GSXR Compilation 156

1. Ancient Law - by Sir Henry Maine 1861

The growth of human ideas and the origins of human society. Its object is to reveal some of the earliest ideas of mankind, reflected in Ancient Law, to point out the relation of those ideas to later thought. Early society, reflected in the law, begins with the group (the family), not with the individual.

Contents:

* 1: Ancient Codes
* 2: Legal Fictions
* 3: Law of Nature and Equity
* 4: Modern History of Law of Nature
* 5: Primitive Society and Ancient Law
* 6: Early History of Testamentary Succession
* 7: Ancient Ideas Respecting Wills and Succession
* 8: Early History of Property
* 9: Early History of Contract
* 10: Early History of Delict and Crime

2. The Philosophy of Positive Law: Foundations of Jurisprudence - James Bernard Murphy

In this first book-length study of positive law, James Bernard Murphy rewrites central chapters in the history of jurisprudence by uncovering a fundamental continuity among four great legal philosophers: Plato, Thomas Aquinas, Thomas Hobbes, and John Austin. In their theories of positive law, Murphy argues, these thinkers represent successive chapters in a single fascinating story. That story revolves around a fundamental ambiguity: is law positive because it is deliberately imposed (as opposed to customary law) or because it lacks moral necessity (as opposed to natural law)? These two senses of positive law are not coextensive yet the discourse of positive law oscillates unstably between them. What, then, is the relation between being deliberately imposed and lacking moral necessity? Murphy demonstrates how the discourse of positive law incorporates both normative and descriptive dimensions of law, and he discusses the relation of positive law not only to jurisprudence but also to the philosophy of language, ethics, theories of social order, and biblical law.

3. THE ALIEN DIGEST: A GENERAL OVERVIEW OF THE UFO SCENE

UFO ABDUCTIONS
Disappearing Ships and Crews
The Invisible War
UFO Sightings and Abductions
World Wars III and IV
Pentagon Plan for Space War
Bigfoot Creatures and UFOs
Also:
The Roper Report
Underground Oddities
A History of the Giza Intelligence Group
Silent Invasion
Abductions
And more...

4. The Law of Maintenance: The Judicial Development of the Law

Maintenance is, where any Man gives or deliver[s] to another, that is Plaintiff or
Defendant in any Action, any Sum of Money or other Thing, to maintain his
plea, or takes great Pains for him when hath Nothing therewith to do;

5. SOURCES AND DEFINITIONS OF CONTRACT LAW

§ 1.01 What is a Contract?

A contract is formed in any transaction in which one or both parties make a legally
enforceable promise. A promise is a commitment or undertaking that a given event will
or will not occur in the future and may be express or implied from conduct or language
and conduct. A promise is legally enforceable where it:
• was made as part of a bargain for valid consideration;
• reasonably induced the promisee to rely on the promise to his detriment; or
• is deemed enforceable by a statute despite the lack of consideration.

§ 1.02 Types of Contracts

Contract may be of the following types:
1) Express – an agreement manifested by words
2) Implied-in-fact – an agreement manifested by conduct
3) Implied-in-law ("quasi-contract") – not a true contract but an obligation imposed
by a court despite the absence of a promise in order to avoid an injustice

§ 1.03 Sources of Contract Law

1) Common Law – in most jurisdictions, contract law is not codified, and thus the
primary source of general contract law is caselaw.

2) Restatement – written by the American Law Institute to provide guidance to the
bench and bar, the Restatement of Contracts (currently in the second edition) has
no legal force but nevertheless provides highly persuasive authority.

3) Uniform Commercial Code (UCC) – created under the auspices of the
American Law Institute and the National Conference of Commissioners on
Uniform State Laws, has been adopted by every state except Louisiana. Proposed
revisions to Article 2, governing contracts for the sale of goods, have been
finalized and presented to the states for enactment.

4) United Nations Convention on Contracts for the International Sale of Goods
(CISG) – ratified by many of the leading trading nations including the United
States and China (but not the United Kingdom and Japan), it governs many
transactions for the sale of goods between parties with places of business in
different nations.

