Law and Justice around the World

Law and Justice around the World is designed to introduce students to comparative law and justice, including cross-national variations in legal and justice systems as well as global and international justice. The book draws students into critical discussions of justice around the world today by: 

• taking a broad perspective on law and justice rather than limiting its focus to criminal justice systems
• examining topics of global concern, including governance, elections, environmental regulations, migration and refugee status, family law, and others 
• focusing on a diverse set of global examples, from Europe, North America, East Asia, and especially the global south, and comparing the United States law and justice system to these other nations 
• continuing to cover core topics such as crime, law enforcement, criminal courts, and punishment
• including chapter goals to define learning outcomes
• sharing case studies to help students apply concepts to real life issues

Instructor resources include discussion questions; suggested readings, films, and web resources; a test bank; and chapter-by-chapter PowerPoint slides with full-color maps and graphics.

By widening the comparative lens to include nations that are often completely ignored in research and teaching, the book paints a more realistic portrait of the different ways in which countries define and pursue justice in a globalized, interconnected world.
 

Mikaila Mariel Lemonik Arthur is Professor of Sociology at Rhode Island College. She is the author of Student Activism and Curricular Change in Higher Education and Social Change, a volume in Student Handbook to Sociology. 

List of Illustrations and Tables
Acknowledgments
Preface

1. The Study of Comparative Law and Justice
Chapter Goals
Why Study Comparative Law and Justice?
The Roots of the Field
Legal Culture versus Legal Structure
A Quick Introduction to Legal Systems
Case Study 1.1: An International Child Custody
Dispute
Conclusion

2. World Legal Systems
Chapter Goals
The Rule of Law
Defining Legal Systems
Common Law
Case Study 2.1: Cannibalism and Common Law
Civil Law
Theocratic Law
Authoritarian Law
Traditional Law
Other Legal Systems
Change and Continuity
Case Study 2.2: The Aztec Legal System
Conclusion

3. The Organization of State Power
Chapter Goals
What Is a State?
Types of Government
Case Study 3.1: Indigenous Sovereignty
Branches of Government
Voting and Elections
Who Votes?
Who Runs?
Conclusion

4. Crime and the Global World
Chapter Goals
Why Do Crime Rates Vary?
Cultural Explanations for Crime
The Impact of Economic and Social Factors on Crime
Crime and the Legal System
How Do We Measure Crime?
How Do Crime Rates Vary?
Criminalization
Decriminalization
Case Study 4.1: The Portuguese Drug Strategy
Cross-Border Crime
International Crime
Transnational Crime
Terrorism
Conclusion

5. Law Enforcement
Chapter Goals
The History of Law Enforcement
Defining Modern Policing
Cross-National Variations in Policing Practices
Organizational Structures
Policing Styles
Police-Military Relations
International Police Cooperation
Case Study 5.1: Tracking the Pink Panthers
Conclusion

6. Resolving Disputes
Chapter Goals
Dispute Resolution in Historical Perspective
Types of Disputes, Types of Law
Contemporary Dispute Resolution Systems
Dispute Resolution in Common Law
Dispute Resolution in Civil Law
Dispute Resolution in Theocratic Law
Traditional Dispute Resolution Practices
Case Study 6.1: Traditional Courts in South Africa
Dispute Resolution under Authoritarianism
Criminal Procedure in Comparative Perspective
Fairness and Impartiality
The Presumption of Innocence
Evidentiary Rules
Confessions and Self-Incrimination
The Right to Counsel
Other Factors
Case Study 6.2: The Trials of Amanda Knox
Conclusion

7. Punishment and Social Control
Chapter Goals
Why Do Societies Punish?
Deterrence and Crime Control
Revenge and Retribution
Rehabilitation
Reconciliation
Case Study 7.1: Transitional Justice in Rwanda
How Has Punishment Changed over Time?
What Types of Punishment Do Societies Use?
Prisons
Control-in-Freedom
Case Study 7.2: Prisons and Punishment in Norway
Financial and Other Sanctions
Corporal Punishment
Capital Punishment
What Factors Shape National Differences in Punishment Practices?
Conclusion

8. Family Law
Chapter Goals
What Is a Family?
Forming a Family
Marriage and Union Formation
The Legal Status of Children
Case Study 8.1: Marriage, Children, and Surnames
Regulating Reproduction
Ending Family Relationships
Ending Unions
Child Custody and Parental Rights
Conclusion

9. Legal Rights
Chapter Goals
What Are Legal Rights?
The Most Severe Violations
Legal Rights: A Tour
The Right to Privacy
The Right to Expression
The Right to Conscience
Case Study 9.1: Intellectual and Academic Freedom in Qatar
The Right to Subsistence
Law and Equality
Conclusion

10. Global Justice
Chapter Goals
What Is International Law?
How Is International Law Enforced?
Institutions of Global Justice
The International Criminal Court
The United Nations and the International Court of Justice
Citizenship and Statelessness
Case Study 10.1: Chevron in Ecuador
Conclusion

11. Law and Culture
Chapter Goals
The Concept of Legal Culture
Cultural Universalism, Cultural Relativism, and Cultural Pluralism
Conflicts in Law and Culture
The Cultural Defense to Crime
Legal Cultures of Childhood
Case Study 11.1: Child Soldiers
Conclusion

12. Considering Comparative Law and Justice
Chapter Goals
Why Compare?
The Future of Law
Case Study 12.1: Regulating the Environment
Conclusion

Glossary
Works Cited
Index