Russell Sandberg
My research interrogates the interaction between Law and the Humanities. I am the author of Law and Religion (Cambridge University Press, 2011), the first textbook in the field; Religion, Law and Society (Cambridge University Press, 2014), which explores the interplay between the legal and sociological study of religion; Religion and Marriage Law: The Need for Reform (Bristol University Press, 2021), which provides the first accessible guide to how contemporary marriage law interacts with religion, identifying pressure points and setting out proposals for reform; Subversive Legal History: A Manifesto for the Future of Legal Education (Routledge, 2021), which argues that history should be at the beating heart of the law curriculum; Religion in Schools: Learning Lessons from Wales (Anthem, 2022) which explores recent reforms to teaching religion in their historical context; and A Historical Introduction to English Law: Genesis of the Common Law (Cambridge University Press, 2023), which introduces students to the study of law by exploring the early development of the common law.
My blog and personal website can be found at: https://sandbergrlaw.wordpress.com/ and I also have my own YouTube Channel.
I am co-author of Religion and Law in the United Kingdom (Kluwer Law International, 2011; 2nd ed 2014; 3rd ed 2021) which forms part of the International Encyclopaedia of Laws Series. I have edited or co-edited Law and Religion: New Horizons (Peeters, 2010), Religion and Legal Pluralism (Ashgate, 2015), The Confluence of Law and Religion (Cambridge University Press, 2016), Law and History: Critical Concepts in Law (Routledge, 2017), Law and Religion: Critical Concepts in Law (Routledge, 2017) Leading Works in Law and Religion (Routledge, 2019) and Research Handbook on Interdisciplinary Approaches to Law and Religion (Edward Elgar, 2019). I am also the author or co-author of over 80 articles and book chapters addressed to legal, historial, sociological and general readerships.
I am the editor or co-editor of five book series:
Analysing Leading Works in Law (Routledge) examines how particular legal sub-disciplines have developed by exploring the leading works that have shaped, developed and on occasions confined fields of study.
Transforming Legal Histories (Routledge) aims to place the historical study of law at the heart of the law curriculum using history to question and subvert assumptions and expectations of law.
ICLARS Series on Law and Religion (Routledge) is designed to provide a forum for the innovative and internationally excellent rapidly research in law and religion.
Anthem Studies in Law Reform (Anthem) bridges the gap between legal activism and academic scholarship by publishing short books (20,000-30,000 words) focused on the need for and possible direction of law reform.
Anthem Law and Society Series (Anthem) promotes interdisciplinary research concerning the role of law in society addressing fundamental legal issues.
I am a Cardiff graduate, obtaining First Class Honours in my LLB in Law and Sociology in 2005 and a doctorate examining the relationship between religion, law and society in 2010. I served as Head of the Law department between 2016 and 2019.
I am a Fellow of the Royal Historical Society and the Academy of Social Sciences. My research has been cited in Parliamentary debates at both Westminster and the Welsh Senedd as well as by the UK Supreme Court and the Equality and Human Rights Commission. I have also been interviewed on BBC Radio Four, regularly appear on BBC Radio Wales and was the guest on the Christmas Special of the Kids Law podcast. I am host of the Subversive Symposium, a series of interviews with experts on the nature and importance of legal history. I am a contributor to The Conversation and Westlaw UK Insight and was a specialist Contributing Editor for Jowitt’s Dictionary of English Law (Sweet & Maxwell, 2010).
Address: School of Law and Politics, Cardiff University, Museum Avenue, Cardiff, UK. CF10 3AX
My blog and personal website can be found at: https://sandbergrlaw.wordpress.com/ and I also have my own YouTube Channel.
I am co-author of Religion and Law in the United Kingdom (Kluwer Law International, 2011; 2nd ed 2014; 3rd ed 2021) which forms part of the International Encyclopaedia of Laws Series. I have edited or co-edited Law and Religion: New Horizons (Peeters, 2010), Religion and Legal Pluralism (Ashgate, 2015), The Confluence of Law and Religion (Cambridge University Press, 2016), Law and History: Critical Concepts in Law (Routledge, 2017), Law and Religion: Critical Concepts in Law (Routledge, 2017) Leading Works in Law and Religion (Routledge, 2019) and Research Handbook on Interdisciplinary Approaches to Law and Religion (Edward Elgar, 2019). I am also the author or co-author of over 80 articles and book chapters addressed to legal, historial, sociological and general readerships.
