Year: 2025
Type: article
Abstract: Since its inception, the UCLJLJ has consistently attracted high quality articles in every call for submissions.Consequently, the Editorial Board often has to grapple with a tough choice regarding the articles which should proceed to publication from the rich pool that we receive.This year was no exception.We received exceptional articles, the majority of which, if not for time limitations, would have proceeded to publication.After careful consideration, we selected five articles to feature in this Volume.These articles tackle tough, contemporary legal questions ranging from the application of Bentham's panopticon, to the impact of crises on democratic legal orders, through the pressing novel issues in banking fraud, to environmental equity, and lastly, legislative integrity.In the first article, 'Examining the Panopticon as an Icon of Jeremy Bentham's Philosophical Ideas', Jeevan Shemar evaluates Jeremy Bentham's idea of the panopticon.Jeevan critiques the conventional representation of the panopticon merely as a symbol of totalitarianism and repressive penal policy with detrimental effects on the incarcerated and society as a whole.He argues that a keener examination, in fact, demonstrates that the panopticon is a tool with a broader reach as it unifies Bentham's beliefs about a range of topics, particularly human governance, economics and innovation, and reveals how these aspects can be employed to maximise utility for the human good.Ultimately, the panopticon must be viewed holistically, as a tool that can maximise human pleasure and inflict pain.In 'Resilience or Regression?Navigating Legal Transformation in the Era of Permacrisis', Jana Ruwayha argues that we are living in an era of permacrisis that is characterised by continuous and overlapping crises which buttress one another.In this state, Jana posits, emergency powers are not being used sparingly, as they ought to, but are rather invoked too frequently, such that they have become embedded in different legal frameworks.She cautions that this trend poses threats to democratic principles.Based on the Complex Adaptive Systems theory, Jana recounts the evolution of legal responses and how they impact (or disrupt) democratic governance.She argues that strong protection of fundamental human rights, resilience, and adaptability remain core in ensuring that democratic legal orders are upheld in the face of recurring crises which define our era.
Source: Journal of Law and Jurisprudence
Authors: Opany Fidelice, Kevin James
Institution: University College London
Language: English
Subfield: Economics and Econometrics
Domain: Social Sciences
Open Access status: diamond
OpenAlex ID: W4416408514