The Legal Aspects of Shaming: An Ancient Sanction in the Modern World

Offering an original legal definition of shaming, this incisive book argues for greater attention to shaming by legal scholars and practitioners. Suggesting nuanced procedures to regulate shaming in diverse areas of law, it seeks to make shaming by legal entities legitimate and effective, and to use legal mechanisms to limit inappropriate shaming. This book presents conceptual, normative, and descriptive insights of shaming by individuals, groups, and the state. Defining shaming as the deliberate dissemination of information likely to harm the reputation of whomever is shamed, chapters consider the historical, philosophical, sociological, economic, political, cultural, and legal aspects of shaming. The book offers novel insights into when and how shaming can be utilized by the law, for example by judges and environmental corporate regulators, and when shaming impedes justice, such as in family disputes, tax tribunals, and on social media. Advancing recent public debates, this book will be a fascinating read for legal scholars and students interested in the definition and regulation of shaming. It will also be an invaluable guide for legal practitioners seeking to understand what role shaming can legitimately play in their field.