I am the editor or co-editor of five book series:
Analysing Leading Works in Law (Routledge) examines how particular legal sub-disciplines have developed by exploring the leading works that have shaped, developed and on occasions confined fields of study.
Transforming Legal Histories (Routledge) aims to place the historical study of law at the heart of the law curriculum using history to question and subvert assumptions and expectations of law.
ICLARS Series on Law and Religion (Routledge) is designed to provide a forum for the innovative and internationally excellent rapidly research in law and religion.
Anthem Studies in Law Reform (Anthem) bridges the gap between legal activism and academic scholarship by publishing short books (20,000-30,000 words) focused on the need for and possible direction of law reform.
Anthem Law and Society Series (Anthem) promotes interdisciplinary research concerning the role of law in society addressing fundamental legal issues.
I am a Cardiff graduate, obtaining First Class Honours in my LLB in Law and Sociology in 2005 and a doctorate examining the relationship between religion, law and society in 2010. I served as Head of the Law department between 2016 and 2019.
I am a Fellow of the Royal Historical Society and the Academy of Social Sciences. My research has been cited in Parliamentary debates at both Westminster and the Welsh Senedd as well as by the UK Supreme Court and the Equality and Human Rights Commission. I have also been interviewed on BBC Radio Four, regularly appear on BBC Radio Wales and was the guest on the Christmas Special of the Kids Law podcast. I am host of the Subversive Symposium, a series of interviews with experts on the nature and importance of legal history. I am a contributor to The Conversation and Westlaw UK Insight and was a specialist Contributing Editor for Jowitt’s Dictionary of English Law (Sweet & Maxwell, 2010).
Address: School of Law and Politics, Cardiff University, Museum Avenue, Cardiff, UK. CF10 3AX
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After a general introduction describing the social and historical background, the book goes on to explain the legal framework in which religion is approached. Coverage proceeds from the principle of religious freedom through the rights and contractual obligations of religious communities; international, transnational, and regional law effects; and the legal parameters affecting the influence of religion in politics and public life. Also covered are legal positions on religion in such specific fields as church financing, labour and employment, and matrimonial and family law. A clear and comprehensive overview of relevant legislation and legal doctrine make the book an invaluable reference source and very useful guide.
Succinct and practical, this book will prove to be of great value to practitioners in the myriad instances where a law-related religious interest arises in the United Kingdom. Academics and researchers will appreciate its value as a thorough but concise treatment of the legal aspects of diversity and multiculturalism in which religion plays such an important part.
Issues concerning religion in the public sphere are rarely far from the headlines. As a result, scholars have paid increasing attention to religion. These scholars, however, have generally stayed within the confines of their own respective disciplines. To date there has been little contact between lawyers and sociologists. Religion, Law and Society explores whether, how and why law and religion should interact with the sociology of religion. It examines sociological and legal materials concerning religion in order to find out what lawyers and sociologists can learn from each other. A groundbreaking, provocative and thought-provoking book, it is essential reading for lawyers, sociologists and all who are interested in the relationship between religion, law and society in the twenty-first century.
The worlds of law and religion increasingly collide in Parliament and the courtroom. Religious courts, the wearing of religious symbols and faith schools have given rise to increased legislation and litigation. This is the first student textbook to set out the fundamental principles and issues of law and religion in England and Wales. Offering a succinct exposition and critical analysis of the field, it explores how English law regulates the practice of religion. The textbook surveys law and religion from various perspectives, such as human rights and discrimination law, as well as considering the legal status of both religion and religious groups. Controversial and provocative questions are explored, promoting full engagement with the key debates. The book's explanatory approach and detailed references ensure understanding and encourage independent study. Students can track key developments on the book's updating website. This innovative text is essential reading for all students in the field.
