Editorial
| Date | 01 September 1996 |
| DOI | 10.1177/135822919600100401 |
| Published date | 01 September 1996 |
International
Journal
of
Discrimination and
the
Law,
1996,
Vol.
1,
p.
311
1358-2291/96
$10
©
1996
A B
Academic
Publishers. Printed in Great Britain
EDITORIAL
In
this issue Jeanne Gregory examines the impact
of
equal value law
in the context
of
job
evaluation, the casualised labour market and
changes in work organisation, such as the move to performance-
related pay, which perpetuate gender bias. She also considers the
ways in which the market forces defence undermines the principle
of
equal pay. She argues that equal value law has failed to realise its
potential and proposes ways in which the problems may be over-
come. She emphasises the need for collective mechanisms for resolv-
ing disputes as well as the need for more information from
employers in view
of
the shift to decentralised and individualised
payment systems.
Vera Bermingham considers the effects
of
recent legislation and
the introduction
of
National Vocational Qualifications on prison
regimes and considers whether these changes have undermined
or
perpetuated gender and racial discrimination patterns in prison. She
also considers the problems with equal opportunity policies in prisons
and recommends increased opportunities for the education and train-
ing
of
prisoners. She argues that racial bias operates in the allocation
of
work, training and education opportunities. Sentence planning and
the requirements
of
standardised documentation allow opportunities
for discriminatory decisions to
be
made about inmates.
At
the same
time she sees recent initiatives in prison education offering the pos-
sibility
of
generating new practices and overcoming past inertia. She
also stresses the need to monitor the allocation
of
education and
training opportunities and to develop a critique
of
prison education.
The efficacy
of
the common law as a vehicle for the protection
of
human rights is examined by Satvinder Juss by reference to the case
of
James Somersett, which is considered in the historical context
of
the institution
of
slavery. He questions the integrity
of
the common
law and argues that the use
of
human rights instruments is necessary
to redress the shortcomings
of
private right based law.
In
the Case Notes, Christopher McCrudden examines the impact
of
Adarand Constructors Inc.
v.
Pena on affirmative action policies
in the United States. The Supreme Court's decision emphasised the
need to evaluate and review affirmative action policies. Martin
Bowley QC examines the judgement in the MOD case on gay men
and lesbians serving in the armed forces. The case highlights the
problems
of
passing the Wednesbury bar
of
irrationality. He notes the
Court's criticism
of
the lack
of
evidence offered by the MOD to jus-
tify the ban. Martin MacEwen examines the problems proving dis-
crimination faced by the complainants in Barclays Bank v Kaupur.
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