Human interaction and communication are not only regulated by law,but such communication plays an increasing role in the making and legitimation of law, involving various kinds of participants in the communication process. The precise nature of these communications depends on the legal actors involved -- for instance legislators, judges, legal scholars, and the media -- and on the situations where they arise – for instance at the national and supra-national level and within or between State law and non-State law. The author argues that our conception of legal system, of democracy, of the legitimation of law and of the respective role of judges, legislators and legal scholars should be based on a pluralist and communicative approach, rather than on a monolithic and hierarchical one. This book analyses the main problems of jurisprudence from such a communicative perspective

Debuting in its first edition, Communication Law is an engaging and accessible text that brings a fresh approach to the fundamentals of mass media law. Unique in its approach and its visually attractive design, this text differentiates itself from other current texts on the market while presenting students with key principles and landmark cases that establish and define communication law and regulation, providing a hands-on learning experience.

This fully revised third edition brings a fresh approach to the fundamentals of mass media and communication law in a presentation that undergraduate students find engaging and accessible. Communication Law serves as a core textbook for undergraduate courses in communication and mass media law.

With contributions from experts in the field of sociology of law, this book provides an overview of current perspectives on socio-legal studies. It focuses particularly on the relationship between law and society described in recent social systems theory as ’structural coupling’. The first part of the book presents a reconstruction of theoretical tendencies in the field of socio-legal studies, characterised by the emergence of a transnational model of legal systems no longer connected to territorial borders and culturally specific aspects of single legal orders. In the following parts of the book, the contributions analyse some concrete cases of interrelation between law and society from an empirical and theoretical perspective.

This clearly written and well-focused volume combines concise decisions of the primary areas of communication law with the foundational case decisions in those domains. Thus, in one volume, students of communication law, constitutional law, political science, and related fields find both the key rulings that define each area of law and a detailed summary of the legal concepts, doctrines, and policies so vital to understanding the rulings within their legal context. The text forgoes the tendency to provide encyclopedic treatment of all the relevant cases and focuses instead on the two or three cases most vital to an accurate and informed understanding of the current state of each field of communication law. The chapters provide readers with the most salient concepts and the necessary depth to understand the law while permitting most reading time to be directed to the law itself. Full-text rulings allow readers to immerse themselves in the law itself--to develop a feel for its complexity, its flexibility, and its language. Useful as a quick reference to the landmark rulings and the jurisprudence of communication law, this book also serves well as the primary text in related undergraduate courses or as a supplemental text in graduate classes in the field.

Based on the Socratic dialogue method, Talking about Communication Law provides the fundamentals for discussing controversial issues in communication law and asks thought-provoking questions to promote debate. Providing the basic framework of the law with discussions focusing on the major cases in each area, Talking about Communication Law begins with the material related to the First Amendment's free speech and free press clauses, then proceeds through the various topics derived from those freedoms, including libel, privacy, access to information, the media and the courts, broadcast regulation, intellectual property, and business communication. Conciseness and clear language are its strengths, as are its readability and engaging approach. Point-counterpoint essays, frequently asked questions, chapter glossaries, and case problems encourage students to take an active approach to learning and create a running dialogue with the reader. The first one-third of the book deals with the First Amendment as applied to political speech, campus issues, and sexual expression. The second one-third deals with issues in journalism, broadcasting, and cyberspace.The last one-third deals with issues related to communication in business, such as advertising, public relations, and intellectual property.

A guide for conducting research involving both legal and communication questions. It shows communication law scholars how to make use of the methodologies employed in communication science. It addresses topics such as reconciling communication and law, social research approaches to libel and theories pertaining to freedom of expression.