Legal Theory Blog

Legal Theory Bookworm: "Public Nuisance" by Mullenix

The Legal Theory Bookworm recommends Public Nuisance by Linda S. Mullenix.  Here is a description:

In Public Nuisance, Linda Mullenix describes the landscape of 21st century mass tort litigation involving public harms – including lead paint, opioids, firearms, e-cigarettes, climate change, and environmental pollution – and the novel theory of public nuisance that lawyers and local governments have used to receive compensation from those who have created public nuisances. The book surveys conflicting judicial decisions rooted in common law and statutory interpretation and evaluates the competing arguments for and against the expansion of public nuisance law. Mullenix argues that that the development of public nuisance theory is part of the historical arc of mass tort litigation and suggests a middle approach to new public nuisance law, namely that we should embrace the common law and legislated public nuisance statutes.

And from the reviews:

‘Professor Linda Mullenix tells a compelling historical tale of the ‘new’ public nuisance law, tracing its beginnings in asbestos mass tort litigation to its current form in modern multi-district litigations over lead paint, opioids, firearms, and e-cigarettes. In an area rife with ideological disagreement, Mullenix cuts through the controversies and sets forth a well-reasoned ‘middle-ground’ approach, one that deftly combines the adaptive common law approach with statutory enactments grounded in democratic theory.’ Catherine M. Sharkey, Segal Family Professor of Regulatory Law and Policy, New York University School of Law; author of Public Nuisance as Modern Business Tort (70 DePaul Law Review 431 [2021])

‘A timely analysis of arguably the most significant development in tort law in recent years: the expansion of public nuisance doctrine to address a wide variety of mass claims, from opioids to guns to climate change. Texas Law Professor Linda Mullenix, whose scholarship encompasses both traditional doctrinal analysis and reports of developments ‘on the ground,’ turns her attention to the emergence of public nuisance doctrine as a tool for securing remediation and compensation for individuals, governments, and the public for harms stemming (primarily) from corporate actions. Deploying historical legal scholarship and contemporary case studies, Mullenix identifies the challenges the new litigation presents to trial and appellate courts, public attorneys general, and private entrepreneurial lawyers. An excellent resource for practitioners and jurists as well as law faculty teaching advanced courses in civil procedure and complex litigation.’ Deborah R. Hensler, Judge John W. Ford Professor of Dispute Resolution, Stanford Law School

‘This is a perceptive and insightful book about perhaps the most rapidly growing issue of complex litigation facing us today, written by THE national expert in the subject. It should become the Bible for anyone who toils in the exciting but frustrating field of public nuisance litigation.’ Martin H. Redish, Louis and Harriet Ancel Professor of Law and Public Policy, Northwestern University Pritzker School of Law; author of Wholesale Justice: Constitutional Democracy and the Problem of the Class Action Lawsuit

‘Linda Mullenix’s Public Nuisance: The New Mass Tort Frontier is a must-read book for anyone interested in or practicing law in the tort field. The book traces the historical evolution of the concept of public nuisance and focuses on the expansion of public nuisance in a number of leading litigations, including lead paint, opioids, firearms, e-cigarettes, and climate change. It is both a scholarly and practical analysis of the implications of public nuisance claims today and in the future.’ Sheila Birnbaum, Co-leader of the Products Liability and Mass Tort Group, Dechert LLP

‘This is an essential, insightful, and engaging account of the rediscovery and development of public nuisance in American litigation. Don’t miss it!’ Elizabeth Cabraser, Lieff, Cabraser, Heimann & Bernstein, Executive Committee and Plaintiffs’ Lead Negotiator, National Opiate Litigation; Executive Editor, The Law of Class Action: Fifty-State Survey 2023 (American Bar Association Class Action & Derivative Suits Committee)

Legal Theory Bookworm: "Decolonisation and Legal Knowledge" by Adébísí

The Legal Theory Bookworm recommends Decolonisation and Legal Knowledge: Reflections on Power and Possibility by Folúkẹ́ Adébísí.  Here is a description:

The law is heavily implicated in creating, maintaining, and reproducing racialised hierarchies which bring about and preserve acute global disparities and injustices. This essential book provides an examination of the meanings of decolonisation and explores how this examination can inform teaching, researching, and practising of law. It explores the ways in which the foundations of law are entangled in colonial thought and in its [re]production of ideas of commodification of bodies and space-time. Thus, it is an exploration of the ways in which we can use theories and praxes of decolonisation to produce legal knowledge for flourishing futures.

