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Law, Society, Policy

Series Editor: Rosie Harding, University of Birmingham

Law, Society, Policy offers an outlet for high quality, socio-legal research monographs and edited collections with the potential for policy impact.

Cutting across the traditional divides of legal scholarship, the series provides an interdisciplinary, policy engaged approach to socio-legal research which explores law in its social and political contexts with a particular focus on the place of law in everyday life. It takes an explicitly society-first view of socio-legal studies, with a focus on the ways that law shapes social life, and the constitutive nature of law and society.

The series is international in scope, engaging with domestic, international and global legal and regulatory frameworks. It is open to scholars engaging with any area of law, provided their focus is grounded in social and policy concerns.

International Advisory Board:

  • Dr Lynette Chua, National University of Singapore, Singapore
  • Professor Margaret Davies, Flinders University, Australia
  • Professor Martha Fineman, Emory University, US
  • Professor Marc Hertogh, University of Groningen, The Netherlands
  • Professor Fiona Kelly, La Trobe University, Melbourne, Australia
  • Professor Fiona de Londras, University of Birmingham, UK
  • Dr Anna Mäki-Petäjä-Leinonen, University of Eastern Finland, Finland
  • Professor Ambreena Manji, Cardiff University, UK
  • Professor Linda Mulcahy, University of Oxford, UK
  • Professor Vanessa Munro, University of Warwick, UK
  • Professor Debra Parkes, University of British Columbia, Canada
  • Dr Antu Sorainen, University of Helsinki, Finland
  • Professor Dee Smythe, University of Cape Town, South Africa
  • Professor Michael Thomson, ‘University of Leeds, UK and University of Technology Sydney, Australia
  • Dr Bridgette Toy-Cronin, University of Otago, New Zealand
  • Dr Lisa Vanhala, University College London, UK


A message from the series editor:


Call for proposals

If you would like to submit a proposal, or to discuss ideas, then please contact the series editor, Rosie Harding r.j.harding@bham.ac.uk

Showing 1-12 of 13 items.

Polygamy, Policy and Postcolonialism in English Marriage Law

A Critical Feminist Analysis

Using a critical postcolonial feminist lens, this book provides a contextualised exploration of English legal responses to polygamy.

Bristol Uni Press

Fragile Rights

Disability, Public Policy, and Social Change

Drawing on biographical interviews collected from individuals with either mobility or visual impairments in France, this book analyzes the reception of disability policies in the fields of education, employment, social rights and accessibility.

Bristol Uni Press

Intersex Embodiment

Legal Frameworks beyond Identity and Disorder

This book examines the divergent medical, political and legal constructions of intersex. The authors use empirical data to explore how intersex people are embodied through these frameworks which in turn influence their lived experiences.

Bristol Uni Press

Mental Capacity Law, Sexual Relationships, and Intimacy

This edited collection brings together a range of academics, practitioners and organisations to consider the implications of recent case law around consent in sexual relationships on the day-to-day lives of people with cognitive impairments.

Bristol Uni Press

Unsettling Apologies

Critical Writings on Apology from South Africa

Drawing on the histories of injustice, dispossession and violence in South Africa, this book examines the cultural, political and legal role and value of an apology.

Bristol Uni Press

Egalitarian Digital Privacy

Image-based Abuse and Beyond

This book considers the social, legal and technological features of unauthorised dissemination of intimate images. With a focus on private law theory, the book defines the appropriate scope of liability of platforms and viewers. Through its analysis, it develops a new theory of egalitarian digital privacy.

Bristol Uni Press

Deprivation of Liberty in the Shadows of the Institution

This book presents a socio-legal analysis of social care detention in the post-carceral era. Drawing from disability rights law and the meanings of ‘home’ and ‘institution’ it proposes solutions to the paradoxical implications of the 2014 UK Supreme Court ruling on the meaning of ‘deprivation of liberty’.

Bristol Uni Press

Death, Family and the Law

The Contemporary Inquest in Context

When a death is investigated by a coroner, what is the place of the family in that process? This accessibly written book develops a nuanced analysis of the contemporary inquest system in England and Wales.

Bristol Uni Press

Pandemic Legalities

Legal Responses to COVID-19 – Justice and Social Responsibility

Edited by Dave Cowan and Ann Mumford

This important text maps out ways in which the disadvantaged have been affected by legal responses to COVID-19. Contributors tackle issues including virtual trials, adult social care, racism, tax and spending, education and more. Offering an account of the damage, this book demonstrates positive and productive future responses.

Bristol Uni Press

Observing Justice

Digital Transparency, Openness and Accountability in Criminal Courts

This book examines how major but often under-scrutinised legal, social, and technological developments have affected the transparency and accountability of the criminal justice process. The book proposes a framework for open justice which prioritises public legal education and justice system accountability.

Bristol Uni Press

Women, Precarious Work and Care

The Failure of Family-friendly Rights

Drawing on interviews with women in precarious work, this text explores the everyday problems they face balancing work and care responsibilities. This crucial book exposes the failures of family-friendly rights and explains how to grant these women effective rights in the wake of COVID-19.

Bristol Uni Press

Adult Social Care Law and Policy

Lessons from the Pandemic

Available Open Access digitally under CC-BY-NC-ND licence.

The pandemic exposed weaknesses in adult social care, putting people who draw on services in more precarious positions. This book explores the impact of emergency laws and operational changes, providing solutions for improving laws and regulations going forwards.

Bristol Uni Press