News: socio-legal publications
This page contains details of socio-legal publications including books, journals, reports, papers and newsletters/bulletins.
If you would like your publication included on this page, please contact
Latest publications ...
Latest from Frontiers of Socio-Legal Studies: The Rule-of-Law Myth and Its Advocates
Nuffield Foundation latest newsletter
New book: Biosafety Measures, Technology Risks and the World Trade Organization: Thriving and Surviving in the Age of Biotech, by Dr Alessandra Guida
Inside HMCTS: podcast launched
Assessing Access to Justice in HMCTS Services: new report
Latest issue of the JAC newsletter: Judging Your Future
Parliament Matters: New podcast by the Hansard Society
Decolonisation, Anti-Racism, and Legal Pedagogy, edited by Foluke I Adebisi, Suhraiya Jivraj & Ntina Tzouvala: 20% discount
Bullying, Harassment and Discrimination at the Bar 2023, Bar Council Report
Socio-Legal Review: call for papers
Books
New book: Biosafety Measures, Technology Risks and the World Trade Organization: Thriving and Surviving in the Age of Biotech, by Dr Alessandra Guida
An in-depth exploration of the WTO's role in balancing free trade in biotech and biosafety. This book presents a new interpretation of the precautionary principle and proportionality analysis, aiming to bridge gaps between decision-makers, scientists, and experts. It's a must-read for policymakers working on precautionary governance and management, scholars in the areas of trade law, human rights law and environmental law, law students and practitioners, as well as NGOs working in the field of new technologies, biosafety, sustainability and food safety. Published by Routledge. See website for details.
Decolonisation, Anti-Racism, and Legal Pedagogy, edited by Foluke I Adebisi, Suhraiya Jivraj & Ntina Tzouvala: 20% discount
This book offers an international breadth of historical and theoretical insights into recent efforts to 'decolonise' legal education across the world. With a specific focus on post- and decolonial thought and anti-racist methods in pedagogy, this edited collection provides an accessible illustration of pedagogical innovation in teaching and learning law. Chapters cover civil and common law legal systems, incorporate cases from non-state Indigenous legal systems, and critically examine key topics such as decolonisation and anti-racism in criminology, colonialism and the British Empire, and court process and Indigenous justice. The book demonstrates how teaching can be modified and adapted to address long-standing injustice in the curriculum. Offering a systematic collection of theoretical and practical examples of anti-racist and decolonial legal pedagogy, this volume will appeal to curriculum designers and law educators as well as to undergraduate and post-graduate level law teachers and researchers. See flyer for discount details.
New book: Law, Culture and Identity in Central and Eastern Europe: A Comparative Engagement, edited by Cosmin Cercel, Alexandra Mercescu & Mirosław Michał Sadowski
Combining insights from comparative legal theory, jurisprudence and legal history, this collection examines the legal and constitutional identity of Central and Eastern Europe. Although the various countries of Central and Eastern Europe have often compared themselves to the West, the failure of these countries to engage with one another has resulted in a whole spectrum of legal identities remaining hidden. This book, from Routledge, takes up a comparison of such identities within the region of Central and Eastern Europe, and following from the prima facie similarity between the region’s countries, given the experience of communism and legal transfers. The book thereby illuminates, through comparisons, the distinct legal identities of the 16 Central and Eastern European states; whilst, at the same time, arguing for a shared Central and Eastern European legal identity. See website for details.
Sustainability, Polar Resources and Polar Communities: call for book chapters
Abstracts are invited for this edited collection to be published by Trivent Publishing and edited by Sarah Sargent, University of Buckingham. See announcement for details. Closing date for submission of abstracts: 15 January 2024.
Cambridge Scholars Publishing: invitation for book proposals
Cambridge Scholars Publishing are inviting proposals for academic books and edited collections on Humanities and Social Sciences. See invitation for details.
Bloomsbury Christmas Sale: 30% off most books until 10 December 2023
See announcement for details. Sale ends at midnight GMT on 10 December.
