Author:
Sheldon Sally,Davis Gayle,O'Neill Jane,Parker Clare
Abstract
AbstractIn this paper, we set out what it means to offer a ‘biography’ of a law, illustrating the discussion through the example of the Abortion Act (1967), an important statute that has regulated a highly controversial field of practice for five decades. Biography is taken as a useful shorthand for an approach which requires simultaneous attention to continuity and change in the historical study of a law's life. It takes seriously the insight that written norms are rooted in the past, enshrining a certain set of historically contingent values and practices, yet that – as linguistic structures that can impact on the world only through acts of interpretation – they are simultaneously constantly evolving. It acknowledges the complex, ongoing co-constitution of law and the contexts within which it operates, recognising that understanding how law works requires historical, empirical study. Finally, it suggests that consideration of a law can offer a unique window through which to explore these broader contexts.
Publisher
Cambridge University Press (CUP)
Reference61 articles.
1. The Abortion Act: what has changed?;Finnis;Crim L Rev,1971
2. Policing the Crisis
Cited by
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