07 June 2017

New Comparative Law Titles from Hart Publishing

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)

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