New book: Criminal Justice in Austerity by James Thornton: 20% discount available
Published by Hart, this book offers a timely and detailed examination of the reality of criminal legal practice today. Drawing upon extensive anonymous interviews with criminal lawyers in England and Wales, it illuminates how financial pressures can arise within the criminal justice system and how lawyers seek to navigate them. It considers whether the criminal legal aid system really can provide those unable to afford a lawyer with access to justice and whether the Crown Prosecution Service can provide justice to victims of crime. See website for details. Use code GLR AQ7 for discount.
New book: Women, Their Lives and the Law, Victoria Barnes, Nora Honkala & Sally Wheeler (eds): 20% discount available
This collection of essays honours Rosemary Auchmuty, Professor of Law at the University of Reading, UK. She has fostered the study of women's academic careers and, more politically, advanced progress on gender and equality issues including same-sex marriage and property law. Her research promotes the case of feminist legal history as a way of revealing the place of women and challenging dominant historical narratives that cast them aside. Just as Rosemary's work does, the book seeks to end the marginalisation and exclusion of women in the legal world, by including them. The collection as a whole examines areas of law that have a deep significance for women's lives. See website for details. To claim discount use code GKTEC20 to pre-order before 30 November 2023.
New book: 100 Years of the Infanticide Act: Legacy, Impact and Future Directions, by Karen Brennan & Emma Milne (eds): 20% discount now available
This book provides the first comprehensive and detailed analysis of the Infanticide Act and its impact in England and Wales and around the world. It is 100 years since an Infanticide Act was first passed in England and Wales. The statute, re-enacted in 1938, allows for leniency to be given to women who kill their infants within the first year of life. This legislation is unique and controversial: it creates a specific offence and defence that is available only to women who kill their biological infants. Men and other carers are not able to avail of the special mitigation provided by the Act, nor are women who kill older children. The collection brings together leading experts in the field to offer important insights into the history of the law, how it works today, the impact and legacy of the statute and potential futures of infanticide laws around the world. Published by Hart. See website for details. Use code GLR AQ7 at checkout.
New book: Music Borrowing and Copyright Law – A Genre-by-Genre Analysis, by Enrico Bonadio and Chen Wei Zhu (eds): 20% discount available
This ground-breaking book examines the multifaceted dynamics between copyright law and music borrowing within a rich diversity of music genres from across the world. It evaluates how copyright laws under different generic conventions influence, or are influenced by, time-honoured creative borrowing practices. Leading experts from around the world scrutinise a carefully selected range of musical genres; and this genre-specific analysis is preceded by a theoretical section in which musicologists and lawyers offer their insights into fundamental issues concerning music genre categorisation, copyright’s struggle with musical genres and the typology of music borrowing practice under different generic conventions. Published by Hart. See website for details. Use code GLR AQ7 for 20% discount.
New book: The Routledge Handbook of Mega Sporting Events and Human Rights, William Rook, Daniela Heerdt, & Shubham Jain (eds): 20% discount available
This is the first book to explore in depth the topic of mega-sporting events (MSEs) and human rights, offering accounts of adverse human rights impacts linked to MSEs while considering the potential for promoting human rights in and through the framework of these events. It is essential reading for all advanced students, researchers, practitioners, policymakers and stakeholders with an interest in organisation and delivery of MSEs, as well as general sport management, sport policy, sport governance, the ethics of sport, event management, political science, development studies, ethical business, or the significance of sport in wider society. See website for details. Use code AFL03 at checkout for a 20% Discount. Editors can be contacted at
The Theory and Practice of UK Immigration Law: call for abstracts – deadline 31 October 2023
Dr Olayinka Lewis (Senior Lecturer in Law, University of Essex) is delighted to invite academics and practitioners to submit an abstract for consideration in an upcoming book titled, The Theory and Practice of UK Immigration Law. A contract has been secured with Routledge to publish the book. The book aims to provide theoretical and practical perspectives on UK immigration law. Contributions are sought on topics that offer fresh perspectives and critical insights into UK immigration law. Further details can be found via https://bit.ly/3PxQoeT. Submission deadline: 31 October 2023.