6. TOWARD A REFORMULATION OF THE LAW OF CONTRACTS

7. The Harmonization of Contract Law through European Rules: a Law and Economics Perspective

1. Introduction
2. Some plausible benefits from adopting harmonizing instruments of European Contract Law
2.1. Efficiency in economic relationships
2.2. Reducing transaction costs in cross-border trade
2.3. Economies of scale in legal reform
3. The potential costs of adopting harmonizing instruments on European Contract Law
3.1. Heterogeneity of preferences and economic conditions
3.2. Process goes beyond mere codification, for better and for worse
3.3. A complex game in which legislator interacts with contracting parties and Courts
3.4. The lack of clear behavioral models on contracting behavior
3.5. The insufficient use of empirical knowledge on contracting behavior
4. Conclusions
References

8. The making of contracts - consideration

The problem here is how to deal with the enforcement of gratuitous promises. A
gratuitous promise means a promise for which the promisee does nothing in return.
Every legal system recognises that to enforce all gratuitous promises would be
undesirable, since there is too great a risk that the promisor may have given his word
lightly on the spur of the moment and without proper re?ection, for example to
extricate himself from an awkward or embarrassing situation. Agratuitous promise
will therefore only be enforced if it was made in a way which shows that the promisor
must have known what he was doing and intended to be legally bound.
In English law this is done by saying that a promise will not be enforced unless it is
either made by deed or ‘supported by consideration’. The traditional method of
making a deed, dating from the Middle Ages, was to attach a seal to the document
and then hand it over (‘signed, sealed and delivered’) so that a promise in a deed was
often referred to as a promise ‘under seal’. However, the law was changed by the Law
of Property (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 1989, so that a deed made by an
individual no longer requires a seal, though the signature must be witnessed. If a
promise is made by deed it is binding, even though gratuitous, because the promisor’s
use of the formality of a deed amply demonstrates the seriousness of the transaction.
Although consideration usually implies the giving of something of value in return for
the promise, so that the promise is not gratuitous, it is important to realise that it is a
major function of the doctrine of consideration to enable economically gratuitous
promises to be made enforceable without even a deed through the device of nominal
(or minimal) consideration, as where Aagrees to sell his new Rolls Royce to B for £1.
It may seem paradoxical but consideration is best thought of as essentially a formality,
like a deed, and certainly not as a concept related to real economic value.

9. Extraterrestrials: Where Are They 1995

Is it possible that extraterrestrial life forms exist within our Galaxy, the Milky Way? This book offers a critical analysis by leading experts in a range of sciences, of the plausibility that other intelligent lifeforms do exist. Exploration of the Solar System, and observations with telescopes that probe deep space, have come up empty handed in searches for evidence of extraterrestrial life. Many experts in the fields of astronomy, biology, chemistry and physics are now arguing that the evidence points to the conclusion that technological civilisations are rare. After ten billion years, and among hundreds of billions of stars, we may well possess the most advanced brains in the Milky Way Galaxy. This second edition contains many new and updated aspects of extraterrestrial research, especially the biological viewpoint of the question.

• Completely scientific presentation, robustly argued • Contact with an extraterrestrial civilisation would be the most dramatic scientific discovery of all time • Second edition is thoroughly up to date and includes new research

10. Encyclopedia of Adaptations in the Natural World 2009

Welcome to the amazing world of adaptations, where species—including humans—develop fascinating new capabilities to ensure a competitive edge in their environment, or in some cases, survival itself. Encyclopedia of Adaptations in the Natural World is a wide-ranging catalog of the most important of those adaptations—from photosynthesis to the the peculiar vampire-like behavior of the tiny life form called the prion.

The seven chapters in the Encyclopedia cover the key survival challenges all organisms face. Entries within those chapters cover specific adaptations from all forms of life, including animals, plants, bacteria, algae, fungi, and viruses. For each adaptation, the book also describes a related technological breakthrough in the human world, showing how engineers today study natural processes to help them develop new inventions.

11. Nonsense on Stilts: How to Tell Science from Bunk 2010

Recent polls suggest that fewer than 40 percent of Americans believe in Darwin’s theory of evolution, despite it being one of science’s best-established findings. More and more parents are refusing to vaccinate their children for fear it causes autism, though this link can been consistently disproved. And about 40 percent of Americans believe that the threat of global warming is exaggerated, despite near consensus in the scientific community that manmade climate change is real.

Why do people believe bunk? And what causes them to embrace such pseudoscientific beliefs and practices? Noted skeptic Massimo Pigliucci sets out to separate the fact from the fantasy in this entertaining exploration of the nature of science, the borderlands of fringe science, and—borrowing a famous phrase from philosopher Jeremy Bentham—the nonsense on stilts. Presenting case studies on a number of controversial topics, Pigliucci cuts through the ambiguity surrounding science to look more closely at how science is conducted, how it is disseminated, how it is interpreted, and what it means to our society. The result is in many ways a “taxonomy of bunk” that explores the intersection of science and culture at large.

No one—not the public intellectuals in the culture wars between defenders and detractors of science nor the believers of pseudoscience themselves—is spared Pigliucci’s incisive analysis. In the end, Nonsense on Stilts is a timely reminder of the need to maintain a line between expertise and assumption. Broad in scope and implication, it is also ultimately a captivating guide for the intelligent citizen who wishes to make up her own mind while navigating the perilous debates that will affect the future of our planet.