DELAWARE AND NEW JERSEY: A MICROCOSM OF THE COLONIAL NORTH ; A. Delaware ; B. East Jersey ; C. West Jersey ; D. New Jersey ; VIII. CONCLUSION: THE COMMON LAW AS MECHANISM OF GOVERNANCE

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a huge range and FREE tracked UK delivery on ALL orders.

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a huge range and FREE tracked UK delivery on ALL orders.

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a huge range and FREE tracked UK delivery on ALL orders.

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a huge range and FREE tracked UK delivery on ALL orders.

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Book SynopsisThe law of torts recognises many defences to liability. While some of these defences have been explored in detail, scant attention has been given to the theoretical foundations of defences generally. In particular, no serious attempt has been made to explain how defences relate to each other or to the torts to which they pertain. The goal of this book is to reduce the size of this substantial gap in our understanding of tort law. The principal way in which it attempts to do so is by developing a taxonomy of defences. The book shows that much can be learned about a given defence from the way in which it is classified. This book has been awarded Joint Second Prize for the 2014 Society of Legal Scholars Peter Birks Prize for Outstanding Legal Scholarship.Trade Review...a welcome contribution. With its careful analysis and clear prose, the book warrants our serious attention. -- Graeme Austin * New Zealand Law Journal *...this book is a gem. It is beautifully clear in its exposition, and thorough in its examination of the area which has long needed such a look. Academic tort lawyers will love it and practitioners will find it extremely useful in clarifying their approach to arguing defences. It is worth having in your library. -- Prue Vines * Australian Civil Liability *... a highly original and insightful analysis into the law of defences to torts as a whole [that] is certainly worthwhile reading. -- James Plunkett * Australian Law Journal, Volume 88 *... an excellent, thought-provoking and rigorously analytical book, which is clearly written and meticulously researched. -- Paul Mitchell * Sydney Law Review, Volume 36 *...Goudkamp's book is the first scholarly study of tort law defences as a whole, and as such is a major addition to the scholarship of tort law. The range of the author's scholarship is impressive, not only in its scale, in that it has extended over the whole field of the law of torts, but also jurisdictionally, and in the use he makes of criminal law scholarship about defences - which may be a first for torts scholars. There are passages which are heavy on theory...which are particularly telling in showing the author's mastery of such areas. The work as a whole has carved out a new area in tort law research and is a most impressive contribution to the scholarly literature on this subject. -- Peter Handford * Torts Law Journal, Volume 21 *... Tort Law Defences... forces everyone with a serious interest in tort (and more widely in private law) to think harder about the topic. ...this is the first serious study devoted to the subject in the common-law world. That tort law defences have been under-analysed is self-evident: indeed, Goudkamp’s namesake book is the first serious attempt to conceptualise them. This is enough in itself to make it a landmark in tort scholarship. If defences are one day recognised as a coherent field of study, it will be in large part this book’s heritage. ... Tort Law Defences is ... a pioneering work. It challenges us to think harder about doctrines which are extremely important, both on a theoretical and a practical level. -- Eric Descheemaeker * The Modern Law Review, Volume 77(3) *... the book is impeccably researched and readable. -- Peter Fagan * New South Wales Law Society Journal, 2014 *In this very significant and thought-provoking book, James Goudkamp offers a fresh conceptualisation of the law governing tort defences, and does so with a rigour and energy that make the book a chellenging yet highly worthwhile study... It is an invaluable addition to torts scholarship. This fine book makes an ambitious argument that is sustained by rigorous scholarship and expressed with clarity and cogency. It deserves to be read and analysed by all those interested in tort law and the law of obligations. -- Desmond Ryan * Legal Studies, volume 34, number 4 *James Goudkamp’s book can rightly claim to be the first serious attempt to examine tort law defences systematically and it is a very important addition to the private law canon…[his] analysis is consistently thought-provoking…this book will provide the framework for future analysis of all private law defences. -- Graham Virgo * The Cambridge Law Journal *James Goudkamp’s Tort Law Defences fills a startling gap in tort law scholarship, which has not previously made a serious attempt to classify or theorize about defences...Goudkamp’s book provides an impressive foundation for the future study of defences, and will undoubtedly become the standard against which all other works are measured. -- Erika Chamberlain * Canadian Business Law Journal *This book, a revised version of the author's doctoral thesis, is the first sustained attempt in the modern law to explore the theoretical foundations of the defences to liability recognised by the law of tort and their interrelationship...an instant classic. -- Annette Morris and Ken Oliphant * Yearbook of European Tort Law, 2013 *...this book is a pathbreaker in theorising about tort law defences and deserves a space on the shelves of law libraries and tort law academics. -- Kumaralingam Amirthalingam * Singapore Journal of Legal Studies *This ambitious new work is the first concerted attempt to develop a coherent theory of defences in tort. In doing so, it addresses many of the fundamental questions that need to be analysed in order to grasp the deeper nature of defences as a functional, normative instrument in tort law. The light shed on the functionality aspect is very helpful from a comparative perspective...written in a very clear and systematic nature and Goudkamp’s language is impressively precise and readable. His analyses are based on a wide range of very interesting theoretical material, and he is undoubtedly a very knowledgeable scholar in this area...an important stepping stone in both general law theory and general theory about private law. -- Anie Marie Froseth * Journal of European Tort Law *Table of Contents1 Introduction 2 Torts and Defences 3 Denials 4 A Taxonomy of Tort Law Defences 5 Applying the Taxonomy 6 Implications 7 Rival Taxonomies 8 Denials of Responsibility 9 Future Directions

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