Can’t take it with you? Recent Literature on Death, Property and Taxes

It is a legal truism that the only certainties in law are death and taxes, two matters that most people prefer to avoid. They are however the basis of a rich legal literature that encompasses practitioner guides, grand theory regarding legal personhood and the philosophical bases of human rights and the state, historical and socio-legal studies, and analyses of techniques for handling either or both of the grim reapers. This review highlights some recent writing of potential interest to readers of the new Canberra Law Review. It suggests that traditional demarcations between subdisciplines such as ‘commercial law’, ‘legal history’ and ‘justice studies’ are less fruitful than an analysis ‘in the round’ that is informed by an understanding of legal technique and the context in which that technique is exercised, particularly if demarcations are policed in a way that discourages creativity on the part of legal scholars and practitioners.