And from the reviews:

“A legal research and education book like no other! Immersing readers in interdisciplinary postcolonial theories and strategies, Adébísí powerfully dissects the colonial university and then imaginatively constructs an abundantly inclusive space to engage a new idea of law.” Patricia Tuitt, independent legal academic

 

Legal Theory Bookworm: "Constitutional Contagion" by Parmet

The Legal Theory Bookworm recommends Constitutional Contagion by Wendy E. Parmet.  Here is a description:

Constitutional law has helped make Americans unhealthy. Drawing from law, history, political theory, and public health research, Constitutional Contagion explores the history of public health laws, the nature of liberty and individual rights, and the forces that make a nation more or less vulnerable to contagion. In this groundbreaking work, Wendy Parmet documents how the Supreme Court departed from past practice to stymie efforts to mitigate the COVID-19 pandemic and demonstrates how pre-pandemic court decisions helped to shatter social contracts, weaken democracy, and perpetuate the inequities that made the United States especially vulnerable when COVID-19 struck. Looking at judicial decisions from an earlier era, Parmet argues that the Constitution does not compel the stark individualism and disregard of public health that is evident in contemporary constitutional law decisions. Parmet shows us why, if we are to be a healthy nation, constitutional law must change.

And from the reviews:

‘Constitutional Contagion is undoubtedly the single most important book on the outsized influence of the judiciary in the COVID-19 pandemic. Wendy Parmet has no equal in American public health law. Her book contains a nuanced explanation of how an increasingly aggressive conservative judiciary has curbed important public health powers during the pandemic. Prof Parmet has always fought for a careful balance between strong public health powers and sensitivity to privacy and liberty of citizens. We need to learn the lessons she is teaching, not just for COVID-19 but also for the next health crisis, which might occur sooner then we think. This book is a tour de force-essential reading for scholars and citizens who care about good public health governance.’ Lawrence Gostin, Georgetown University

‘Parmet’s incisive analysis will be an invaluable resource to experts and nonexperts alike as we all work together to reconstruct a viable balance between individual liberty and collective action to protect the public’s health.’ Lindsay F. Wiley, University of California, Los Angeles

‘This book confirms Wendy Parmet’s status as our leading interpreter of the judicial doctrines of public health - and our most powerful legal voice for recognizing the promotion and protection of public health as a defining purpose of government. Parmet clearly recounts the history and explains the importance of landmark cases, in a way that a reader does not need a law degree to understand or profit by.’ Scott Burris, Temple University

‘Constitutional Contagion is a compelling tour de force, and essential reading for anyone seeking to understand America’s fraught response to the COVID pandemic. No other scholar understands the legal and political conflicts better than Wendy Parmet. With clear, insightful explanation, Parmet shows us that thoughtful law and reasoned governance are possible even in the midst of a deadly pandemic. But to face a pandemic future, we must implement reforms now, rather than give in to the complacency that has so often followed serious outbreaks of contagious disease throughout our history.’ Polly Price, Emory University School of Law

Legal Theory Bookworm: "Research Handbook on Jurilinguistics," edited by Wagner & Matulewska

The Legal Theory Bookworm recommends Research Handbook on Jurilinguistics, edited by Anne Wagner & Aleksandra Matulewska.  Here is a description:

This Research Handbook offers a comprehensive study of jurilinguistics that not only presents the latest international research findings among academics and practitioners, but also provides a new approach to the phenomena and nature of communicative flexibility, legal genres, vulnerability of interlingual legal communication, and the cultural landscape of legal translation.

Chapters explore the theory of jurilinguistics investigating the features of a broad range of national discourses. Offering a unique perspective on the complex and dynamic relationship between language and the law, the impressive selection of contributors discuss the efficiency, flexibility and vulnerabilities of communication in legal settings. Anne Wagner and Aleksandra Matulewska approach the topic from a multidimensional standpoint, dealing with a myriad of topics, notably the general theory of jurilinguistics, the genres and characteristics of legal language, and the improvement of the quality of legal language.

