Associate Professor James Muir - cross-appointed to the Faculty of Law and the Department of History & Classics - has written a new book examining all aspects of civil law in early Halifax. Law, Debt, and Merchant Power: The Civil Courts of 18th Century Halifax takes the reader back in time to examine the incredible popularity of debt litigation in Halifax during the 18th century. Using both quantitative and qualitative methods, Prof. Muir analyzes case files from the five civil courts of the period to explain 18th century legal procedure, situating his study in the context of the society and economy of Halifax at the time. Who sued whom, how often, and why? How did the legal system fit into patterns of economic relations and activity? The book answers these questions while illustrating for the reader how important the law was for people's business affairs, and how they fashioned the law to suit their own needs.
Dr. James Muir is an Associate Professor at the University of Alberta Faculty of Law and in the Department of History & Classics where he teaches legal history. Prof. Muir has published on Nova Scotia's pre-Confederation legal history, labour and politics on the prairies in the 1940s and 1950s, and legal historiography. He also co-edited Property on Trial (2012) with Bruce Ziff (UAlberta Law) and Eric Tucker (Osgoode Hall Law School).