Law in Times of Crisis Emergency Powers in Theory and Practice

The terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001, and the ensuing 'war on terror' have focused attention on issues that have previously lurked in a dark corner at the edge of the legal universe. This book presents the first systematic and comprehensive attempt by legal scholars to conceptualize the theory of emergency powers, combining post-September 11 developments with more general theoretical, historical and comparative perspectives.

The authors examine the interface between law and violent crises through history and across jurisdictions, bringing together insights gleaned from the Roman republic and Jewish law through to the initial responses to the July 2005 attacks in London. Three unique models of emergency powers are used to offer a novel conceptualization of emergency regimes, giving a coherent insight into law's interface with and regulation of crisis and a distinctive means to evaluate the legal options open to states for dealing with crises.

• Presents three key conceptual models within which emergency powers can be classified and understood, which allows for a complex and diverse legal field to be more readily understood by lawyers and non-lawyers alike
• Provides a unique combination of both domestic and international law analysis concerning emergency powers, making it of great usefulness to academics, policy makers and teachers
• Examines highly contentious legal and policy issues in a systematic and novel way. By setting out a structured (and new) conceptual framework within which these issues can be addressed, readers are given an invaluable tool for evaluating current legal and political debates about crisis