The Oxford Handbook of Legal History (Hardcover)

Reviews

"My review" by Phillip T. - 22 October 2018

HIGH LEVEL CONCEPTUAL AND THEMATIC STATEMENTS ACROSS OUR LEGAL HISTORY: A NEW HANDBOOK FROM OXFORD UNIVERSITY PRESS An appreciation by Elizabeth Robson Taylor of Richmond Green Chambers and Phillip Taylor MBE, Head of Chambers and Reviews Editor, “The Barrister” Sadly, the study of legal history remains ignored in many teaching circles because it is seen as boring. Not so, and we are delighted to read this new handbook from Oxford University Press. It’s concise, detailed and has the benefit of fifty-nine main contributions which attempt what many may consider the impossible: a complete analysis of our legal history in just over one thousand pages. The editors, Markus D Dubber and Christopher Tomlins, describe the purpose of their compilation, stating that “some of the most exciting and innovative legal scholarship has been driven by historical curiosity”. We would add that, quite often, the history of law has been given insufficient emphasis in the past except when one studies areas such as land law which has always been the cornerstone of legal dispute in so many jurisdictions. Dubber and Tomlins view legal history today by what they call it as a “fascinating array of shapes and sizes, from microhistory to global intellectual history”. So, the breadth of research can be a rather tall order. “Legal history”, they comment, “has expanded beyond traditional parochial boundaries to become increasingly international and comparative in scope and orientation”. Thus, the title justifies our somewhat controversial view of the rising importance of legal history in 21st century. This handbook is based on scholarship from across the world. The learned contributors offer a variety of methodological approaches from their own areas of expertise and their own research agendas. It’s rightly described as “a timely compendium” which evaluates legal history and methodology anew adding high academic commentary on the various modes of the historical analysis of law, past, present, and future. The handbook is divided into five parts. Part I looks at the relationship between legal history and its related historical perspectives from economic, philosophical, sociological and comparative studies, to literary, and rhetorical approaches. In Part II, the contributors consider various approaches to legal history which we feel research students will find highly informative. Part III goes on to focus upon “the interrelation between legal history and jurisprudence by investigating the role and conception of historical inquiry in various models, schools, and movements of legal thought”. In other words, what might be considered suitable aspects of the philosophy of law. Part IV considers the place and pursuit of historical analysis in various legal systems and traditions across time, cultures, and space. To conclude, Part V offers a clear focus on the exploration of several examples of legal history over the years, plus how it can be used in various legal doctrinal contexts (always a bit of a risk!). We thought, when reading this work, that the contributors had sought to climb a particularly high hill with their subject matter. Unlike Sisyphus, however, the team have completed their trip around legal history brilliantly and, to use a phrase, have thankfully left no stone unturned. Thank you for this splendid, detailed and varied research. The publication date is cited as at 23rd October 2018.