Edited Books by Russell Sandberg
In recent years, there have been a number of concerns about the recognition of religious laws and the existence of religious courts and tribunals. There has also been the growing literature on legal pluralism which seeks to understand how more than one legal system can and should exist within one social space. However, whilst a number of important theoretical works concerning legal pluralism in the context of cultural rights have been published, little has been published specifically on religion. Religion and Legal Pluralism explores the extent to which religious laws are already recognised by the state and the extent to which religious legal systems, such as Sharia law, should be accommodated.
Table of Contents
Contents: Preface; The impossible compromise, Russell Sandberg. Part I In Practice: Religion and the state: recognition, regulation and facilitation, Mark Hill QC; Turbulent priests: how the Church of England disciplines its errant clergy, Christopher Smith; Who regulates marriage? The case of religious marriage and divorce, Gillian Douglas; Quakers and the campaign for same sex marriage, Frank Cranmer; The use of experts in the Roman Catholic canon law of marriage, Eithne D’Auria; Religious symbols and the making of contemporary religious identities, Sylvie Bacquet. Part II Particular Issues: Quasi-law and religion, David Pocklington; Legal pluralism, religious conservatism, Amina Hussain; Internet-based new religious movements and dispute resolution, Beth Singler; Religious pluralism as a legal principle, Dorota A. Gozdecka. Part III In Theory: What do you believe? Taxonomy of a subjective legal pluralism, Amy R. Codling; Public space, private face: veiling as a challenge for legal reasoning, Celia G. Kenny; Principles of a pluralist secularism, Margaret Davies; Religious law as a social system, Russell Sandberg. Appendix, Russell Sandberg and Frank Cranmer. Index.
Since the early 1990s, politicians, policymakers, the media and academics have increasingly focused on religion, noting the significant increase in the number of cases involving religion. As a result, law and religion has become a specific area of study. The work of Professor Norman Doe at Cardiff University has served as a catalyst for this change, especially through the creation of the LLM in Canon Law in 1991 (the first degree of its type since the time of the Reformation) and the Centre for Law and Religion in 1998 (the first of its kind in the UK). Published to mark the twenty-fifth anniversary of the LLM in Canon Law and to pay tribute to Professor Doe's achievements so far, this volume reflects upon the interdisciplinary development of law and religion.
Table of Contents
Foreword Lord Williams of Oystermouth
1. Renaissance and re-engagement: Norman Doe's achievement in the discipline of law and religion Mark Hill, QC
Part I. Conceptual Foundations and Historical Development:
2. Law, religion and the curve of reason Celia Kenny
3. Legal authority in canon law: cases from the notebook of a medieval lawyer Richard H. Helmholz
4. Trust and conscience in early English law David Seipp
5. A sociological theory of religious law Russell Sandberg
Part II. Government and Ministry:
6. The rise of ecclesiastical quasi-legislation Paul Colton
7. The development and influence of Anglican canon law Anthony Jeremy
8. Ecclesiastical regulation and secular law: a comparative examination Frank Cranmer
Part III. Doctrine, Liturgy and Rites:
9. Justice and mercy: canon law and the sacrament of penance Robert Ombres, OP
10. Pardon and peace – rights and responsibilities: persuasion not compulsion Edward Morgan
11. Public law and traditional faith Norman Solomon
Part IV. The Interface of Religious Law and Civil Law:
12. Who needs freedom of religion? Silvio Ferrari
13. Religion and human rights: principles and practice Carolyn Evans and Timnah Rachel Baker
14. Coercion, oaths and conscience: conceptual confusion in the right to freedom of religion or belief Alison Mawhinney
15. Religious freedom and the law Brenda Hale
Part V. Conclusions:
16. The role of religion in building political communities Linda Hogan
17. The interdisciplinary growth of law and religion John Witte, Jr
18. New directions in the confluence of law and religion Celia Kenny.
Over the last few years, debates concerning the wearing of Islamic dress, the relationship between religious liberty and free speech and the enforcement of religious law have barely been far from the headlines.
In the United Kingdom, a number of legal changes have altered the interaction between law and religion. The piecemeal and passive accommodation provided by the common law has been replaced by the active protection of religious liberty as a positive right.
