Journal of Law and Society

Edited by:
Philip A. Thomas

ISI Journal Citation Reports® Ranking: 2007: 60/96 Law
Impact Factor: 0.519

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Established as the leading British periodical for Socio-Legal Studies The Journal of Law and Society offers an interdisciplinary approach. It is committed to achieving a broad international appeal, attracting contributions and addressing issues from a range of legal cultures, as well as theoretical concerns of cross- cultural interest. It produces an annual special issue, which is also published in book form. It has a widely respected Book Review section and is cited all over the world. Challenging, authoritative and topical, the journal appeals to legal researchers and practitioners as well as sociologists, criminologists and other social scientists.

TopNews and Announcements

SLSA newsletter
Subscribers to the Journal of Law and Society also receive the Socio-Legal Studies Association (SLSA) newsletter 3 times a year with their print copy of the journal. To read the newsletter online click here

Journal of Law and Society Special Issue Series
Published annually, this series offers an interdisciplinary approach to specific themes within Socio-Legal Studies. For more information and to view the full list of titles in the series click here

2007 Special Issue
Democracy's Empire
Sovreignty, Law and Violence
Edited by: Stewart Motha
The essays in this volume take on the challenge of explaining the current formation of the relation between sovereignty, law and violence in what is termed 'Democracy's Empire'.

• Contains a situated discussion of the institution of democracy and related
  juridico-political problems
• Examines the historical and philosophical legacies which inform Democracy's Empire - such as the Roman Republic, the separation between Church and State in the enlightenment, formations of revolutionary violence, and the relation between norm and exception
• Poses the problem of violence and death at the heart of the institution of democracy including examples such as South Africa and Iraq
  Offers a mixture of historical and philosophical treatment of democracy as a juridical problem of constitutional violence

Purchase Online
ISBN: 9781405163132

2006 Special Issue
Debating Affirmative ActionConceptual, Contextual and Comparative Perspectives
Edited by: Aileen McHarg and Donald Nicolson
This collection examines the case for affirmative action in the UK in relation to employment, higher education, the legal profession, the judiciary, political representation and minority language rights.

• Draws on experience of affirmative action in the United States, Canada and Germany.
• Contributions highlight the importance of how affirmative action is conceptualised and of context in evaluating the case for affirmative action.
• Emphasises the need for pragmatic judgments about the likely effectiveness and costs of affirmative action policies.

Purchase Online 
ISBN: 140514839X

2005 Special Issue
Human Rights Act: A Success Story?
Edited by: Luke Clements and Philip Thomas
This book seeks to examine the impact of the Human Rights Act legislation from the viewpoint of judges, lawyers, civil libertarians, politicians and academics.

• Investigation of the Human Rights Act since it came into force in 2000.
• Contributors include Sir Stephen Sedley, Thomas Mullen, Roger Smith and Lord Lester of Herne Hill.
• Offers insights and suggestions for developing a more effective, accessible and successful employment of the Human Rights Act.

Purchase Online
ISBN: 1405123753

2004 Special Issue
Law and Literature
Edited by: Patrick Hanafin, Adam Gearey & Joseph Brooker 
Purchase online
ISBN: 1-4051-1930

2003 Special Issue
After Universalism: Reengineering access to justice
Edited by: Richard Moorhead, Pascoe Pleasence 
Purchase Online
ISBN 1-4051-1247-6

TopHighlights

Top 10 accessed articles in Journal of Law and Society in 2007:

Securing Liberty in the Face of Terror: Reflections from Criminal Justice 
Lucia Zedner

Foucault, Law, and Power: A Reassessment
Gary Wickham

Prosecuting 'Gross' Medical Negligence: Manslaughter, Discretion, and the Crown Prosecution Service
Oliver Quick

11 September 2001, Counter-terrorism, and the Human Rights Act
Conor Gearty

Harnessing the Power of the Past? Lord Hoffmann and the Belmarsh Detainees Case 
Thomas Poole

Magistrates' Everyday Work and Emotional Labour
Sharyn Roach Anleu, Kathy Mack

Sovereignty, Exception, and Norm
Andrew Norris

Technologies, Security, and Privacy in the Post-9/11 European Information Society
Michael Levi, David S. Wall

Veiled Women and the Affect of Religion in Democracy
Stewart Motha

Democracy's Empire: Sovereignty, Law, and Violence
Stewart Motha