This discerning Research Handbook will appeal to a variety of academics and researchers in law, translation, jurisprudence, applied linguistics, and rhetoric, looking to broaden their understanding of jurilinguistics as an interdisciplinary and cross-cultural operation. It will also serve as both a theoretical and practical resource for lawyers, legislators, lawyer-linguists, and legal translation specialists alike.

And from the reviews:

‘Featuring contributions from a distinguished group of scholars in the field from around the world, the international breadth and scope of the chapters in this collection is particularly valuable in a field which has increasing importance for global justice.’ -- Janet Ainsworth, Seattle University School of Law, US

‘With its focus upon the forefront of current research in language and law and its special focus upon critical aspects this Research Handbook is a gateway to the state of the art in the field. This characteristic is guaranteed through the choice of high-profiled researchers as authors.’ -- Jan Engberg, Aarhus University, Denmark

Legal Theory Bookworm: "Religious Liberty and the American Founding" by Muñoz

The Legal Theory Bookworm recommends Religious Liberty and the American Founding: Natural Rights and the Original Meanings of the First Amendment Religion Clauses by Vincent Phillip Muñoz.  Here is a description:

The Founders understood religious liberty to be an inalienable natural right. Vincent Phillip Muñoz explains what this means for church-state constitutional law, uncovering what we can and cannot determine about the original meanings of the First Amendment’s Religion Clauses and constructing a natural rights jurisprudence of religious liberty.

Drawing on early state constitutions, declarations of religious freedom, Founding-era debates, and the First Amendment’s drafting record, Muñoz demonstrates that adherence to the Founders’ political philosophy would lead neither to consistently conservative nor consistently liberal results. Rather, adopting the Founders’ understanding would lead to a minimalist church-state jurisprudence that, in most cases, would return authority from the judiciary to the American people. Thorough and convincing, Religious Liberty and the American Founding is key reading for those seeking to understand the Founders’ political philosophy of religious freedom and the First Amendment Religion Clauses.

And from the reviews:

"In Religious Liberty and the American Founding, Vincent Phillip Muñoz offers an intriguing new argument on the meaning of the religion clauses of the First Amendment of the U.S. Constitution. His unconventional argument is not likely to please anyone in the heated political and legal debates over religious liberty, but this book deserves a close reading from anyone interested in religious liberty juris-prudence, natural rights theory, or originalist approaches to constitutional interpretation." ― Keith E. Whittington, Perspectives on Politics

"This book is the culmination of a decade of Muñoz’s scholarship on the religion clauses of the First Amendment. Those who imagine there is nothing new and valuable to say on this much-analyzed topic should think again. Muñoz has written the best account in one place of the way in which the political theory of the founders regarding religious liberty connects with the delphic legal text of those clauses." ― Michael W. McConnell, First Things

"The importance of the First Amendment is universally understood. It is the most discussed part of the Constitution and the courts have ruled on its meaning many times. Muñoz argues persuasively, however, that scholars, lawyers, and judges have all done a consistently sloppy job of seeking to understand what the founders actually meant by the words they used." ― Journal of the American Revolution

"This book is an outstanding guide to the many schools of thought on religious liberty in the United States and in his argument for an inalienable natural rights understanding as the Founders’ most authoritative view, Muñoz convincingly shows that competing accounts (e.g., 'neutrality,' 'accommodation,' 'separation,' 'non-endorsement,' 'minimizing political division,' and 'tradition') do not capture the deepest understanding of the Founders’ thought." ― New Books Network

"Vincent Phillip Muñoz’s superb new book is an indispensable guide to the issue that will soon replace abortion as the most important point of contention in our constitutional law. . . . The relationship between church and state will become the defining concern of a new era in the courts. . . . The framers wrote the religion clauses of our Constitution to set the parameters, as best they could, for a healthy and noble balance between freedom and order. Recovering the original meanings of those clauses is essential if we are to restore that balance, and Vincent Phillip Muñoz’s book gives invaluable aid in that necessary task." ― Claremont Review of Books