Looking at the Human Rights Act 1998, the new laws on religious discrimination and religious hatred, the Civil Partnership Act 2004 and developments at EU and devolved levels, this collection examines the legal changes that have occurred and how this affects law and religion as an academic discipline.
Law and Religion: New Horizons includes thirteen previously unpublished essays by experts in the field and a detailed conclusion by the two editors, examining the changing interaction between law and religion and the new horizons.
Introduction / Norman Doe and Russell Sandberg
England's law of religion the history of a discipline / Augur Pearce
Establishment and human rights in the English constitution happy bed-fellows or uneasy allies? / Charlotte Smith
Church, state and civil partners establishment and social mores in tension / Mark Hill
Religion and discrimination balancing interests within the anti-discrimination framework / Pauline Roberts
Freedom of speech, religious sensibilities and inciting hatred in English law / Richard Clark
Public benefit in the advancement of religion after the Charities Act 2006 another charity muddle? / Peter Luxton
Human rights and the Christian tradition a Quaker perspective / Frank Cranmer
Structures of religious pluralism in English law / David Harte
A collection of states or a state of mind? The religious and spiritual dimension of European citizenship / Alexandra Pimor
Regional ecclesiastical law religion and devolution in Spain and Wales / Javier García Oliva and David Lambert
The concept of Christian law, a case study concepts of a church in a comparative and ecumenical context / Norman Doe
Law and sociology toward a greater understanding of religion / Russell Sandberg and Rebecca Catto
Some sceptical thoughts about the academic analysis of law and religion in the United Kingdom / Anthony Bradney
Conclusion new horizons / Norman Doe and Russell Sandberg.
From the murderous reaction to the publication in a French satirical magazine of ‘blasphemous’ cartoons, to wrangles over the wearing of religious dress and symbols in schools and workplaces, the interaction between law and religion is rarely far from the headlines. Indeed, the editors of this Routledge collection argue that, since the events of 11 September 2001, the short- and long-term implications of multiculturalism, religious resurgence, and extremism have dominated public life both globally and domestically. Consequently, they say, the legal framework concerning the regulation of religion has changed dramatically over the last decade or so. There have been numerous developments at the global, regional, state, and sub-state level, and these changes have been accompanied by an unprecedented number of high-profile cases affecting religious individuals and groups.
Now, this new collection from Routledge’s Critical Concepts in Law series, edited by two prolific authors based at the world-leading Centre for Law and Religion at Cardiff University, meets the need for an authoritative reference work to help researchers and students navigate and make better sense of an abundance of scholarship.
With a full index, and thoughtful introductions, newly written by the learned editors, Law and Religion traces the field’s development and highlights the challenges for future explorations. The collection will be valued by legal and religious scholars as a vital and enduring resource.
The historical study of law is among the most important domains of global legal scholarship. Indeed, many of the most distinguished academic works on law are historical. And while much scholarly output has focused on ‘textual’ legal history—exploring how legal doctrines, ideas, concepts, principles, and institutions have developed over time—in recent years there has also been a sharpened focus on ‘contextual’ legal history, exploring the interaction and interplay between legal and socio-political change.
Now, to help researchers and students navigate and make better sense of an overabundance of scholarship, Routledge announces a new collection in its Critical Concepts in Law series. Edited by two leading academics, Law and History provides an authoritative ‘mini library’ which explores the development of legal history as an area of study by bringing together major works on the ‘textual’ legal history of English law alongside cutting-edge ‘contextual’ legal history.
Volume I, entitled ‘Historiography’, explores the relationship between law and history and the development of legal history. The second and third volumes ('Public Law’and 'Land Law’ ) explicate law’s historical development, while the collection’s final volume, ‘Law of Obligations', underscores the interaction between legal and social and political change.
With a full index, and thoughtful introductions, newly written by the learned editors, Law and History is sure to be welcomed as a vital and enduring reference and pedagogical resource.
Articles by Russell Sandberg
This brief comment explores whether such an argument could be made.