New book: Not What the Bus Promised: Health Governance after Brexit, by Tamara Hervey, Ivanka Antova and Mark Flear: 20% discount available
This book explains the impacts of Brexit on the NHS. From staffing to biomedical research, the UK’s post-Brexit agreements have serious implications for health law. Drawing conversations and interviews with over 40 health policy stakeholders, their work with Parliaments across the UK, and collaborations with key actors like the NHS Confederation, the book puts the authors’ knowledge centre frame, rather than expressing ‘objective reality’. These conversations show a great deal of faith in law and legal process among ‘ordinary people’, but the opposite from ‘insider elites’. It will be of interest to any reader who cares about the NHS. See website for details. Use code GLR AQ7 at checkout for 20% discount.
New book: Law and Humanities, by Russell Sandberg & Daniel Newman (eds)
This edited collection provides the first accessible introduction to Law and Humanities. Each chapter explores the nature, development and possible further trajectory of a disciplinary ‘law and’ field. In the last 30 to 40 years, interdisciplinary scholarship on law has significantly increased. Law has a number of different potential disciplinary bedfellows. It can be seen as a social science but also as part of the humanities. Given how ubiquitous social scientific theories and methods are within legal studies, this collection explores law’s place within the humanities. It examines a number of ‘law and’ interactions in turn with the aim of exploring what these different fields can learn from each other and what this reveals about the law and humanities approach in general. See website for details.
Book: Post-COVID Policies and Children’s Rights in the UK edited by Kat Langley & Hannah Wishart: call for papers
The editors are seeking 250-word abstracts for Routledge’s 'Contemporary Issues in Criminal Justice’ book series for a book titled Post-COVID Policies and Children’s Rights in the UK which is due to be published in 2025. See announcement for details. Closing date: 16 December 2023.
Book: Children, the Minimum Age of Criminal Responsibility and Global Issues: Re-evaluating Children’s Rights, edited by Hannah Wishart & Tracy Kirk: call for papers
The editors 250-word abstracts for Routledge’s 'Contemporary Issues in Criminal Justice’ book series for a book titled Children, the Minimum Age of Criminal Responsibility and Global Issues: Re-evaluating Children’s Rights due to be published in late 2025. See announcement for details. Closing date: 15 December 2023.
The Parthenon Marbles Dispute by Alexander Herman: 20% discount available
Why are we still arguing over the Parthenon Marbles? This book offers a fresh take on the history of those famous pieces of ancient sculpture removed from the Acropolis in Athens by Lord Elgin’s men in the early 19th century. It explains how they became the cause célèbre of the larger debates around cultural heritage and restitution now taking place. The book sets out a way forward for this famously intractable dispute, one based on evidence of past practice, legal rules around the transfer of cultural objects and the role of museums in negotiating international exchanges. See website for details. Use code GLR AQ7 at checkout.
Inheritance Matters edited by Suzanne Lenon and Daniel Monk: 20% discount available
Drawing on historical, literary, sociological and legal analysis, this book demonstrates how inheritance is, and has always been, about far more than the set of legal processes for the distribution of wealth and property upon death. The contributions range from exploring the intractable tensions underlying family disputes, legal arguments, and political debates about taxation, to revisiting literary plots in the past and presenting a contemporary artistic challenge of heirship. With an introduction that presents a critical mapping of the field of inheritance studies, this fascinating, imaginative, interdisciplinary collection deepens our understanding of the stakes of inheritance law. See website for details. Use code GLR AQ7 at checkout.
Prevent, Surveil and Protect: The Fight against Terrorism in the UK, by Kat Langley and Hannah Wishart
More than two decades on from the 9/11 terrorist attacks, and more than fifty years since the start of the Troubles in Northern Ireland, terrorism continues to pose a threat to the UK, and the laws and policies that counter it have expanded considerably over the same period. The question remains: how can states prevent terrorism and protect individuals without making significant inroads into traditionally held rights and liberties. In March 2023, the University of Sunderland held an important and timely two-day event on the topic of 'Prevent, Surveil and Protect: The Fight against Terrorism' (partly funded under the SLSA Seminar Competition). The first day of the event constituted an online symposium, which drew together international and interdisciplinary experts from academia, policy, and practice, to discuss the relevant issues. This e-booklet by Kat Langley and Hannah Wishart brings together the two days of the event into one publication to raise awareness of the UK’s counter-terrorism laws and policies. It is available as a download or you can contact the authors direct at
Journals
Socio-Legal Review: call for papers
The editors of Socio-Legal Review invited submissions of Volume 20(1). Socio-Legal Rview is a peer-reviewed, bi-annual journal that encourages interdisciplinary research at the intersection of law and social sciences. It is an open access, student-run journal published by the National Law School of India University, Bengaluru. See flyer for details. Call closes: 31 January 2024.