"Phillip Muñoz, whose religion clauses scholarship is incredibly learned and thoughtful, now provides significant evidence of a natural rights basis for religious liberty in the American founding with a complete study in his new book, Religious Liberty and the American Founding. Muñoz contends, with deep support, that this natural rights foundation is the most historically accurate formulation of religious liberty." ― Law & Liberty

"Muñoz’s account exhibits impressive scholarship; it provides a lucid explanation of the Founders’ natural rights thinking; and the examination of constitutional texts is methodical and informative. The analysis of the legislative history of the Establishment Clause is as meticulous as any I have seen." ― Public Discourse

"Religious Liberty and the American Founding provides a superb analysis of the natural-rights thinking that undergirded the founders’ understanding of the relation between religion and government. Muñoz examines the moral premises, political ideas, and public debates that informed the Constitution’s best-known limitations on government’s power to regulate religion. His natural-rights constitutionalism yields results that at different junctures will discomfit the right and the left. But his analysis makes better sense of the Constitution’s promise of religious liberty than the major alternatives." ― RealClear Politics

"Vincent Phillip Muñoz’s lucid Religious Liberty and the American Founding provides one of the best treatments we have on the meaning of the religion clauses, despite the sometimes unclear records of their development. He delivers a compelling analysis of the state constitutional debates and their various comments about religious liberty....[His] review of what the Founders did—and did not—say about religious liberty, church-state relations, and natural rights is one of the best analyses I’ve ever seen on this sometimes perplexing historical topic." ― Action Institute

"In a field crowded with books on religious liberty, Muñoz’s is especially welcome because it perhaps uniquely relies on the natural rights theory of the founding and its implications for constitutional interpretation. It is a radical book, in both senses of that term. He makes bold claims, and he returns to the roots: natural rights, which he argues are the original meaning behind the legal original meaning." ― Thomas G. West, University Bookman

“This well-researched, thoughtful, and careful work seeks to illuminate how the founders understood both religious liberty and the separation of church and state. . . . Muñoz’s constructions of these [First Amendment religion] clauses yield intriguing results that do not line up neatly with any current jurisprudential approach to either religious liberty or the separation of church and state.” ― American Political Thought

“Muñoz’s exploration of the natural law foundations of religious liberty is highly illuminating. It is a model of how natural law analysis can be used to understand constitutional rights.”-- Philip Hamburger, Columbia Law School

“Muñoz offers a careful reconstruction of the original meaning of the religion clauses, scrupulously mapping the motives and concerns that animated the framers.  He vividly recreates their world and draws surprising contemporary implications from the constitutional text they wrote—implications that pose a serious challenge to the self-styled originalists on today’s Supreme Court.”-- Andrew Koppelman, author of "Defending American Religious Neutrality"

Legal Theory Bookworm: "The EU and Constitutional Time" by Fichera

The Legal Theory Bookworm recommends The EU and Constitutional Time: The Significance of Time in Constitutional Change by Massimo Fichera.  Here is a description:

This insightful book examines the inherent fragility of modern liberal constitutionalism and shows how it is in the nature of every constitutional community, including the European Union, to try to protract its own duration as much as possible. The book considers the strengths, weaknesses, tensions, and contradictions of European constitutionalism using the lens of constitutional time.

The author’s claim is that duration should not be sought just for its own sake: an internal link between constitutionalism and democracy should be ensured. He suggests two options to achieve this objective. The first centres on decision-making at the subnational or local level and by intermediate bodies, including cities and regions as well as political parties and private bodies. The second focuses on the promotion of socio-economic rights and welfare standards. Through these debates a theory of 'communal constitutionalism' is proposed – placing emphasis on the role of future generations. Combining temporal and reflexive dimensions it addresses the questions of how to be 'secure' and what it means for the EU polity to be 'secure'.

This expertly crafted book will be essential reading for students and scholars of constitutional and administrative law, European law, and legal theory. It will also be of interest to political scientists looking at European constitutionalism and sociologists interested in the development of law beyond the State.