After a general introduction describing the social and historical background, the book goes on to explain the legal framework in which religion is approached. Coverage proceeds from the principle of religious freedom through the rights and contractual obligations of religious communities; international, transnational, and regional law effects; and the legal parameters affecting the influence of religion in politics and public life. Also covered are legal positions on religion in such specific fields as church financing, labour and employment, and matrimonial and family law. A clear and comprehensive overview of relevant legislation and legal doctrine make the book an invaluable reference source and very useful guide.
Succinct and practical, this book will prove to be of great value to practitioners in the myriad instances where a law-related religious interest arises in the United Kingdom. Academics and researchers will appreciate its value as a thorough but concise treatment of the legal aspects of diversity and multiculturalism in which religion plays such an important part.
Issues concerning religion in the public sphere are rarely far from the headlines. As a result, scholars have paid increasing attention to religion. These scholars, however, have generally stayed within the confines of their own respective disciplines. To date there has been little contact between lawyers and sociologists. Religion, Law and Society explores whether, how and why law and religion should interact with the sociology of religion. It examines sociological and legal materials concerning religion in order to find out what lawyers and sociologists can learn from each other. A groundbreaking, provocative and thought-provoking book, it is essential reading for lawyers, sociologists and all who are interested in the relationship between religion, law and society in the twenty-first century.
The worlds of law and religion increasingly collide in Parliament and the courtroom. Religious courts, the wearing of religious symbols and faith schools have given rise to increased legislation and litigation. This is the first student textbook to set out the fundamental principles and issues of law and religion in England and Wales. Offering a succinct exposition and critical analysis of the field, it explores how English law regulates the practice of religion. The textbook surveys law and religion from various perspectives, such as human rights and discrimination law, as well as considering the legal status of both religion and religious groups. Controversial and provocative questions are explored, promoting full engagement with the key debates. The book's explanatory approach and detailed references ensure understanding and encourage independent study. Students can track key developments on the book's updating website. This innovative text is essential reading for all students in the field.
In recent years, there have been a number of concerns about the recognition of religious laws and the existence of religious courts and tribunals. There has also been the growing literature on legal pluralism which seeks to understand how more than one legal system can and should exist within one social space. However, whilst a number of important theoretical works concerning legal pluralism in the context of cultural rights have been published, little has been published specifically on religion. Religion and Legal Pluralism explores the extent to which religious laws are already recognised by the state and the extent to which religious legal systems, such as Sharia law, should be accommodated.
Table of Contents
Contents: Preface; The impossible compromise, Russell Sandberg. Part I In Practice: Religion and the state: recognition, regulation and facilitation, Mark Hill QC; Turbulent priests: how the Church of England disciplines its errant clergy, Christopher Smith; Who regulates marriage? The case of religious marriage and divorce, Gillian Douglas; Quakers and the campaign for same sex marriage, Frank Cranmer; The use of experts in the Roman Catholic canon law of marriage, Eithne D’Auria; Religious symbols and the making of contemporary religious identities, Sylvie Bacquet. Part II Particular Issues: Quasi-law and religion, David Pocklington; Legal pluralism, religious conservatism, Amina Hussain; Internet-based new religious movements and dispute resolution, Beth Singler; Religious pluralism as a legal principle, Dorota A. Gozdecka. Part III In Theory: What do you believe? Taxonomy of a subjective legal pluralism, Amy R. Codling; Public space, private face: veiling as a challenge for legal reasoning, Celia G. Kenny; Principles of a pluralist secularism, Margaret Davies; Religious law as a social system, Russell Sandberg. Appendix, Russell Sandberg and Frank Cranmer. Index.
Since the early 1990s, politicians, policymakers, the media and academics have increasingly focused on religion, noting the significant increase in the number of cases involving religion. As a result, law and religion has become a specific area of study. The work of Professor Norman Doe at Cardiff University has served as a catalyst for this change, especially through the creation of the LLM in Canon Law in 1991 (the first degree of its type since the time of the Reformation) and the Centre for Law and Religion in 1998 (the first of its kind in the UK). Published to mark the twenty-fifth anniversary of the LLM in Canon Law and to pay tribute to Professor Doe's achievements so far, this volume reflects upon the interdisciplinary development of law and religion.
