This book offers a new perspective on public law and public policies. The collection of papers gathered here begins with an in-depth discussion on gender perspectives in constitutional law, which can support gender justice, but also perpetuate patriarchal norms. The book then analyzes the role of the European Ombudsman in the area of gender discrimination. Despite its limited jurisdiction, this institution has become a significant complementary tool in the protection of gender equality and the elimination of gender discrimination at the EU level. Particular attention is paid to the importance of mainstreaming gender into public policies. Thus, the legal and institutional frameworks of Spain and Serbia are presented, which can serve as an inspiration to other countries. Another important aspect covered in the book is an analysis of systemic differences between the average wages of women and men in the six countries of the Western Balkans. In turn, the book presents a discussion on female genital mutilation as a highly gendered crime based on extreme versions of rigid, patriarchal ethnic and religious norms and customs. It is analyzed through the lenses of the Istanbul Convention, as a tool for combating violence against women. Particular attention is paid to femicide, its definitions, forms, and phenomenological characteristics. Having been only recently acknowledged, femicide is still characterized by an inadequate judicial response in many countries. In this regard, a special focus is on German and Serbian experiences in acknowledging femicide and combating it through various measures. Finally, the importance of stalking laws is discussed, as stalking is a highly gendered crime that many states fail to combat adequately. The collection of essays offered in this book will be of interest to all those working in the field of public law, to policymakers, and to students and academics looking to broaden and deepen their research on various issues in public law and policies from gender perspectives.

This book offers a comprehensive and in-depth overview of how public policy is shaping gender equality in Europe.

Constituting Equality addresses the question, how would you write a constitution if you really cared about gender equality? The book takes a design-oriented approach to the broad range of issues that arise in constitutional drafting concerning gender equality. Each section of the book examines a particular set of constitutional issues or doctrines across a range of different countries to explore what works, where, and why. Topics include: governmental structure (particularly electoral gender quotas); rights provisions; constitutional recognition of cultural or religious practices that discriminate against women; domestic incorporation of international law; and the role of women in the process of constitution making. Interdisciplinary in orientation and global in scope, the book provides a menu for constitutional designers and others interested in how the fundamental legal order might more effectively promote gender equality.

Male-dominated law and legal knowledge essentially characterized the whole of pre-modern history in that the patriarchy represented the axis of social relations in both the private and public spheres. Indeed, modern and even contemporary law still have embedded elements of patriarchal heritage, even in the secular modern legal systems of Western developed countries, either within the content of legislation or in terms of its implementation and interpretation. This is true to a greater or lesser extent across legal systems, although the secular modern legal systems of the Western developed countries have made great advances in terms of gender equality. The traditional understanding of law has always been self-evidently dominated by men, but modern law and its understanding have also been more or less “malestreamed.” Therefore, it has become necessary to overcome the given “maskulinity” of legal thought. In contemporary legal and political orders, gender mainstreaming of law has been of the utmost importance for overcoming deeply and persistently embedded power relations and gender-based, unequal social relations. At the same time and equally importantly, the gender mainstreaming of legal education – to which this book aims to contribute – can help to gradually eliminate this male dominance and accompanying power relations from legal education and higher education as a whole. This open access textbook provides an overview of gender issues in all areas of law, including sociological, historical and methodological issues. Written for students and teachers around the globe, it is intended to provide both a general overview and in-depth knowledge in the individual areas of law. Relevant court decisions and case studies are supplied throughout the book.

The Model Rules of Professional Conduct provides an up-to-date resource for information on legal ethics. Federal, state and local courts in all jurisdictions look to the Rules for guidance in solving lawyer malpractice cases, disciplinary actions, disqualification issues, sanctions questions and much more. In this volume, black-letter Rules of Professional Conduct are followed by numbered Comments that explain each Rule's purpose and provide suggestions for its practical application. The Rules will help you identify proper conduct in a variety of given situations, review those instances where discretionary action is possible, and define the nature of the relationship between you and your clients, colleagues and the courts.

This paper considers various dimensions and sources of gender inequality and presents policies and best practices to address these. With women accounting for fifty percent of the global population, inclusive growth can only be achieved if it promotes gender equality. Despite recent progress, gender gaps remain across all stages of life, including before birth, and negatively impact health, education, and economic outcomes for women. The roadmap to gender equality has to rely on legal framework reforms, policies to promote equal access, and efforts to tackle entrenched social norms. These need to be set in the context of arising new trends such as digitalization, climate change, as well as shocks such as pandemics.