Anthem Studies in Law Reform – serie

To what extent should religion be taught in classrooms? Should lessons also cover non-religious beliefs? Should the teaching of religion be compulsory or should it be a matter of choice by the parents or the child? Should faith schools be allowed to teach their religious beliefs? Should religious worship be compulsory for all pupils? Questions of how religion operates within schools prove controversial and divisive. This book explores radical changes that are being made in Wales and the lessons that can be learnt. It examines the historical development of the law in this area, the new Welsh law, its potential shortcomings and areas that the new law leaves untouched, namely the rules on religious worship. The book is written by a leading authority on the interaction of law and religion whose work fed into Welsh parliament debates on the Curriculum and Assessment(Wales) Act 2021.

This book uses several case studies to demonstrate current problems with international extradition. These include political issues, time delays, jurisdictional problems, and conflict between surrender and the human rights of extraditees. The normative assumptions underpinning extradition ensure these procedures are more likely to prioritise international comity between nation states, rather than individual human rights protections. This creates a system with limited judicial relief for extraditees that require extensive proof of high human rights thresholds, as well as a prominent rule of non-inquiry, restrictive evidence regulations, and deference to the executive. The book argues that a defendant-centred approach to extradition reform is needed that prioritises a right to fairness as a core value for promoting global justice. This includes considering changes to enable greater post-extradition monitoring of extradited people and broadening rules for extraditees to submit evidence to support a claim against surrender. New and more viable extradition alternatives also involve transferring evidence to shift the trial to the location where most of the offending activity occurred and sentencing in the extraditee’s home jurisdiction. These proposals aim to counter the current unequal levels of authority that favour the power of both the requesting and requested state over the rights of the individual.

All is not well with the law on rape. It is rarely reported and even when it is, it is rarely prosecuted. Victims are deterred for a range of reasons, but these include a fear that it will never be possible to prove the rape has occurred and that the trial will be traumatic. Even when the case proceeds to trial, victims perceive that it is they, rather than the perpetrator, who is the one on trial. The past sexual behaviour of the victim,; the clothes she was wearing,; the people she socialised with and the places she visited are all used as tools to claim that in fact the victim consented to the rape. Reforms are needed.In this book, we explore how changing the definition of rape will help tackle some of these problems. We argue there needs to be a shift in the focus of the rape trial: away from asking whether the victim consented, to focus on whether the defendant. Rather than focusing on the way the victim dresses, behaviour in response to the rape, the focus will be on what the defendant believed justified him engaging in a sexual behaviour. At the heart of our proposal is the claim that having sex comes with responsibilities. In particular, a responsibility to ensure you have reasonable grounds to believe the other consents. Without that consent, a very serious wrong is being done. The central legal focus should therefore be on whether the defendant had sufficiently good reasons to proceed with having sex.

This book tells the story of each Constitutional Amendment and the role that the Amendments have played in shaping the American experience. Based on solid research, it is written in an engaging style that is easy to comprehend and enjoyable to read. The Amendments guarantee the fundamental rights and liberties that Americans enjoy and should be understood by every citizen. They tell America’s story from its founding to the present day. The Amendments play a vital role in the quest for gender and racial equity, and the continuing struggle to achieve social justice. They are the result of the American people’s continuing efforts to perfect our Constitution, first through Acts of Congress, then through ratifications by State Legislatures, and finally by judicial review and interpretation. The Amendments are too important to be treated as afterthoughts, and this book seeks to rectify that by giving them the attention they deserve.

This book tells the story of each Constitutional Amendment and the role that the Amendments have played in shaping the American experience. Based on solid research, it is written in an engaging style that is easy to comprehend and enjoyable to read. The Amendments guarantee the fundamental rights and liberties that Americans enjoy and should be understood by every citizen. They tell America’s story from its founding to the present day. The Amendments play a vital role in the quest for gender and racial equity, and the continuing struggle to achieve social justice. They are the result of the American people’s continuing efforts to perfect our Constitution, first through Acts of Congress, then through ratifications by State Legislatures, and finally by judicial review and interpretation. The Amendments are too important to be treated as afterthoughts, and this book seeks to rectify that by giving them the attention they deserve.