Law & Society Review: moving to Cambridge University Press in 2024
Cambridge University Press and the Law & Society Association (LSA) are excited to announce that, beginning in January 2024, Cambridge University Press will publish the Association’s prestigious journal the Law & Society Review (LSR).
The Age of Human Rights Journal: call for papers
Submissions are invited for The Age of Human Rights Journal – a journal of international relevance, published in English, peer-reviewed and open-access, containing papers concerning human rights from different approaches. It is published by the University of Jaén, Spain. The journal has recently moved to a continuous publication model, meaning that the delay between acceptance and publication is considerably shorter. See submissions page for further details.
China Law and Society Review: call for papers
China Law and Society Review is now welcoming submissions for its upcoming issues. See announcement for details.
Journal of the Polish Section of the IVR: call for papers for General English issue
Submissions are invited on a wide range of topics for this forthcoming English language issue. See website for details. Call closes: 30 November 2023.
Northern Ireland Legal Quarterly: call for book reviews
The Northern Ireland Legal Quarterly is a leading peer-reviewed journal that provides an international forum for articles, commentaries and notes in all areas of legal scholarship and across a range of methodologies including doctrinal, theoretical and socio-legal. If you would like to write a review, or would like to propose a book for review, please get in touch with the book review editor
Journal of Legal Research Methodology: open call for submissions
The Journal of Legal Research Methodology, an open access, peer-reviewed journal published by Northumbria Journals has an open call for submissions. The editors invite submissions of journal articles, research reports, or think pieces, between 4000–8000 words in length. The next edition will be published at the end of 2023 and articles can be made immediately available online after acceptance. Submissions can be on any area of law and from any jurisdiction but should contain substantive consideration of legal research methodology. To find out more about the journal visit: the website and contact a member of the editorial team to discuss.
Arbitration International: call for authors
Arbitration International is a well-established, high-quality journal that provides quarterly coverage for national and international developments in the world of arbitration. It aims to maintain balance between academic debate and practical contributions to the field, providing both topical material on current developments and analytic scholarship of permanent interest. It is the official lournal of the London Court of International Arbitration. See website for further details of how to submit to the journal and the call for authors.
Northern Ireland Legal Quarterly: special issue on 'International Human Rights Law and Devolution in the UK' - just published
This special issue on 'International Human Rights Law and Devolution in the UK' was guest-edited by Jane Rooney, Durham University, and Conor McCormick, Queen's University Belfast, with a 'Preface' by Yvonne McDermott. The 'Preface' and editors' 'Introduction' are available open access as are two of the articles (one by Gregory Davies and Robert Jones; the other by Kasey McCall-Smith). See website for details.
Amicus Curiae: special issue on 'Abusive or obsessive litigation, its psychology, its impacts on justice systems, on justice and on judges' – call for proposals
On behalf of the editors of Amicus Curiae, the open access journal of the Institute of Advanced Legal Studies, School of Advanced Studies, London University, proposals are sought by authors for papers of up to 5000 words (in the range 3000-5000 words inclusive of references) for a planned Special Issue to be edited by Dr Victoria McCloud (Master McCloud, United Kingdom (UK) High Court and a Senior Associate Research Fellow at IALS, also Advisory Head of Interdisciplinary Collaboration, Euro-Expert, Sorbonne, Paris), Professor Michael Palmer (Professor, SOAS and IALS) and the Editorial Board of Amicus Curiae, on the subjects of abusive or obsessive litigation, its psychology, its impacts on justice systems, on justice and on judges. See website for details.
Blogs and other online resources
Inside HMCTS: podcast launched
The official HM Courts & Tribunals podcast offers a behind-the-scenes look at the justice system. See website for details.
