The Sisyphean Task or Editing Well-Respected Standard Works of Wide Scope

Last week I went to an interesting talk by Hector MacQueen, organised by W. Green, on the Sisyphean task of editing the new edition of Gloag & Henderson’s Introduction to the Law of Scotland. 

This is one of the long-standing standard texts of Scots law covering a whole multitude of different subjects, well-thumbed by practitioners, and a respected text oft-cited in legal argument.

Change and Tradition

The 13^th edition later this year will mark a departure on earlier editions being available both in hardcopy and electronically as an add-on to Westlaw.

Gloag & Henderson was originally intended as a book for students back in 1927 when it was first published with two authors teaching law at different universities. 2012 will see the 13^th edition published and it now has fifteen separate authors involved in the work with responsibility for different aspects e.g. specific subject chapter. The book covers private and commercial law topics, the original coverage of criminal law in addition having been discontinued some editions back. Nevertheless, it remains a very large task that must be continually repeated to prepare each new edition and up-date all subjects and their treatment as well as to cater for new concerns such as easy-to-use electronic versions.

The Editorial Need

Because of the number of authors there is need for editing to deal with inconsistencies, omissions, replication etc across the work that would not be obvious to individual authors and to pull the work together as a cohesive whole.

Editorial Decision-Making

There is usually around 5 years between editions being published. This means that it will bring the reader up-to-date with what they need to know for any specific subject covered to a certain point in time. The reader then only has to check the intervening period for any substantial changes. The work will usually attempt to state the law as it currently is at publication. However sometimes for major in-coming legislation which will take effect very quickly after publication it may choose to treat it as though the legislation is already in force and state this (e.g. as it did with the 2006 Companies Act in the previous edition). The work will also point out places where the law is in flux with developments expected to clarify and talk about what they may be, and point out when there are opposing lines of development on certain issues and what kinds of resolution may come to be.

There was discussion of Gloag & Henderson and as ‘sacred text’ and the best method of up-dating and choices that needed made re. Parts of the text can be rewritten completely between editions if necessary. In that light MacQueen has authored and reworked  contract section due to important changes in Land Registration (Scotland)  Act 2012 re electronic documents and issues surrounding these that make changes to the Requirements of Writing Act (Scotland) 1995 and due to developments re the Hoffman approach to contract interpretation).  Generally the text will reflect developments and debates that are current. The current policy on up-dating is to include new cases from appellate level only, to note where cases mentioned could be subject to appeal, to mention where there is law reform proposals for the near future, to assume that new cases will cover all substantive previous ones within their discussion and therefore all cases don’t need listed, and to check legislation referred to to ensure it is still current.

Coherent Structure

It was noted Gloag & Henderson were not originally much bothered themselves about the structure of the work. However there is an attempt to ensure coherence in which main types of subjects are introduced and dealt with e.g. Legal System, then Obligations, then Property.

Purpose of the Work

The goal is a work that is up-to-date to on publication and will remain helpful for a reasonable period thereafter until the next edition is required.

Thoughts

It’s always interesting going to book launches or talks on texts and getting a different perspective on them. The final text that arrives is the version with all the decisions taken and the ends tidied up.  A discussion of the process though is illuminating on what might have been, why x approach is taken over y, what changes have been made, how and why the whole thing was undertaken in the first place and how many moons ago! A Preface is more likely to discuss what did happen, not what didn’t or might have. A talk that ranges across the history of a work and different approaches to it over time and why is more interesting however. Editorial decisions shape works in ways that may not be stated anywhere in the text, so it’s always good to have an insight into what is to be expected and why.