THE FUTURE OF POLICE AUTHORITIES: MEMBERS VIEWS

Part of the argument about police accountability concerns the role of police authorities, their membership and powers. The Conservative, Alliance and Labour Parties have developed policies which are broadly retentionist – leave things as they are – reformist – change the membership – and radical – empower police authorities to determine policy. The evidence suggests that police authority members' views, though broadly consistent with their party policies nationally, differ in some important respects. Conservatives are increasingly unhappy about the statutory co-option of magistrates. Alliance members appear not to favour an increase in the proportion of nonelected members. And many Labour councillors entertain doubts about the control model.     

HOBBES AND THE RIGHT OF SELF-DEFENCE

Abstract. The weakness of the Hobbesian sovereign which arises out of what the individual can do in his own defence is well established. What has not been examined is the attempts Hobbes makes to counter this and that is the concern of this article. He appeals to the individual to exercise caution on three distinct grounds: on grounds of gallantry, on grounds of'reasonability'and finally by reference to theology. Each appeal is examined and each is seen to fail. Such is Hobbes's insistence on Passion and Will as the basis of society that he finds it impossible to appeal to Reason and Nature to temper its exercise.     

Of Mines,Mining, and Imagining: Rights without Society?

As a polyvocal discipline that integrates studies of law in society, socio-legal studies should have no problem accommodating civil liberties and human rights. Numerous methodologies and frameworks present themselves as illuminating, troubling, and critiquing conceptions and experiences of rights. Legal analysis of human rights is nevertheless often abstract and highly technical. But what if socio-legal analyses of rights were not available? What would be lacking? Using a personal situated methodological approach, I explore the Journal of Law and Society's back catalogue to reflect on what civil liberties and human rights might be without socio-legal studies.