Gary Slapper Libros

Since the fourth edition of this book in 1999, the English legal system has undergone major and comprehensive changes. The Access to Justice Act 1999 has led to the establishment of the Legal Services Commission and the Community Legal Service, and has re-drawn the legal landscape. The 1998 Civil Procedure Rules came into force in 1999 and have been amended and updated 21 times - the rules revolutionize the way the people make civil claims and the way in which the courts deal with them. The Human Rights Act 1998 came into force in October 2000, and has had ramifications for virtually all aspects of law, and thus how the legal system operates. To prepare it, the judiciary underwent the most comprehensive and detailed formal training in its entire thousand-year history.

An engaging introduction to one of the most complex areas of modern life. The book introduces both the main components of the legal system - including judges, juries and law-makers - and key areas of law - contract, civil negligence, and criminal law - to provide the uninitiated with an ideal introduction to law. Key questions to be considered include: How are laws made? How do judges decide cases? What is the exact role of the EU in the legal system? What are your rights and duties under contract law? What is a crime and what are criminal defences? Throughout the book, a wide range of contemporary cases are examined to relate key legal concepts to familiar examples and real world situations.

Based on the author's popular Times Online column 'Weird Cases', this book draws on extraordinary cases from many countries. The chapters are: Compensation and Punishment, Love and Sex, Food, Drink, and Drugs, Judges, Death and Violence, Pets and Animals, On the Road, Lawyers, and Jurors, Friends, and Neighbours.