The year 1996 in Italian politics was a year rich in novelty. After the stalled transition of 1995, the political atmosphere had begun to change. Most obvious was the end of Dini's unelected government of technocrats, supported by a heterogeneous group in Parliament, and its replacement with Romano Prodi's government, a coalition of the parties that had won the general election on April 21, 1996. But an even more important change and one more likely to be remembered was a new climate of dialogue amongst the main political forces that emerged from this period of transition between two...

This exciting collection looks at the theory and practice of legal borrowing and adaptation in different areas of the world: Europe, the USA and Latin America, S.E. Asia and Japan. Many of the contributors focus on fundamental theoretical issues. What are legal transplants? What is the role of the state in producing socio-legal change? What are the conditions of successful legal transfers? How is globalization changing these conditions? Such problems are also discussed with reference to substantive and specific case studies. When and why did Japanese rules of product liability come into line...

This exciting collection looks at the theory and practice of legal borrowing and adaptation in different areas of the world: Europe, the USA and Latin America, S.E. Asia and Japan. Many of the contributors focus on fundamental theoretical issues. What are legal transplants? What is the role of the state in producing socio-legal change? What are the conditions of successful legal transfers? How is globalization changing these conditions? Such problems are also discussed with reference to substantive and specific case studies. When and why did Japanese rules of product liability come into line...

Can there be such a thing as a European sociology of law? The uncertainties which arise when attempting to answer that straightforward question are the subject of this collection, which also overlaps into comparative law, legal history, and legal philosophy. The richness of approaches reflected in the essays - including comparisons with the US - show the present state of socio-legal studies in Europe and map directions for its future development. Certainly we already know something about the existence of differences in the use and meaning of law within and between the nation states and groups...

This intriguing collection of essays by David Nelken examines the relationship between law, society and social theory and the various ideas social theorists have had about the actual and ideal 'fit' between law and its social context. It also asks how far it is possible to get beyond this mainstream paradigm. The value of social theorising for studying law is illustrated by specific developments in substantive areas such as housing law, tort law, the law of evidence and criminal law. Throughout the chapters the focus is on the following questions. What is gained (and what may be lost) by...

The increasingly important topic of comparative criminal justice is examined from an original and insightful perspective by one of the top scholars in the field. Addressing the need for a globalized criminology, David Nelken looks at why we should study crime and criminal justice in a comparative and international context, and the difficulties we encounter when we do. Evaluating 'global' trends in crime, risk and security, the book draws upon the author's experience of working in a number of settings around the world. A range of case studies are included to illustrate the discussion, covering...

This volume cross-examines mainstream approaches to studying legal culture (e.g. those of Friedman and Blankenburg). It includes debates over the concept of legal culture and a variety of case studies of different legal cultures.