Raymond Wacks

Presents different ideas concerning law and the citizen in a format intended to let the student decide what that relationship means. For grades 9-12, reading level grades 4-6.

Raymond Wacks reveals the intriguing and challenging nature of legal philosophy, exploring the notion of law and its role in our lives. He refers to key thinkers from Aristotle to Rawls, from Bentham to Derrida and looks at the central questions behind legal theory, and law's relation to justice, morality, and democracy.

"Does the rise of populism, authoritarianism, and nationalism threaten the welfare of the rule of law? Is this fundamental democratic ideal under siege? In this timely and important book, Raymond Wacks examines the philosophical roots of the rule of law and its modern, often contentious, interpretation. He then investigates 16 potential ideological, economic, legal, and institutional dangers to the rule of law. They range from the exercise of judicial and administrative discretion and parliamentary sovereignty, to the growth of globalisation, the 'war on terror', and the disquieting power of Big Tech. He also considers the enactment and enforcement in several countries of Draconian measures to curtail the spread of COVID-19, which has generated fears that these emergency powers may outlive the pandemic and become a permanent feature of the legal landscape, thereby impairing the rule of law. Wacks identifies which issues among this extensive array pose genuine risks to the rule of law, and suggests how they might be confronted to ensure its defence and preservation"

"The concept of privacy has long been confused and incoherent. The right to privacy has been applied promiscuously to an alarmingly wide-ranging assortment of issues including free speech, political consent, abortion, contraception, sexual preference, noise, discrimination, and pornography. The conventional definition of privacy, and attempts to evolve a 'privacy-as-a-fence' approach, are unable to deal effectively with the technological advances that have significantly altered the way information is collected, stored, and communicated. Social media such as Facebook pose searching questions about the use and protection of personal information and reveal the limits of conceiving the right to privacy as synonymous with data protection. The recent European Union's GDPR seeks to enforce greater protection of personal information, but the overlap with privacy has further obscured its core meaning. This book traces these troubling developments, and seeks to reveal the essential nature of privacy and, critically, what privacy is not."--Bloomsbury Publishing.

Written with students in mind, Professor Raymond Wacks brings legal theory to life through his lucid and entertaining style. The author has crafted a manageable guide, balancing concise introductions to the key theorists and core issues such as punishment and rights without ignoring the subtleties of the subject. Seminal quotes from leading scholars are included to help students recognise the impact of their work, while extensive further reading suggestions at the end of each chapter invite students to explore the broad range of literature available on central topics. Each chapter concludes with a series of critical questions designed to encourage the reader to think analytically about the law and the key debates which surround it. --

"This important new title argues that the freedom of the press can be reconciled with the right of privacy. Following an account of the justifications for free speech and privacy and a careful analysis of the law, the distinguished author argues that the combined force of three recent developments provides adequate means for the exercise of judicial recognition of an individual's right to privacy: the expanding remedy for breach of confidence, the revived action for the infliction of emotional distress, and the growing influence of the international recognition of 'privacy', especially the jurisprudence of the European Convention on Human Rights." "The book discusses in detail the common law in both England and the United States relating to intrusion by the media and the publication of private facts, including the means by which to reconcile privacy and the public interests. It also considers the proposals of the Calcutt Committee, the National Heritage Committee, and those of the Lord Chancellor's Department, and looks at the remedies available to victims of unwanted publicity."--BOOK JACKET.

'Understanding Jurisprudence', for those studying the subject for the first time, provides a balanced overview of traditional legal theories including Natural Law, Classical Legal Positivism and Realism, and more modern theories including Feminism, Postmodernism, Critical Race and Critical Legal theory.

Freedom of expression is a fundamental right at the heart of any democratic society. It is, however, inevitably restricted by other important values, including the right to privacy: the control individuals exercise over their sensitive personal information. The English law, since the enactment of the Human Rights Act 1998, has undergone a tectonic shift in its recognition of this right protected by Article 8 of the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR) which the Act assimilated into domestic law. The new civil wrong, 'misuse of private information,' now affords greater protection to an individual's 'private and family life, home and correspondence.' The press is, of course, no longer the principal purveyor of news and information. The Internet offers abundant opportunities for the dissemination of news and opinions, including the publication of intimate, private facts. Social media, blogs, and other online sites are accessible to all. Indeed, the fragility of privacy online has led some to conclude that it is no longer capable of legal protection. This book examines the right of privacy from a legal, philosophical, and social perspective, tracing its genesis in the United States, through the development of the law of confidence, and its recent recognition by the Human Rights Act. The English courts have boldly sought to offer refuge from an increasingly intrusive media. Recent years have witnessed a deluge of civil suits by celebrities seeking to salvage what remains of their privacy. An extensive body of case law has appeared in many common law jurisdictions over the last decade, which shows no sign of abating. The Leveson Inquiry into the culture, practices, and ethics of the press, sparked by the hacking of telephones by newspapers, revealed a greater degree of media intrusion than was previously evident. Its conclusions and recommendations, particularly regarding the regulation of the media, are examined, as well as the various remedies available to victims of intrusion and unsolicited publicity. The law is locked in a struggle to reconcile privacy and free speech, in the face of relentless advances in technology. The manner in which courts in various jurisdictions have attempted to resolve this conflict is critically investigated, and the prospects for the protection of privacy are considered.