Elder Law - Evolving European Perspectives (Hardcover)

Reviews

"AN IMPORTANT NEW CONTRIBUTION TO THIS MASSIVE LEGAL TIMEBOMB OF AN AGEING POPULATION" by Phillip T. - 31 March 2017

AN IMPORTANT NEW CONTRIBUTION TO THIS MASSIVE LEGAL TIMEBOMB OF AN AGEING POPULATION An appreciation by Phillip Taylor MBE and Elizabeth Taylor of Richmond Green Chambers The law relating to the elderly is a matter of growing international importance for the world as advances in medicine create an increasing ageing population without the sustainable infrastructure most countries need to deal with the legal complexities as they evolve. To meet this challenge, Edward Elgar Publishing Limited have produce this fine new work entitled “Elder Law”, with the engaging sub-title “evolving European perspectives. The editor, Ann Numhauser-Henning, says in her synopsis that the ageing of the population “poses a huge challenge to law and society, carrying important structural and institutional implications”. The book, in her words, therefore aims to introduce the area of elder law in a European setting. More specifically, it looks at how elder law has been understood and developed with the Norma Elder Law Research Environment since the programme started – it was founded at the Law Faculty of Lund University in Sweden. “Elder Law”, says the author, is now seen as an “emerging research discipline in the European setting in terms of both conceptual and theoretical perspectives as well as elements of the law”. She goes on to say that the subject of her work provides “a deepened understanding of population ageing in terms of vulnerability, intergenerational conflict and solidarity, expert contributors highlight the necessity for a contextualized ageing concept”. As well as offering a comparative analysis of active ageing policies across the European Union, this book examines a range of topics including age discrimination in employment and the freedom of movement of EU citizens from the ageing individual's point of view. Much of this content will remain relevant for the foreseeable future notwithstanding Britain’s decision to leave the EU triggered in 2017. The book describes elder care developments, discussing the ageing individual's autonomy in relation to both traditional inheritance rights and growing instances of dementia. It has been printed in response to the increased presence of “ageing concerns” which were detected in both EU policies and its laws at the turn of the millennium. We agree that “Elder Law” is both an engaging and timely work. It is highly relevant to academic scholars and students in relevant areas of law as well as those studying across the social sciences at a time of increased importance for Elder Law across the world. The author also reviews a broad range of socio-legal issues in relation to demographic ageing and we think it will also act as general information for legal practitioners and policymakers alike in the decade to come. Thank you, Ann. The publication date is cited as at 2017.