The first book to explore the philosophical foundations of labour law in detail, including topics such as the meaning of work, the relationship between employee and employer, and the demands of justice in the workplace.

Indirect discrimination (or disparate impact) concerns the application of the same rule to everyone, even though that rule significantly disadvantages one particular group in society. Ever since its recognition by the Supreme Court of the United States in 1971, liberal democracies around the world have grappled with the puzzle that it can sometimes be unfair and wrong to treat everyone equally. The law's regulation of private acts that unintentionally (but disproportionately) harm vulnerable groups has remained extremely controversial, especially in the (...) United States and the United Kingdom. In original essays in this volume, leading scholars of discrimination law from North America and Europe explore the various facets of the law on indirect discrimination, interrogating its foundations, history, legitimacy, purpose, structure, and relationship with other legal concepts. The collection provides the first international work devoted to this vital area of the law that seeks both to prevent unfair treatment and to transform societies. (shrink)

This book applied the insights of the Marxist tradition in social theory and politics to the law. It is written in straight-forward non-technical language which is easily accessible to those not acquainted with Marxism or the law.

This book explores the significance of implicit understandings and tacit expectations of the parties to different kinds of contractual agreements.

This Article explores the idea that the moral standards of relational or interpersonal justice can be used to lay the foundations for a theory of justice in work, rather than relying on principles of justice developed for society as a whole in philosophical theories of distributive justice. It is argued that a rich and distinctive scheme of interpersonal justice can be developed by using a method of internal critique and by focusing on two distinctive features of contracts of employment. Because (...) they are incomplete by design, like other relational contracts, contracts of employment depend for their success on a broad obligation of performance in good faith. Contracts of employment also usually function within organizations which provide the source of customary norms of associational justice that govern relations between members of the firm. These principles of associational justice include rewards based on desert, a strong egalitarian principle, protection from unjustified exclusion, and a right to have a voice in the affairs and the direction of the organization. (shrink)

This book provides an accessible introduction to jurisprudence and legal theory. It sets out a course of study that offers a highly effective series of introductions into a wide variety of theories and theoretical perspectives, from traditional approaches such as Natural Law to modern ones such as Feminist Theory, Economic Analysis of Law and Foucault and Law, The book is designed for students of jurisprudence and legal theory, but it will also assist those studying law and legal systems within courses (...) on Political Science, Philosophy and Sociology. (shrink)

This chapter presents three reasons why Marxists should abandon the base and superstructure model. All of them are directed towards the claim that it is possible to exclude superstructural phenomena from a concept of the material base. Plamenatz contends first that it is impossible to define the relations of production without using legal terminology, and second that the property rights involved in some relations of production depend upon legal systems for their existence. Finally, the chapter adds to these points by (...) arguing more broadly that the material base must include a normative dimension in order for it to possess the necessary stability and reliability to last long enough for a social formation to occur. The law, therefore, appears to function in both base and superstructure and cannot be pigeonholed at the periphery of a social formation. (shrink)

This chapter discusses a radical's predicament in defining revolutionary practice with regard to law, and how a solution to this predicament can be found. It argues that that the general dilemma faced by many radicals with regard to law must be approached pragmatically. There may be moments when either reformism or insurrection will yield short-term gains for the working class. These benefits must be weighed against the probable consequence of encounters with the legal system — that the foundations of the (...) liberal state are likely to be made more secure against revolutionary action. In certain cases, however, there will be a relatively clear choice for the radical. Taking the touchstone of Marxist strategy to be the heightening of class-consciousness, it is evident that certain legal conditions increase the opportunities for a working-class movement to gain cohesion. (shrink)

This chapter looks at the problem of consciousness in order to analyse the Marxist explanation of how the ruling class know how to rule, and in particular how they use law as an instrument of class oppression. The first section elaborates upon the Marxist theory of ideology. It does this in order to demonstrate the plausibility of the contention that a common perception of self-interest emerges within the dominant class. It then considers the merits of such a claim when confronted (...) with the variety of laws and legal systems. (shrink)

This chapter outlines the elements of historical materialism pertinent to law which have been common to various strands of the Marxist tradition. It argues that for historical materialism to be theoretically coherent, it requires a convincing description of the process by which the goals and aspirations of individuals and groups are materially determined. Crude materialism, class instrumentalism, and objections to class instrumentalism are also discussed.

This chapter begins with a discussion of Marxism, which is a theory about the meaning of history. According to Marxism the meaning of history is that man's destiny lies in the creation of a Communist society where men will experience a higher stage of being amounting to the realization of true freedom. It then addresses the question of whether there is a Marxist theory of law. General theories of law are predicated on a belief in the nature of law which (...) can be termed legal fetishism. Marxists reject such a belief and it follows that they are not inclined to develop a general theory of law as an end in itself. Nevertheless, much remains for Marxists to say about law. (shrink)

This chapter considers the most notorious and controversial aspect of the Marxist theory of law: the persistent hostility which Marxists have shown towards law. Two closely related claims have been made by Marxists. In the first place it has been predicted that there will be no law in a Communist society. The second argument against the necessity for law goes further: not only will law disappear under Communism, but it is also contended that legal systems represent the deepest evils of (...) modern social formations, and, that the absence of law will be a key feature of a truly free society. Before explaining and defending those bold claims, the chapter considers a preliminary attack mounted by Marxists against the contrary view that law is necessary for human civilization. This orthodoxy of modern political theory is dubbed by Marxists with the title ‘fetishism of law’. This signifies that it is a mistaken assumption which leads to a distorted understanding of the world. After considering how this erroneous view has become so widespread and why it is false, the chapter turns to the arguments which demonstrate the thesis that law is unnecessary, and that it will disappear in a Communist society. (shrink)