Cambridge University Press Law's Limits: Rule of Law and the Supply and Demand of Rights

What law is can be determined by the character of the institutions that make, interpret and enforce law. The interaction of these institutions moulds the supply of, and demand for, law. Focusing on this interaction in the context of US property rights law and the debates about private property and the rule of law, Komesar paints an unconventional picture of law and rights shifting and cycling as systemic factors, such as increasing numbers and complexity. This strain produces tough institutional choices and unexpected combinations of goals and institutions. It also frustrates the hopes for courts, rights and law embodied in notions such as the rule of law and constitutionalism. Although there may be an important role for law, rights and courts both in the US and abroad, it cannot be easily defined. This 2002 book proposes a way to define that role and to reform legal education and legal analysis. Review "Using the context of supply and demand, Komesar affers an analysis of rights in general and property rights in particular in the demand for and supply of the limited resources of law and the courts....For readers interested in a more provocative approach to understanding the nexus between law and society, this book will prove illuminating. Graduate level and above." Choice Book Description This 2002 book demonstrates how property law and rights shift and cycle in the US.