Table of Contents
Foreword Lord Williams of Oystermouth
1. Renaissance and re-engagement: Norman Doe's achievement in the discipline of law and religion Mark Hill, QC
Part I. Conceptual Foundations and Historical Development:
2. Law, religion and the curve of reason Celia Kenny
3. Legal authority in canon law: cases from the notebook of a medieval lawyer Richard H. Helmholz
4. Trust and conscience in early English law David Seipp
5. A sociological theory of religious law Russell Sandberg
Part II. Government and Ministry:
6. The rise of ecclesiastical quasi-legislation Paul Colton
7. The development and influence of Anglican canon law Anthony Jeremy
8. Ecclesiastical regulation and secular law: a comparative examination Frank Cranmer
Part III. Doctrine, Liturgy and Rites:
9. Justice and mercy: canon law and the sacrament of penance Robert Ombres, OP
10. Pardon and peace – rights and responsibilities: persuasion not compulsion Edward Morgan
11. Public law and traditional faith Norman Solomon
Part IV. The Interface of Religious Law and Civil Law:
12. Who needs freedom of religion? Silvio Ferrari
13. Religion and human rights: principles and practice Carolyn Evans and Timnah Rachel Baker
14. Coercion, oaths and conscience: conceptual confusion in the right to freedom of religion or belief Alison Mawhinney
15. Religious freedom and the law Brenda Hale
Part V. Conclusions:
16. The role of religion in building political communities Linda Hogan
17. The interdisciplinary growth of law and religion John Witte, Jr
18. New directions in the confluence of law and religion Celia Kenny.
Over the last few years, debates concerning the wearing of Islamic dress, the relationship between religious liberty and free speech and the enforcement of religious law have barely been far from the headlines.
In the United Kingdom, a number of legal changes have altered the interaction between law and religion. The piecemeal and passive accommodation provided by the common law has been replaced by the active protection of religious liberty as a positive right.
Looking at the Human Rights Act 1998, the new laws on religious discrimination and religious hatred, the Civil Partnership Act 2004 and developments at EU and devolved levels, this collection examines the legal changes that have occurred and how this affects law and religion as an academic discipline.
Law and Religion: New Horizons includes thirteen previously unpublished essays by experts in the field and a detailed conclusion by the two editors, examining the changing interaction between law and religion and the new horizons.
Introduction / Norman Doe and Russell Sandberg
England's law of religion the history of a discipline / Augur Pearce
Establishment and human rights in the English constitution happy bed-fellows or uneasy allies? / Charlotte Smith
Church, state and civil partners establishment and social mores in tension / Mark Hill
Religion and discrimination balancing interests within the anti-discrimination framework / Pauline Roberts
Freedom of speech, religious sensibilities and inciting hatred in English law / Richard Clark
Public benefit in the advancement of religion after the Charities Act 2006 another charity muddle? / Peter Luxton
Human rights and the Christian tradition a Quaker perspective / Frank Cranmer
Structures of religious pluralism in English law / David Harte
A collection of states or a state of mind? The religious and spiritual dimension of European citizenship / Alexandra Pimor
Regional ecclesiastical law religion and devolution in Spain and Wales / Javier García Oliva and David Lambert
The concept of Christian law, a case study concepts of a church in a comparative and ecumenical context / Norman Doe
Law and sociology toward a greater understanding of religion / Russell Sandberg and Rebecca Catto
Some sceptical thoughts about the academic analysis of law and religion in the United Kingdom / Anthony Bradney
Conclusion new horizons / Norman Doe and Russell Sandberg.
From the murderous reaction to the publication in a French satirical magazine of ‘blasphemous’ cartoons, to wrangles over the wearing of religious dress and symbols in schools and workplaces, the interaction between law and religion is rarely far from the headlines. Indeed, the editors of this Routledge collection argue that, since the events of 11 September 2001, the short- and long-term implications of multiculturalism, religious resurgence, and extremism have dominated public life both globally and domestically. Consequently, they say, the legal framework concerning the regulation of religion has changed dramatically over the last decade or so. There have been numerous developments at the global, regional, state, and sub-state level, and these changes have been accompanied by an unprecedented number of high-profile cases affecting religious individuals and groups.
