Edited Volume

Dr Dai O’Brien and Dr Rob Wilks are currently editing Developing Deaf Legal Theory, a volume dedicated to advancing Deaf Legal Theory (DLT) as a framework for understanding the relationship between deaf people, signed languages, law and justice. The volume brings together contributors from around the world to explore how legal systems shape deaf lives and communities across areas including equality, access to justice, health, criminal justice, sign language rights and legal education.

The book is being commissioned for inclusion in the Oxford University Press Perspectives on Deafness series and is intended to be the first edited collection devoted entirely to DLT.

It brings together deaf and hearing scholars, practitioners and activists from a wide range of disciplinary and geographical backgrounds. Contributors examine legal issues affecting deaf communities in jurisdictions including Canada, Portugal, Ghana, India, Indonesia, Peru, Hong Kong, Norway, Ireland, Brazil and Uganda.

The volume is currently in the final stages of preparation and is expected to be published in late 2027. Further updates will be posted here as they become available.