And from the reviews:

‘Massimo Fichera examines the constitutional dimensions of the European Union in this learned and intellectually rich volume. He explains but also challenges many familiar constitutional concepts and categories. This book brims with ideas and is critical reading for anyone concerned with the problems and promises of modern constitutionalism.’ -- Richard Kay, University of Connecticut, US

‘Massimo Fichera has produced a highly original and enlightening extended essay on the way in which the passage of time is factored into the constitutional imaginary both of the modern State and of the ‘postmodern’ European Union. In so doing, he offers an important response to those voices – theoretical and practical – that doubt the capacity of Europe to frame a common political future.’ -- Neil Walker, University of Edinburgh, UK

‘This book defends the ambitious thesis that if constitutions articulate what a collective commits to over time, so, too, different interpretations of the temporality of commitment inform different constitutional ideal types. The fractal temporality of communal constitutionalism is well suited, to deal with the challenges of societal commitment in multi-level governance.’ -- Hans Lindahl, Tilburg University, the Netherlands, and Queen Mary University of London, UK

Legal Theory Bookworm: "Structural Injustice" by Powers & Faden

The Legal Theory Bookworm recommends Structural Injustice by Madison Powers & Ruth Faden.  Here is a description:

Madison Powers and Ruth Faden here develop an innovative theory of structural injustice that links human rights norms and fairness norms. Norms of both kinds are grounded in an account of well-being. Their well-being account provides the foundation for human rights, explains the depth of unfairness of systematic patterns of disadvantage, and locates the unfairness of power relations in forms of control some groups have over the well-being of other groups. They explain how human rights violations and structurally unfair patterns of power and advantage are so often interconnected.

Unlike theories of structural injustice tailored for largely benign social processes, Powers and Faden's theory addresses typical patterns of structural injustice-those in which the wrongful conduct of identifiable agents creates or sustains mutually reinforcing forms of injustice. These patterns exist both within nation-states and across national boundaries. However, this theory rejects the claim that for a structural theory to be broadly applicable both within and across national boundaries its central claims must be universally endorsable. Instead, Powers and Faden find support for their theory in examples of structural injustice around the world, and in the insights and perspectives of related social movements. Their theory also differs from approaches that make enhanced democratic decision-making or the global extension of republican institutions the centerpiece of proposed remedies. Instead, the theory focuses on justifiable forms of resistance in circumstances in which institutions are unwilling or unable to address pressing problems of injustice.

The insights developed in Structural Injustice will interest not only scholars and students in a range of disciplines from political philosophy to feminist theory and environmental justice, but also activists and journalists engaged with issues of social justice.

And from the reviews:

"a profound and fascinating essay on the structural injustices shaking our times... genuinely a philosophical essay. Yet one of its most significant merits is that it is written for various audiences, including researchers in bioethics and public health ethics, political philosophers, journalists, and activists." -- Ryoa Chung, Hastings Center Report

"This is an urgently needed book. Madison Powers and Ruth Faden have constructed a powerfully reasoned, deeply learned, and richly perceptive theory that places the problem of structural injustice at the heart of political philosophy... The authors make conceptual breakthroughs that open new perspectives on old debates, and they write with authority and clarity on every issue they address. Their discussion is filled with wisdom and discernment, informed by a deep understanding of philosophical and social science literatures. I hope this book influences scholars, activists, policymakers, and the public at large; it should be widely studied and discussed, its arguments and insights put to productive use." -- Jamie Mayerfeld, Ethics and International Affairs

"The notion of 'structural injustice' is now commonplace among academics and activists, but this book is rare in giving it a rigorous philosophical elucidation, tying it to human rights violations, unfair disadvantage, and unfair power relations. It is a book richly informed by contemporary philosophical debates, yet written in a clear and accessible style with plenty of references to real-world examples. And it is attentive to the global dimension of the structural injustices that disfigure the contemporary world. It is a model of what philosophy that is engaged with realworld problems can be." -- John Tasioulas, University of Oxford

Legal Theory Bookworm: "The Right to Exclude" by Desautels-Stein

The Legal Theory Bookworm recommends The Right to Exclude: A Critical Race Approach to Sovereignty, Borders, and International Law by Justin Desautels-Stein.  Here is a description:

In a world in which racism and xenophobia are endemic, what is the role of international law? To the extent international rules are thought to have any relevance at all, the typical approach characterizes international law as on the side of racial justice. Human rights instruments like the United Nations' International Convention on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination are paradigmatic, offering the world international agreements in which governments are directed to avoid racist behavior and promote antiracist action.

