Women under the law - Aileen McColgan

Rights are frequently regarded as a panacea against discrimination and disadvantage. Aileen McColgan's powerfully argued book challenges this view. Using women as an example of a disadvantaged group, the author questions the utility of entrenched rights to women in their roles as workers, mothers and victims of violence.

Women Under the Law is of particular topical interest given the incorporation of the European Convention on Human Rights into UK law by the Human Rights Act 1998. The Act is widely seen as a progressive legal development. The author challenges the assumption that incorporation will improve the position of women and of disadvantaged groups in general, drawing attention to the unequal access to justice of the disadvantaged - a problem reinforced by the proposed changes to Legal Aid. She also highlights the predominantly individualistic nature of the rights incorporated and focuses on the increased judicial power associated with the provision of legal `rights' which are, of their nature, abstract and ill-defined.

In order to assess how the British courts might interpret and apply the rights incorporated by the 1998 Act, the author considers the impact on women of entrenched rights in a number of different legal systems. The primary focus is on Canada and the United States, although Ireland and Germany are also examined in some detail.

Women Under the Law will be of interest to academics, students and legal practitioners in the fields of human rights law, constitutional law, discrimination law, labour law and family law. The strong political and social implications of the human rights debate will also ensure a significant readership for the book among academics and students of social policy, women's studies, sociology and politics.