New ebooks purchased in June and July

A selection of law e-books were purchased between 15 June - 15 July, in association with the ebooks@cambridge team. These are all available through iDiscover, and include:

If You're a Classical Liberal, How Come You're Also an Egalitarian? : A Theory of Rule Egalitarianism, by Åsbjørn Melkevik (Palgrave Macmillan, 2020)

Classical liberalism has wrongly been regarded as an ideology that rejects the welfare state. In this book, Åsbjørn Melkevik corrects this common reading of the classical liberal tradition by introducing a theory of “rule egalitarianism”. Not only is classical liberalism compatible with social justice, but it can also help us understand why some egalitarian endeavours are an essential feature of a market society. If a necessary link exists between the classical liberal tradition and the moral and institutional dimensions of the rule of law, then this tradition is bound to uphold a substantial form of social justice. Coherence requires that classical liberals like Friedrich Hayek and Milton Friedman adopt an authentic egalitarian program. They should ameliorate poverty and limit inequality not merely out of prudence or collective self-interest, but for the natural justice of ongoing social cooperation as well as for the impartiality of market institutions.

Peoples' Rights: Gruppenrechte im Völkerrecht : Theorie und Praxis des kollektiven Menschenrechtsschutzes in Afrika, Amerika und Europa, by Julia Kriesel (Mohr Siebeck, 2020)

Julia Kriesel undertakes a comparative legal analysis of the African, American and European human rights systems. 

Privacy-Invading Technologies and Privacy by Design: Safeguarding Privacy, Liberty and Security in the 21st Century, by Demetrius Klitou (T.M.C. Asser Press, 2014)

Challenged by rapidly developing privacy-invading technologies (PITs), this book provides a convincing set of potential policy recommendations and practical solutions for safeguarding both privacy and security. It shows that benefits such as public security do not necessarily come at the expense of privacy and liberty overall. Backed up by comprehensive study of four specific PITs - Body scanners; Public space CCTV microphones; Public space CCTV loudspeakers; and Human-implantable microchips (RFID implants / GPS implants) - the author shows how laws that regulate the design and development of PITs may more effectively protect privacy than laws that only regulate data controllers and the use of such technologies. New rules and regulations should therefore incorporate fundamental privacy principles through what is known as 'Privacy by Design'. The numerous sources explored by the author provide a workable overview of the positions of academia, industry, government and relevant international organizations and NGOs.

Sentencing: New Trajectories in Law, by Elaine A. O. Freer (Routledge, 2021)

This book examines the process and purpose of sentencing in the criminal justice system, beyond the confines of its legalistic aspects. Sentencing is the process that concludes any criminal trial that ends with the defendant being convicted, and any hearing in which a defendant pleads guilty. Those convicted of a crime have been subject to sentencing as the method of imposing a punishment for their offences since the earliest existence of anything we would recognise as a criminal justice system. Yet the rationale behind sentencing, and the process by which it happens, has long been viewed through a traditional lens. In contrast, this book considers not just the process by which a Judge arrives at a numerical sentence of months in custody or the amount of a fine, but the wider meanings and effects of sentencing, as seen through the lens of various ideas of social justice. This book will appeal to students, academics, and legal practitioners who wish to consider a different perspective on the well-known and well-researched, but often shifting, area of sentencing. 

The Paris Agreement on Climate Change: A Commentary, edited by Geert van Calster and Leonie Reins (Edward Elgar, 2021) 

Providing in-depth coverage of each article of the Paris Agreement, this Commentary offers a comprehensive, legal analysis of this most recent and important international instrument on climate change. This provision-by-provision textual analysis examines the commitments that parties to the Agreement have made to undertake ambitious efforts to combat climate change and adapt to its effects, whilst providing additional support to developing countries.

All of these e-books are available to current University of Cambridge staff and students with a Raven password. A full list of e-book platforms can be viewed via the ebooks@cambridge LibGuide.