In The Right to Exclude, Justin Desautels-Stein goes against the grain and asks whether certain rules of international law might actually produce structures of racial hierarchy, rather than work to limit them. The intellectual fulcrum for this production, Desautels-Stein argues, lies in the ideological structures of sovereignty and property, the right to exclude that is shared in those twinned precincts, and the border regimes that result. Applying critical race theory to contemporary problems of migration, nationalism, multiculturalism, decolonization, and self-determination, Desautels-Stein expounds a theory of "postracial xenophobia", a structure of racial ideology that justifies and legitimates a pragmatic account of racialized foreignness, a racial xenos.

Legal Theory Bookworm: "A Rule of Law for Our New Age of Anxiety" by Toope

The Legal Theory Bookworm recommends A Rule of Law for Our New Age of Anxiety by Stephen J Toope.  Here is a description:

Taking Auden's Age of Anxiety as a leitmotiv and drawing on literature from law, philosophy, political theory, international relations, and sociology, Toope argues with passion that a renewed faith in the rule of law can address troubling developments in our own anxious times: populist nationalism; globalisation; and disruptive technologies with their dominating platforms. We can address anxiety by bolstering social resilience, drawing upon a plural intellectual heritage. That heritage reveals a unique type of 'authority' in society, 'epistemic practical authority' built up continuously through social discourse and action, shifting focus from the state of 'being' to the dynamic of 'becoming.' What is law's role in this world? The modest, yet powerful, version of the rule of law advocated here is one that draws on a wellspring of practical wisdom - prudence gleaned from pragmatic experience. It chastens power, while not disconnecting law from other sources of social action and human agency.

And from the reviews:

‘One of the most brilliant books I have read on the profound sources and contemporary drivers of our current age of anxiety. Stephen J. Toope’s suggestion of a practice-oriented pragmatist rule of law to contribute to remedying the predicament is sensible and normatively imperative.’ Emanuel Adler, Professor Emeritus of Political Science, Bronfman Chair of Israeli Studies, Emeritus, University of Toronto

‘In our deeply troubled world, Stephen J. Toope has performed the astonishing feat of providing an optimistic yet deeply pragmatic account of how the rule of law can, properly understood, help us to navigate the many perils that lie ahead.’ David Dyzenhaus, University Professor of Law and Philosophy, University of Toronto

‘A wise, humble and compassionate vision of the law as a social practice committed to solve the problems facing democracies in an age of anxiety.’ Michael Ignatieff, Central European University, Vienna

‘Considering the pressures university leaders live 24/7, especially in the last two years, it is a stupendous accomplishment. My guess is that for decades to come Professor Toope will be publicly feted and quietly hated by all university presidents and provosts.’ Peter J. Katzenstein, Cornell University

‘Drawing on a variety of disciplines and approaches, Stephen J. Toope suggests saving the rule of law from itself and its many discontents by developing a largely procedural version, sensitive to a diversity of demands of time and place. Viewing law predominantly as a social practice involving not just lawyers but also citizens, activists, politicians, journalists and others, Toope develops a pragmatic notion of the rule of law, built around the Aristotelian idea of ‘practical wisdom’. In doing so, he offers an inspiring vision on law and its importance in times of populism, digitalisation, climate change, and other profound challenges. Lucidly written, A Rule of Law for Our New Age of Anxiety is an insightful meditation by one of the most respected academic leaders worldwide.’ Jan Klabbers, University of Helsinki

‘A lifelong exemplar of scholarship, principle, university leadership, and humble decency, Stephen J. Toope believes in simple truths, calmly held and passionately implemented. Here he argues compellingly that our answer to such disruptive anxieties as authoritarian populist nationalism and jarring technological change must be renewed commitment to the rule of law, informed by honest social discourse about lessons learned from our shared history of making progress together.’ Harold Hongju Koh, Sterling Professor of International Law and former Dean, Yale Law School. Legal Adviser, United States Department of State (2009–13), Assistant Secretary of State, Democracy, Human Rights and Labor (1998–2001)

