Disaster Law By Kristian Cedervall Lauta, Routledge, 2015

• Author: W. John Hopkins
• Position: Associate Professor, Law School, Unviersity of Canterbury
• Pages: 147-149

147

BOOK REVIEW

DISASTER LAW

B K C L, R, 

W. J H*

Disaster law is a young discipline. Indeed, it is youthfu l enough for some to

remain sceptical about its very existence. Nevertheless, despite the academic

debates as to the boundaries and ex istence of the concept as a distinct academic

subject, there is no doubt that law and disasters is an increa sing focus. ese

legal developments can be traced to an increasing interest in disaster risk

management (DRM) more broadly and its emergence from the shadows in

the aftermath of severa l recent events. While the Indian Ocean Tsunami may

have placed the study of disaster mana gement front and centre, globally, it

was the trifecta of K atrina, Canterbury a nd Fukushima that created a rude

awakening for the developed world. Disasters are not merely something of

concern to developing states. For reasons that are too complex to explore here,

the interconnected nature of the world and the fragilit y of developed societies

means that vulnerability is relative and encompasses al l societies.

It is this generalisation of disasters t hat has taken the eld of disaster

management, if not to the heart of state decision mak ing, then at least

somewhere relevant, rather than its previous place in t he forgotten extremities.

However, although DRM has increasingly developed as a coherent subject

bringing together scientists, engineers and social scientists, the legal academy

has seemed reluctant to engage coherently with the subject. ose that have

done so have largely engaged in relatively functional analysis or practica l

studies on the delivery of specic goals. For this reason, disaster law as a

discipline has seemed somewhat adrif t and more a servant of others than

a discipline of its own. Cedervall L auta in his book puts an end to this

theoretical lacuna by providing a robust a nd rigorous basis upon which to

build a more t heoretica lly coherent discipline.

e text sets out explicitly to achieve this end, something it does through

two distinct methodologies. e rst section of the work develops a strong

theoretical framework linking legal development with wider understandings

of the nature of disaster outside the legal eld. is is followed by two

comparative sections exami ning the legal framework of disaster management

and disaster responsibility. A nal chapter addresse s the overall development

of disaster law as a legal d iscipline and the politico-legal nature of the

emerging subject area.

* Dr. W. John Hopkins, Associate Prof essor, Law School, Unviersity of Canterbu ry