| Description |
xiii, 209 pages : illustrations, ; 25 cm |
|
regular print |
| Contents |
1. Litigation: historical and contemporary dimensions / Sharyn Roach and Wilfrid Prest -- 2. The longitudinal study of civil litigation in England 1200-1996 / Christopher W. Brooks -- 3. Some figures behind the numbers: going to law in early-modern England / Christine Churches -- 4. Litigation in the early years of the Canterbury settlement 1852-61 / Jeremy Finn -- 5. When married women litigate: issues from divorce and property disputes in colonial and contemporary Australia / Hilary Golder, Rosemary Hunter and Diane Kirkby -- 6. Hey, but who's counting? The merits and politics of trends in civil litigation / Ted Wright and Angela Melville -- 7. Litigation and the federal civil justice system / David Weisbrot and Ian Davis -- 8. Litigation reform 1980-2000: a radical change? / David Bamford -- 9. Challenging the status quo: Indigenous activism and the rule of law in Australia / Larissa Behrendt -- 10. International law as litigation strategy for Indigenous Australians: a comparison of the Mabo and Nulyarimma cases / Shirley V. Scott |
| Summary |
Litigation does not have a good press - in fact, it is usually viewed very negatively. Rates of litigation in Western countries are claimed to be spiralling beyond control, and this is said to indicate a fundamental crisis in contemporary Western societies. "Litigation: Past and Present" sheds some much-needed light on these views, by examining actual patterns of litigation, both historical and contemporary, and considering the many ways in which courts provide strategies for social change and social justice. Topics surveyed include the long-range recording of litigation rates, the social uses of legal action, the effectiveness of procedural reforms in reducing litigation, and the impact of legal proceedings and activism on Indigenous rights, and on marriage and family issues. Litigation and its impact are too often discussed in excessively rhetorical and pragmatic terms. This volume, with contributions from internationally recognised scholars, adds much needed empirical research and theoretical perspectives to the discussion |
| Analysis |
Litigation |
|
Social change |
|
Alternative dispute resolution |
|
Law reform |
|
Aboriginal customary law |
|
Cases (Law) |
|
Trends to 2010 |
|
History |
|
Statistics |
|
Australia overseas comparisons |
| Notes |
Includes index |
| Bibliography |
Includes bibliographical references and index |
| Subject |
Procedure (Law) -- Australia.
|
|
Civil procedure -- Australia.
|
|
Remedies (Law) -- Australia.
|
|
Actions and defenses -- Australia.
|
| Author |
Prest, Wilfrid, 1940-
|
|
Roach Anleu, Sharyn L., 1959-
|
| LC no. |
2004426057 |
| ISBN |
0868405507 |
|