Now, this new collection from Routledge’s Critical Concepts in Law series, edited by two prolific authors based at the world-leading Centre for Law and Religion at Cardiff University, meets the need for an authoritative reference work to help researchers and students navigate and make better sense of an abundance of scholarship.
With a full index, and thoughtful introductions, newly written by the learned editors, Law and Religion traces the field’s development and highlights the challenges for future explorations. The collection will be valued by legal and religious scholars as a vital and enduring resource.
The historical study of law is among the most important domains of global legal scholarship. Indeed, many of the most distinguished academic works on law are historical. And while much scholarly output has focused on ‘textual’ legal history—exploring how legal doctrines, ideas, concepts, principles, and institutions have developed over time—in recent years there has also been a sharpened focus on ‘contextual’ legal history, exploring the interaction and interplay between legal and socio-political change.
Now, to help researchers and students navigate and make better sense of an overabundance of scholarship, Routledge announces a new collection in its Critical Concepts in Law series. Edited by two leading academics, Law and History provides an authoritative ‘mini library’ which explores the development of legal history as an area of study by bringing together major works on the ‘textual’ legal history of English law alongside cutting-edge ‘contextual’ legal history.
Volume I, entitled ‘Historiography’, explores the relationship between law and history and the development of legal history. The second and third volumes ('Public Law’and 'Land Law’ ) explicate law’s historical development, while the collection’s final volume, ‘Law of Obligations', underscores the interaction between legal and social and political change.
With a full index, and thoughtful introductions, newly written by the learned editors, Law and History is sure to be welcomed as a vital and enduring reference and pedagogical resource.
This brief comment explores whether such an argument could be made.
case law concerning whether ministers of religion are employees. It contends that the twenty-first century decisions provide evidence of a “judicial retcon” in that accounts of history in the judgments re-set and re-interpret the twentieth century case law to overstate the boldness of the twenty-first century cases.
discuss what was not considered but should have been in each of the Lords’ Second Reading debates and the implications of these omissions.
To download the full text click on the link under the URL heading
Abstract:
In recent years, there have been a number of moral panics in Western societies about the existence of religious courts and tribunals in general and Shariah law in particular. In England and Wales, these concerns came to the fore following the Archbishop of Canterbury’s 2008 lecture on ‘Civil Law and Religious Law in England’. In that lecture, the Archbishop drew upon the work of the Canadian scholar Ayelet Shachar endorsing her concept of ‘transformative accommodation’. In this article, we return to the work of Shachar in the light of our recent empirical study which examined the divorce jurisdiction of three religious tribunals in detail: a Jewish Beth Din; a matrimonial tribunal of the Roman Catholic Church; and a Muslim Shariah Council. We suggest that the focus upon Shachar’s concept of ‘transformative accommodation’ by the Archbishop and subsequent commentators is unfortunate given that Shachar actually proposes ‘transformative accommodation’ as just one variant of what she refers to as ‘joint governance’ (albeit her preferred variant). We propose that the concept of ‘joint governance’ and the other variants can be developed in a way that could prove to be more useful than ‘transformative accommodation’.
Concerns about legal pluralism, the co-existence of more than one legal system within a state, have become pronounced in recent years, owing to fears about the operation of sharia law in Western societies. At the same time, the concept of legal pluralism has become ubiquitous within legal literature. Paradoxically, the concept is both politically controversial and academically banal. This article contends that a major failing of the concept of legal pluralism has been the inability to distinguish legal norms from other forms of social control. It is suggested that this failure can be overcome by developing the concept of a ‘legal order’ as found in the work of Maleiha Malik and the understanding of law as discourse in the work of the German theorists Niklas Luhmann and Robert Alexy. It is argued that developing these approaches provides a means by which legal norms can be distinguished without adopting either a wholly objective or a completely subjective approach and without focusing exclusively upon the legal norms generated by the state.
