E-Book Overview
With a clear, engaging, and informal writing style, <em>Understanding Jurisprudence is the perfect guide for students new to legal theory and looking for a convenient and interesting starting point for this sometimes daunting subject.Key theories and theorists are introduced in a compact and manageable format, offering an accessible account of the central ideas without oversimplification. Further reading suggestions are included throughout, helping students to structure their research and navigate the many texts and articles available in this subject area. Critical questions are also included in each chapter, to encourage students to think analytically about the law and the key ideas and debates which surround it.Professor Wacks is an experienced teacher of jurisprudence and excels in a providing a concise, student-friendly introduction to the subject, while not avoiding the subtleties of this fascinating area of study. An extensive Online Resource Centre also accompanies this text (www.oxfordtextbooks.co.uk/orc/wacks3e/) and includes the following valuable resources: - Author analysis of topical controversies such as political debates and current legal problems, to keep you informed of the relevance of jurisprudence to everyday life - Interactive self-test glossary of key terms - Additional chapters on approaching the study of jurisprudence, including revision and examination tips- Further reading suggestions, including links to relevant and recent journal articles- Useful weblinks- Self-test questions on the key ideas from each chapter, with instant feedback
E-Book Content
UNDER S TANDING JURISPRUDENCE This page intentionally left blank Understanding Jurisprudence An Introduction to Legal Theory Third edition R AYMOND WACKS BA, LLB, LLM, LLD, MLitt, PhD Emeritus Professor of Law and Legal Theory 1 3 Great Clarendon Street, Oxford OX2 6DP Oxford University Press is a department of the University of Oxford. It furthers the University’s objective of excellence in research, scholarship, and education by publishing worldwide in Oxford New York Auckland Cape Town Dar es Salaam Hong Kong Karachi Kuala Lumpur Madrid Melbourne Mexico City Nairobi New Delhi Shanghai Taipei Toronto With offices in Argentina Austria Brazil Chile Czech Republic France Greece Guatemala Hungary Italy Japan Poland Portugal Singapore South Korea Switzerland Thailand Turkey Ukraine Vietnam Oxford is a registered trade mark of Oxford University Press in the UK and in certain other countries Published in the United States by Oxford University Press Inc., New York © Raymond Wacks 2012 The moral rights of the author have been asserted Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v1.0 (http://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/doc/ open-government-licence/open-government-licence.htm) Crown copyright material reproduced with the permission of the Controller, HMSO (under the terms of the Click Use licence) Database right Oxford University Press (maker) First edition 2005 Second edition 2009 All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means, without the prior permission in writing of Oxford University Press, or as expressly permitted by law, or under terms agreed with the appropriate reprographics rights organization. Enquiries concerning reproduction outside the scope of the above should be sent to the Rights Department, Oxford University Press, at the address above You must not circulate this book in any other binding or cover and you must impose the same condition on any acquirer British Library Cataloguing-in-Publication Data Data available Library of Congress Control Number: 2011942563 Typeset by Newgen Imaging Systems (P) Ltd, Chennai, India Prin