‘That an ideal can be at once modest and precious is a thought too rarely entertained. This intelligent, humane and wide-ranging work shows that the rule of law, conceived as a community of ‘anchoring [legal] practices - a constellation of ideas, discourses and concrete actions’ rather than just an instrument of power, can be both. Modest because it is only one practice among many; precious as indispensable foundation for the best of the others. A welcome tonic for an ‘age of anxiety’.’ Martin Krygier, AM Gordon Samuels Professor of Law and Social Theory, UNSW Sydney and Senior Research Fellow, CEU Democracy Institute, Budapest

Legal Theory Bookworm: "Feminist Human Rights" by Hessler

The Legal Theory Bookworm recommends Feminist Human Rights: A Political Approach by Kristen Hessler.  Here is a description:

In Feminist Human Rights: A Political Approach, Kristen Hessler argues that the proper task of philosophical human rights theory is to theorize the multiple, contested moral visions of human rights that animate the practice itself. Drawing on a broadly pragmatist methodology, Hessler demonstrates that unjust social hierarchies concealed by entrenched ideologies can be exposed by the activism of marginalized groups for their own human rights, and the resulting understandings of human rights morality can then be realized in law. This more inclusive process both overcomes a significant obstacle to fulfilling human rights in practice and contributes to a fuller theoretical understanding of human rights morality in the abstract. Hessler closely analyzes an extended case study of the jurisprudence on crimes of rape and sexual violence in the ad hoc international criminal tribunals for Rwanda and the former Yugoslavia. By centering the voices of women testifying about their experiences of violence, and insisting that their experiences deserved accountability, the tribunals initiated a process of legal and social reform. This complex process constitutes a form of social moral discovery that illuminates human rights morality in light of long-ignored realities of women’s experiences.

And from the reviews:

Kristen Hessler persuasively argues that the practice of human rights can and must be viewed as a source of moral knowledge. The book offers an elegant, much-needed reimagining of the relationship between philosophical theorizing and human rights and of the role of moral theory in human rights practice. Feminist Human Rights: A Political Approach gives one of the clearest and most useful overviews of the dominant approaches to human rights in philosophical literatures out there. Using a self-consciously feminist methodology Hessler effectively explains both why the dominant approaches are so attractive to so many and why a comprehensive reimagining of these approaches is necessary. Hessler dismantles both the conceit that a “purely theoretical” conception of the moral underpinning of human rights is possible or desirable and the misconception that any concept intended to guide action – like a human right – can be adequately theorized without critical moral reflection. Hessler’s use of examples from international humanitarian law demonstrates the value of feminist practice and methodology for human rights. In championing the conceptual significance of how human rights are used, modified, and expanded by practitioners and social movements, Hessler makes a persuasive case for a practice-based, genuinely interdisciplinary approach to normative theorizing.-- Cindy Holder, University of Victoria

Kristen Hessler’s book is an important contribution to the philosophy of human rights, and appeals to a wide, interdisciplinary audience. The book is especially affective in arguing that, to better illuminate the theory and practice of human rights, philosophers should work in close contact with legal scholars, social scientists, and activists.-- Pablo Gilabert, Concordia University

Feminist Human Rights: A Political Approach envisions a process of moral discovery where philosophers and practitioners of human rights engage in a common moral discourse to reach a full understanding of human rights. While most philosophical inquiries keep social and political realities at arm’s length, Kristen Hessler provides a skillful account of the complementary relationship between theory and practice in the specification of human rights norms. With a careful study of the prosecution of sexual crimes in international criminal tribunals, Hessler makes the compelling case that the voices of marginalized groups, victims and activists working in the trenches of social and legal reform are essential to the production of moral knowledge. Hessler brings a significant methodological innovation to the philosophy of human rights and exposes the epistemic risks of theorizing about human rights independently of the moral insights emerging from the practice. This book offers an inspiring model of theoretical research that successfully integrates strong commitments to both moral truth and moral progress-- Eun-Jung Katherine Kim, Wayne State University