New
from Hart Publishing
Personal Insolvency in the 21st Century
A Comparative Analysis of the US and Europe
Iain Ramsay
Since 1979 the world has witnessed a remarkable cycle of personal
insolvency law reform. Changes in capitalist economies, financial crises and
political interest groups all contributed to this cycle of reform. This book
examines the role of interest groups and distinct narratives in shaping reform
in different countries while drawing attention to the role of timing, path
dependency and unintended consequences in the development of personal
insolvency law.
The book presents case studies of personal insolvency law in the US,
France, Sweden, and England and Wales. It then analyses how, following the
Great Recession of 2008, international financial institutions paid greater
attention to the significance of household debt in contributing to financial
instability and the role of individual insolvency law in providing a fresh
start. Personal insolvency law reform became part of EU responses to the
eurozone crisis and the EU has proposed harmonisation of individual insolvency
law to promote entrepreneurialism. This book examines the extent to which these
developments represent an emerging international commonsense about personal
insolvency and its relationship to neo-liberalism. Finally, this book discusses
whether the international emergence of individual personal insolvency law
represents a progressive step or a band-aid for the costs of neo-liberal
policies, where a significant number of people live close to the precipice of
over-indebtedness.
Iain Ramsay is Professor of Law at the
University of Kent.
May 2017 9781849468091
224pp Hardback RSP: $74
DISCOUNT RATE TO EMAIL LIST SUBSCRIBERS: $66.60 (+
postage)
Constitutional Courts, Gay Rights and Sexual Orientation Equality
Angioletta Sperti
In the last fifteen years constitutional issues regarding the rights of
gays, lesbians and same-sex couples have emerged on a global scale. The pace of
recognition of their fundamental rights, both at judicial and legislative
level, has dramatically increased across different jurisdictions, reflecting a
growing consensus toward sexual orientation equality.
This book considers a wide-range of decisions by constitutional and
international courts, from the decriminalization of sexual acts to the
recognition of same-sex marriage and parental rights for same-sex couples. It
discusses analogies and differences in judicial arguments and rationales in
such cases, focusing in particular on human dignity, privacy, liberty, equality
and non-discrimination.
It argues that courts operate as major exporters of models and
principles and that judicial cross-fertilization also helps courts in
increasing the acceptability of gays’ and lesbians’ rights in public opinions
and politics. Courts discuss changes in the social perception of marriage and
family at national and international levels and at the same time confirm and
reinforce them, forging the legal debate over sexual orientation equality.
Furthermore, by promoting the political reception of the achievements of
foreign gay movements in their own jurisdictions, courts play an essential role
in breaking the political stalemate.
Angioletta Sperti is Associate Professor of
Comparative Public Law at the University of Pisa.
May 2017 9781782256427 256pp
Hardback RSP: $88
DISCOUNT RATE TO EMAIL LIST SUBSCRIBERS: $79.20 (+
postage)
Minimum Contract Justice
A Capabilities Perspective on Sweatshops and Consumer Contracts
Lyn K L Tjon Soei Len
The collapse of the Rana Plaza in Bangladesh (2013) is one of many cases
to invoke critical scrutiny and moral outrage regarding the conditions under
which consumer goods sold on our markets are produced elsewhere. In spite of
abiding moral concerns, these goods remain popular and consumers continue to
buy them. Such transactions for goods made under deplorable production
conditions are usually presumed to count as ‘normal’ market transactions, ie
transactions that are recognized as valid consumer-contracts under the rules of
contract law.
Minimum Contract Justice challenges this presumption of normality. It
explores the question of how theories of justice bear on such consumer
contracts; how should a society treat a transaction for a good made under
deplorable conditions elsewhere? This Book defends the position that a society
that strives to be minimally just should not lend its power to enforce,
support, or encourage transactions that are incompatible with the ability of
others elsewhere to live decent human lives. As such, the book introduces a new
perspective on the legal debate concerning deplorable production conditions
that has settled around ideas of corporate responsibility, and the pursuit of
international labour rights.
Lyn K L Tjon Soei Len is an Assistant
Professor of Law and International Feminist Studies in the Women’s Studies
Program at the University of New Hampshire and a researcher at the Law School,
University of Amsterdam.
May 2017 9781782257097
176pp Hardback RSP: $68
DISCOUNT RATE TO EMAIL LIST SUBSCRIBERS: $61.20 (+
postage)
