
How Law Works
The Machinery and Impact of Civil Justice
Ross Cranston(Author)
Oxford University Press
Published on 12. January 2006
Book
Hardback
344 pages
978-0-19-929207-3 (ISBN)
Description
Access to justice, equality before the law, and the rule of law are three fundamental values underpinning the civil justice system. This book examines these values and how, although they do not have great leverage in decision making by the courts, they are a crucial foundation of the civil justice system and a powerful argument for arrangements such as legal aid, the impartial application of law, and the independence of the judiciary.
The second theme of this book concerns the role of procedure, often regarded as of secondary importance compared with substantive law. Taking the definition of procedure at its widest, the book discusses Lord Woolf's Inquiry, and demonstrates how procedural reform can maximize a fundamental value like access to justice. This linkage is furthered in a later analysis of access to justice comparatively, in relation to civil and commercial law.
Thirdly, the book looks at understanding how law works, and how it could be made to work better, and concludes that this demands both a knowledge of law and of law's context. This theme offers a framework for the book, which then goes on to deal with the machinery of the law, and discusses what the courts do, civil procedure, and the ethics of lawyer's conduct, all in relation to the broader context of access to justice.
This broader context of the law is particularly prominent in the latter half of the book which deals with various dimensions of the impact of the law. Including studies of civil and social rights in practice, the role of European law in the destruction of Aboriginal society in Australia, and commercial law in Asia, these examples raise issues about the gap between the law and reality, the potential law has to destroy social patterns, and the relationship between law and economic development.
This is a thought-provoking, critical exploration which has much to offer those interested in the operation of the civil justice system.
The second theme of this book concerns the role of procedure, often regarded as of secondary importance compared with substantive law. Taking the definition of procedure at its widest, the book discusses Lord Woolf's Inquiry, and demonstrates how procedural reform can maximize a fundamental value like access to justice. This linkage is furthered in a later analysis of access to justice comparatively, in relation to civil and commercial law.
Thirdly, the book looks at understanding how law works, and how it could be made to work better, and concludes that this demands both a knowledge of law and of law's context. This theme offers a framework for the book, which then goes on to deal with the machinery of the law, and discusses what the courts do, civil procedure, and the ethics of lawyer's conduct, all in relation to the broader context of access to justice.
This broader context of the law is particularly prominent in the latter half of the book which deals with various dimensions of the impact of the law. Including studies of civil and social rights in practice, the role of European law in the destruction of Aboriginal society in Australia, and commercial law in Asia, these examples raise issues about the gap between the law and reality, the potential law has to destroy social patterns, and the relationship between law and economic development.
This is a thought-provoking, critical exploration which has much to offer those interested in the operation of the civil justice system.
More details
Language
English
Place of publication
Oxford
United Kingdom
Target group
Professional and scholarly
Illustrations
4 Tabellen
4 tables
Dimensions
Height: 240 mm
Width: 161 mm
Thickness: 23 mm
Weight
681 gr
ISBN-13
978-0-19-929207-3 (9780199292073)
Copyright in bibliographic data and cover images is held by Nielsen Book Services Limited or by the publishers or by their respective licensors: all rights reserved.
Schweitzer Classification
Person
Former Labour MP for Dudley North, 1997-2005; Solicitor-General 1998-2001, Visiting Professor, University of London, at the London School of Economics and Political Science, 1986-1997
Content
PREFACE ; 1. Introduction ; I THE MACHINERY OF JUSTICE ; 2. Access to Justice: I ; 3. Access to Justice: II ; 4. Courts ; 5. Procedure ; 6. Lawyers' Conduct: The Professional Standards ; II LAW'S IMPACT ; 7. Rights in Practice ; 8. Civil Rights and Social Wrongs: The Australian Aboriginals ; 9. Law and Economic Development: Credit and Security in South and South-East Asia ; 10. Legal Transplants: The Sri Lankan Experience ; 11. Conclusion