Parliament Matters: New podcast by the Hansard Society
Two of the UK's leading parliamentary experts, Mark D'Arcy and Ruth Fox, guide you through the often mysterious ways our politicians do business and explore the running controversies about the way Parliament works. Each week they will analyse how laws are made and ministers held accountable by the people we send to Westminster. They will be debating the topical issues of the day, looking back at key historical events and discussing the latest research on democracy and Parliament. See website for details.
Bullying, Harassment and Discrimination at the Bar 2023, Bar Council Report
Research data from Barristers’ Working Lives (the Bar Council’s biennial survey of the profession), as well as reports to Talk to Spot and calls to the Bar Council’s helplines, evidence a long-term problem with bullying and harassment, as well as inappropriate and undermining behaviour, which needs to be addressed. This report draws on new data from the Barristers' Working Lives survey 2023 and Talk to Spot data from 2019-2023 and makes three recommendations. See website for details.
Remand Decision-Making in the Magistrates’ Court, JUSTICE Research Report
JUSTICE'S research report , Remand Decision-Making in the Magistrates’ Court, found that magistrates’ courts are regularly not following the law when jailing people awaiting trial. See website to download the full report.
UKRI news release: 'Update on UKRI open access policy and fund for books'
From 1 January 2024, UKRI’s open access policy will apply to monographs, book chapters and edited collections that need to acknowledge UKRI funding. See news announcement for details.
The State of Open Data Survey 2023: new white paper
The State of Open Data is a global survey providing insights into researchers’ attitudes towards and experiences of open data. See website for details.
Destitution in the UK 2023, report from Joseph Rowntree Foundation
Published this week, this study reveals approximately 3.8 million people experienced destitution in 2022, including around one million children. This is almost two-and-a-half times the number of people in 2017, and nearly triple the number of children. There is an urgent need for action to tackle destitution in the UK. See website for details.
Max Planck Institute for Social Law & Social Policy new Research Paper Series within the Legal Scholarship Network
The Max Planck Institute for Social Law and Social Policy undertakes research on social questions in an international context from a legal and political perspective. Its main foci are pressing issues of our time: the modernisation of social protection systems; the consequences of globalisation; and digitalisation – to name but a few. The Institute is part of the Max Planck Society, Germany's foremost institution for foundational research in the natural sciences and humanities. The MPISOC Research Paper Series mainly publishes contributions with a focus on legal topics, but it is also open to contributions from other social science and humanities disciplines. The papers represent the views of the respective authors and not of the Institute as a whole. They are pAcSublished electronically and are available online or through email distribution. See announcement for full details and how to subscribe.
Sentencing Council: research roundup
On 13 September, the Council published a research roundup summarising some of the research work it hsa recently undertaken or commissioned. See website for details.
Leverhulme Trust: Funding Bulletin
The Bulletin contains details of all the Trust's current funding rounds and fellowships.
Joseph Rowntree Foundation latest newsletter
The latest JRF newsletter is now available.
National Centre for Research Methods: latest issue of 'Methods News'
Read the latest issue including details of the Centre's many training opportunities.
Public Law Project: latest news updates
For the latest Public Law Project news. See the full bulletin here.
Academy of Social Sciences: ebulletin December 2023
See the latest AcSS ebulletin for news of all AcSS activities.
Judicial Appointments Commission: 'Judging Your Future' December 2023
The Judicial Appointments Commission has published its latest newsletter. See webpage for details.
Latest from People.Law.Power: Can AI discriminate?
Episode 3 of the Public Law Project podcast is now available.
We Society podcast: Season 4
The We Society podcast discusses the thousands of ways the social sciences can help us understand and enhance this complicated and fascinating human network. See website for details.
Latest from the JLS Blog: Meet the JLS authors – Mariana Valverde and Domenico Siciliano
Latest from Frontiers of Socio-Legal Studies
Frontiers of Socio-Legal Studies is a blog by the Oxford Centre for Socio-Legal Studies welcoming perspectives on methods and cutting-edge research from across the socio-legal field.
The Rule-of-Law Myth and Its Advocates
In this week’s Frontiers of Socio-Legal Studies, Professor Sida Liu reviews Andrew Boon's new book, Lawyers and the Rule of Law (Hart, 2022). Read the full blog post here, which is published as part of the blog’s A Good Read section.