At first glance, it appeared to be a technical and dry decision about the operation of the Places of Worship Registration Act 1855, yet the Supreme Court judgment in R (on the Application of Hodkin) v Registrar General of Births, Deaths and Marriages was actually one of the most significant decisions related to law and religion in 2013. The Justices of the Supreme Court held that a church within the Church of Scientology could be a ‘place of meeting for religious worship’ within section 2 of the 1855 Act. In so doing, the Supreme Court overruled one of the most well-known decisions in English religion law, R v Registrar General, ex parte Segerdal. In Segerdal, although the Court of Appeal had held that a chapel within the Church of Scientology could not be registered under the Act, the reasoning of their Lordships differed: Buckley LJ and Winn LJ focused on what they perceived to be the lack of ‘worship’, refusing to define the ‘chameleon word’ religion, while Lord Denning emphasised the phrase ‘religious worship’, holding that this required ‘reverence or veneration of God or a Supreme Being’ and that this was not met in the case of the Church of Scientology, which was ‘more a philosophy on the existence of man or of life than a religion’. All of these statements have been questioned by the bold Supreme Court judgment in Hodkin, which provides guidance on how the terms ‘religion’ and ‘religious worship’ are to be understood by English law in the twenty-first century.
This chapter revisits the understanding of Law and Religion as being at least the study of religion law and religious law (as articulated in R Sandberg, 'Law and Religion' (Cambridge University Press, 2011). It develops and critiques this understanding drawing upon the recent work of John Witte Jr.
Paradoxically, Legal History is both everywhere and nowhere. The study of History is unavoidable in a common law system based on precedent. Doctrinal legal study is always a historical study; every review of the case law is an exercise in historical analysis looking at how the law has changed over time. It is rare that a legal development is genuinely new and even where it is, a historical perspective will show how it became considered necessary for that gap in the law to be filled. Yet, despite this, Legal History is increasingly absent from the Law School curriculum. This chapter explores why this is to be regretted and explores how divisions within Legal History are to blame. It proposes a new way of understanding the subject as including at least the study of Textual and Contextual Legal History before contending that the study of Law and History must be an interdisciplinary endeavour.
K Von S Kynell, Saxon and Medieval Antecedents of the English Common Law (Edwin Mellen Press, 2000);
J Hostettler, A History of Criminal Justice in England and Wales (Waterside Press, 2009).
(2) The position of the opt out for teachers
(3) The nature of RVE in schools with a religious character where it is taught in accordance with trust deeds or ethos
(4) The definition of RVE
(5) The definition of religion
(6) The definition of philosophical convictions
(7) The position of sixthformers
•Those who had entered into a civil marriage were expected to have obtained a civil divorce before seeking an Islamic divorce. However, over half of the cases involved couples who had either not married under English civil law or had married abroad and whose marital status in English law was unclear. Such litigants have limited remedies under English civil law.
•The Cardiff research showed that the issues raised by the existence and operation of Shariah councils are not unique to Islam and that the different religious tribunals we studied (Roman Catholic, Jewish and Islamic) had much in common in relation to marital disputes.
•Each of the tribunals we studied firmly recognised and supported the ultimate authority of civil law processes when it came. to marriage and divorce and none sought greater ‘recognition’ by the State
•The research concluded that there is a need primarily for greater education rather than legal reform. If reform is considered necessary, we advocate a system based on registration and regular inspections and we strongly contend that the approach taken in the Arbitration and Mediation Services (Equality) Bill, introduced into the House of Lords by Baroness Cox, should be avoided. We have included as an appendix a draft Bill, which we have previously published, which seeks to overcome the misunderstandings found in Baroness Cox’s Bill.
The research project addressed concerns which were raised in the aftermath of the Archbishop of Canterbury’s lecture on Religious and Civil Law in 2008, which provoked an animated debate concerning the extent to which English law should accommodate religious legal systems, such as Sharia law.
The project, ‘Social Cohesion and Civil Law: Marriage, Divorce and Religious Courts’, explored how religious law already functions alongside civil law in the area of marriage and divorce. It examined the workings of three religious courts in detail: a Jewish Beth Din; a matrimonial tribunal of the Roman Catholic Church; and a Muslim “Shariah Council”). The project asked ‘What is the legal status of these courts?’ and ‘How do they operate in relation to marriage, divorce and remarriage?’
This is the Project Report.