Discrimination Law (Clarendon Law Series) - Hardcover

Fredman FBA, Sandra

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0199584427 ISBN 13: 9780199584420

Publisher: Oxford University Press, 2011

Synopsis

Equality is an ideal to which we all aspire. Yet the more closely we examine it, the more its meaning shifts. How do we explain how equal treatment can in effect lead to inequality, while unequal treatment might be necessary in order to achieve equality? The apparent paradox can be understood if we accept that equality can be formulated in different ways, depending on which underlying conception is chosen. In this highly readable yet challenging book, Sandra Fredman examines the ways in which discrimination law addresses these questions.

The new edition retains the format of the highly successful first edition, while incorporating the many new developments in discrimination law since 2002, including the Equality Act 2010, human rights law, and EU law. By using a thematic approach, the book illuminates the major issues in discrimination law, while at the same time imparting a detailed understanding of the legal provisions. The comparative approach is particularly helpful; by examining comparable law in the US, India, Canada, and South Africa, as well as the UK, the book exposes common problems and canvasses differing solutions. As in the previous edition, the book locates discrimination in its wider social and historical context. Drawing on the author's wide experience of equality law in many jurisdictions, she creates an analytic framework to assess the substantive law.

The book is a thought-provoking and accessible overview of the way in which equality law has adjusted to new and increasingly complex challenges. It concludes that progress has been evident, but uneven. Those dedicated to equality still face an exacting, but ultimately deeply rewarding, task.

About this title

About the Author

Sandra Fredman is Professor of Law at the University of Oxford and a Fellow of Exeter College. She is also a Fellow of the British Academy and an Honorary Professor of the University of Cape Town. She is the author and editor of numerous books, including Human Rights Transformed: Positive Rights and Positive Duties (OUP 2008) and Discrimination and Human Rights: The Case of Racism (ed, OUP 2001). She is also a practicing barrister at Old Square Chambers (UK).

Review

"This second, updated and expanded, edition of Professor Fredman's treatise on discrimination law is most welcome. Her lucid, practical exposition of the tough concepts and decisions in this field is indispensable to both practitioners and academics who must grapple with its problems. Most importantly, to her whole treatment she brings an illuminating understanding of the values of social justice and human dignity that powerfully underlie laws against discrimination."
--Edwin Cameron, Justice of the Constitutional Court of South Africa

"Equality law is one of the most difficult areas of modern law, yet Sandra Fredmanšs Discrimination Law is a model of clarity. It untangles the complex theoretical debates underlying discrimination law, gives a lucid account of the legal principles informing equality legislation, including the new Equality Act, and undertakes a careful analysis of relevant UK and European case law. Throughout, the book draws on Indian, South African, Canadian and US discrimination law and jurisprudence to provide rich comparative insights"
--Kate O'Regan, Judge of the Constitutional Court of South Africa, 1994-2009

About this edition

• Publisher: Oxford University Press
• Publication date: 2011
• ISBN 10: 0199584427
• ISBN 13: 9780199584420
• Binding: Hardcover
• Edition number: 2
• Number of pages: 384