If you would like to receive a summary of all Frontier’s latest posts, sign up to receive the bi-monthly newsletter here.
The blog always welcomes submissions providing analysis of recent socio-legal research, methodological issues, ethical issues, and publications from around the globe: Frontiers can be found at Frontiers of Socio-Legal Studies and on Twitter @OxfordCSLS.
Other
Assessing Access to Justice in HMCTS Services: new report
This publication outlines the HMCTS's commitment to being transparent and treating data as one a valuable asset. See website for details.
Nuffield Foundation latest newsletter
The latest newsletter focuses on how research can make a difference. See website for details.
Safesoc Newsletter: September 2023
The £1.1m UKRI funded SAFESOC research project aims to reconceptualise prison regulation for safer societies. See website for the latest SAFESOC news.
NCRM Methods News: November 2023
Catch up with all the news from the National Centre for Research Methods: Methods News November 2023.
Latest JRF Newsletter
Read all the latest from the Joseph Rowntree Foundation: JRF Newseltter: October 2023.
Sentencing Council: new guidelines on perverting the course of justice and witness intimidation
On 1 October 2023, two new guidelines from the Sentencing Council for sentencing offenders convicted of interfering with the administration of justice came into effect. The guidelines cover two offences: perverting the course of justice contrary to common law; and witness intimidation under the Criminal Justice and Public Order Act 1994. There were previously no sentencing guidelines for perverting the course of justice offences and only limited guidance in the magistrates’ courts for witness intimidation.
Perverting the course of justice offences cover a wide range of conduct, from giving false information to police officers at a traffic stop, tampering with evidence or giving false information during a police interview. Witness intimidation includes pressuring witnesses to withdraw allegations or witness statements, or not to give evidence in court.
Sentencing Council: Data release on sentencing robbery
The Council has published data covering the factors taken into account when sentencing adult offenders for robbery (where this was the principal offence) and details of the sentence imposed. See website for details.
Analysis and Research at the Sentencing Council – September 2023
This roundup summarises some of the research work recently undertaken or commissioned by the Sentencing Council. See website for details.
The Bar of 2043: Thoughts for the future – speech by Nick Vineall KC, Chair of the Bar
This speech was given on Wednesday 13 September 2023 at the Inner Temple Hall, London.
Rapid Legal Policy Reactions and How to Do Them: new Best Practice Guide from the Doing Feminist Legal Work Network
This best practice guide, edited by Maebh Harding and Aoife O’Donoghue, brings together practical advice from legal academics about how to respond quickly to events or opportunities that could influence legal policy. It is hoped that scholars and activists will find this research tool empowering and helpful when engaging directly with policy makers and media to address complex issues of law and gender. See website to download the free guide.
Humor and Free Speech: A Comparative Analysis of Global Case Law, by Alberto Godioli and Jennifer Young
The paper Humor and Free Speech: A Comparative Analysis of Global Case Law, authored by Alberto Godioli and Jennifer Young (University of Groningen, convenors of the 'Comedy Controversies' stream at SLSA 2023), is now available as part of the Special Collection series run by Columbia Global Freedom of Expression. The paper discusses international trends and recurring issues in humour-related jurisprudence, by analysing 81 cases from across the globe. The cases are organised around five key themes, namely (1) satire, defamation and other individual dignitary harms; (2) disparaging humor and hate speech; (3) humor, violence and public unrest; (4) parody, copyright and trademarks; (5) humour and “public morals”. Please click here to download the paper.
Nuffield Foundation Annual Report 2022 published
The 2022 annual report has just been published. Tim Gardam, the Foundation's CEO, has written his reflections on last year, highlighting the Foundation’s key achievements, and sharing a preview of what to expect over the coming year. See website for details.
Runnymede Trust: September 2023
The Runnymede Trust has published its latest newsletter.
Academy of Social Sciences: latest news October 2023
See the latest newsletter for a round-up of AcSS activities.
AcSS Policy Monitor: October 2023
Read the October Policy Monitor to see and respond to the summary of latest consultations across England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland.