Theorising Labour Law in a Changing World

Alysia Blackham, Miriam Kullmann & Ania Zbyszewska, Theorising Labour Law in a Changing World: Towards Inclusive Labour Law (Hart Publishing, 2019).

This collection brings together perspectives from industrial relations, political economy, political theory, labour history, sociology, gender studies and regulatory theory to build a more inclusive theory of labour law. That is, a theory of labour law that is more inclusive of non-traditional workers (including those in atypical work, or from non-traditional backgrounds); more inclusive of a variety of collective approaches to work regulation that foster solidarity between workers; and more inclusive of interdisciplinary and complex explanations of labour law and its regulatory spaces. The individual chapters speak to this theme of inclusivity in different ways and offer different suggestions for how it might be achieved. They break down the barriers between legal research and other fields, to promote fruitful and integrative conversations across disciplines.

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Divorcing Traditions

Katherine Lemons, Divorcing Traditions: Islamic Marriage Law and the Making of Indian Secularism (Cornell University, 2019).

Divorcing Traditions is an ethnography of Islamic legal expertise and practices in India, a secular state in which Muslims are a significant minority and where Islamic judgments are not legally binding. Katherine Lemons argues that an analysis of divorce in accordance with Islamic strictures is critical to the understanding of Indian secularism. 

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The ILO @ 100

Christophe Gironde & Gilles Carbonnier, The ILO @ 100: Addressing the Past and Future of Work and Social Protection (Brill, 2019).
On the occasion of the centenary of the International Labour Organization (ILO), this 11th special issue of International Development Policy explores the Organization's capacity for action, its effectiveness and its ability to adapt and innovate. The collection of thirteen articles, written by authors from around the world, covers three broad areas: the ILO's historic context and contemporary challenges; approaches and results in relation to labour and social protection; and the changes shaping the future of work. The articles highlight the progress and gaps to date, as well as the context and constraints faced by the ILO in its efforts to respond to the new dilemmas and challenges of the fourth industrial revolution, with regard to labour and social protection.

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Digital Family Justice

Mavis Maclean & Bregje Dijksterhuis, Digital Family Justice: From Alternative Dispute Resolution to Online Dispute Resolution? (Hart Publishing, 2019).

Governments across the world have sought to reduce public spending on private quarrels by promoting mediation (ADR) and by beginning to look at digital justice (ODR) as alternatives to courts and lawyers. 

But this book describes how mediation has failed to take the place of courts and lawyers, even where public funding for legal help has been removed. Instead ODR has developed rapidly, led by the Dutch Rechtwijzer. The authors question the speed of this development, and stress the need for careful evaluation of how far these services can meet the needs of divorcing families. 

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Behind the Veil

Neville Cox, Behind the Veil: A Critical Analysis of European Veiling Laws (Edward Elgar Publishing, 2019).

This timely book considers the most recently passed European laws that target Islamic veiling. The author situates the justifications for the anti-veiling laws in the context of a careful analysis of the reasons why women wear veils, and considers these justifications by reference to emerging debates surrounding the relative value of liberalism and human rights, multiculturalism, and the need to protect 'traditional values.' The book concludes that these laws are best viewed as symbolic strikes at a recognisable symbol of an ideological opponent, theorising that their principal purpose is to enable particular countries to reaffirm traditional values in a context of increased domestic opposition to multiculturalism.

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The 2020 Solo and Small Firm Legal Technology Guide

Sharon D. Nelson, John W. Simek & Michael C. Maschke, The 2020 Solo and Small Firm Legal Technology Guide (American Bar Association, 2020).

In clear, understandable language, it gives a vendor-neutral overview of and recommendations for computers, servers, networking equipment, legal software, printers, security products, smartphones, tablets, and more. Whether you choose to do it yourself or work with an IT consultant, this book has the information you need to reduce the sea of choices to a manageable set of proven options.

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African Americans and the First Amendment

Timothy C. Shiell, African-Americans and the First Amendment: The Case for Liberty and Equality (State University of New York Press, 2019).
Timothy C. Shiell utilizes an interdisciplinary approach to demonstrate that a strong commitment to greater inclusion and participation. This crucial connection is evidenced throughout US history, from the days of colonial and antebellum slavery to Jim Crow: in the landmark US Supreme Court decision in 1937 freeing the black communist Angelo Herndon; in the struggles and victories of the civil rights movement, from the late 1930s to the late '60s; and in the historical and modern debates over hate speech restrictions. Liberty and equality can conflict in individual cases, Shiell argues, but there is no fundamental conflict between them. Robust First Amendment values protect and encourage demands for racial equality while weak First Amendment values, in contrast, lead to censorship and chilling demands for racial equality.

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