Law

Coinciding with a wave of drug policy liberalization around the world, this book analyzes the experiences of Argentina, Portugal, and Uruguay in their efforts at depenalization, decriminalization, and legalization/regulation of recreational drugs. The authors present the successes and challenges of the approaches and their impacts on drug use, public health, and security, debunking some of the myths surrounding flexible drug policies along the way.

Contrasting the three liberalization cases with the criminalization approach of the US at federal level, the book offers policy recommendations and lessons learned from the historical trajectories and policy reforms in addressing drug consumption and its associated harms.

This profound book by leading socio-legal scholar Joshua Castellino offers a fresh perspective on the lingering legacies of colonization.

While decolonization liberated territories, it left the root causes of historical injustice unaddressed. Governance change did not address past wrongs and transferred injustice through political and financial architectures.

Castellino presents a five-point plan aimed at system redress through reparations that addresses the colonially induced climate crisis through equitable and sustainable means.

In highlighting the structural legacy of colonial crimes, Castellino provides insights into the complexities of contemporary societies, showing how legal frameworks could foster a fairer, more just world.

After over a decade of unprecedented cuts, this important book examines the radical transformation of legal advice funding and delivery in the UK.

Using Liverpool as a case study, the authors analyse the impact of these changes on access to justice, social rights and health inequalities. The book draws on a five-year socio-legal research project to highlight the critical role of local advice networks and co-located services in addressing poverty, and wider inequalities. Offering a fresh perspective on access to justice, it advocates for a more collaborative community-based approach to rebuilding social citizenship.

The production, sale and possession of some drugs is criminalized – but why? And why, despite vast resources and budgets, have international efforts to control them so consistently failed?

Julia Buxton looks at how our current drug control regime came about from the first US-driven international meeting on drug control in the early 20th century and the ideologies behind it. She also charts the evolution of today's drugs market, looking at where drugs are produced and consumed, giving voice to those who get caught up in this world.

Ultimately she asks, if the current strategy isn't working, how could it be better managed?

With 98% of UK households online and over 4.9 billion social media users globally, the potential for individuals to spread defamatory content has surged. This compelling book considers the effects of the digital era on English defamation law.

Exploring the challenges posed by affordable technology, viral sharing and technological advancements such as AI, the book highlights the complexities claimants face in the current environment. Offering invaluable guidance for navigating this rapidly evolving legal landscape, the book explores the way defamation relates to, and intertwines with, data protection law and particularly with the UK GDPR’s right to be forgotten.

Highlighting experiences and voices historically overlooked, misunderstood or forgotten, this book answers the urgent need for a more diverse and inclusive curriculum in family law in England and Wales.

The book helps readers diversify their understanding of the law and its often-unequal impact on citizens, equipping students with the vital skills and knowledge they need to be lawyers in the real world. Sectioned into three parts, the book covers key areas of family law including marriage, divorce and parenthood; dispute resolution in family law; and domestic abuse. Each chapter takes a critical legal approach to the development and application of the law, enriched by underlining key issues from a range of perspectives to demonstrate the need to recognize diverse voices.

Written by a diverse team of expert contributors, the book also includes:

• Further reading lists;

• Helpful chapter summaries;

• End of chapter questions to spark discussion and reflection.

Highlighting experiences and voices historically overlooked, misunderstood or forgotten, this book answers the urgent need for a more diverse and inclusive curriculum in family law in England and Wales.

The book helps readers diversify their understanding of the law and its often-unequal impact on citizens, equipping students with the vital skills and knowledge they need to be lawyers in the real world. Sectioned into three parts, the book covers key areas of family law including marriage, divorce and parenthood; dispute resolution in family law; and domestic abuse. Each chapter takes a critical legal approach to the development and application of the law, enriched by underlining key issues from a range of perspectives to demonstrate the need to recognize diverse voices.

Written by a diverse team of expert contributors, the book also includes:

• Further reading lists;

• Helpful chapter summaries;

• End of chapter questions to spark discussion and reflection.

Emerging technologies like artificial intelligence and quantum computing will transform all sectors of the economy, including the legal profession. But technology has dramatically impacted lawyers before. In this book, author Ray Brescia shows how the new technologies of the late 19th century spurred the emergence of a new “version” of the profession, but one that was largely inaccessible to too many consumers.

Today, new technologies are creating an even newer version of the profession—Lawyer 3.0—that could be more affordable and effective than the one that currently exists. This work not only describes this phenomenon but shows how lawyers cannot just survive but thrive in this new reality.

In recent years, failures in health and social care, mental health services, public housing and education have dominated headlines and been the subject of much public debate. The means for addressing such concerns remain notably legalistic and subject to a particular brand of liberal legalism that stifles the possibility of transformational intervention.

This book argues that there is urgent need for a radical reassessment of the way the law mediates between citizens and the state. Drawing on historical and comparative research, literary, pictorial and cinematic treatments, and the insights of the disability rights movement, Nick O’Brien examines how the everyday regulation of street-level bureaucracy can play an integral part in reimagining postliberal politics and the role of the law.

Available Open Access digitally under CC-BY-NC-ND licence.

This book provides an in-depth sociolegal examination of adult social care law and policy during the COVID-19 pandemic. It explores the tensions between legislation, policy, and practice in what was already an under-resourced and overstretched sector.

The authors interrogate the vision and utility of the Care Act 2014 and explore the impact of emergency legislation and operational changes implemented during the pandemic. Detailing what happened to social care provision during this time of intense stress and turbulence – for people who draw on services, for informal carers, and for those who work in the sector – the book highlights fault lines in the system.

This is an invaluable resource offering timely lessons for adult social care reform and future pandemic preparedness planning.

The pandemic has significantly impacted people's engagement with the administrative justice system (AJS). As we navigate the post-pandemic era, the siloed landscape of tribunals, ombuds, advice services and NGOs face the challenge of maintaining trust in the justice system's fairness, efficacy and inclusivity.

Examining the journeys individuals undertake to seek justice in housing and special educational needs and disabilities (SEND), this book sheds light on how these institutions adapted to remote service provision.

Written by key names in the field, this important contribution uncovers valuable insights for digitalization efforts and offers concrete recommendations for improving pathways to justice.

In recent years, failures in health and social care, mental health services, public housing and education have dominated headlines and been the subject of much public debate. The means for addressing such concerns remain notably legalistic and subject to a particular brand of liberal legalism that stifles the possibility of transformational intervention.

This book argues that there is urgent need for a radical reassessment of the way the law mediates between citizens and the state. Drawing on historical and comparative research, literary, pictorial and cinematic treatments, and the insights of the disability rights movement, Nick O’Brien examines how the everyday regulation of street-level bureaucracy can play an integral part in reimagining postliberal politics and the role of the law.