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The Law Portal
Law is a system of rules, usually enforced through a set of institutions. It shapes politics, economics and society in numerous ways and serves as a primary social mediator of relations between people. Contract law regulates everything from buying a bus ticket to trading on derivatives markets. Property law defines rights and obligations related to the transfer and title of personal (often referred to as chattel) and real property. Trust law applies to assets held for investment and financial security, while tort law allows claims for compensation if a person's rights or property are harmed. If the harm is criminalised in a statute, criminal law offers means by which the state can prosecute the perpetrator. Constitutional law provides a framework for the creation of law, the protection of human rights and the election of political representatives. Administrative law is used to review the decisions of government agencies, while international law governs affairs between sovereign states in activities ranging from trade to environmental regulation or military action. Writing in 350 BC, the Greek philosopher Aristotle declared: "The rule of law is better than the rule of any individual."
Legal systems elaborate rights and responsibilities in a variety of ways. A general distinction can be made between civil law jurisdictions, which codify their laws, and common law systems, where judge made law is not consolidated. In some countries, religion informs the law. Law provides a rich source of scholarly inquiry, into legal history, philosophy, economic analysis or sociology. Law also raises important and complex issues concerning equality, fairness and justice. "In its majestic equality", said the author Anatole France in 1894, "the law forbids rich and poor alike to sleep under bridges, beg in the streets and steal loaves of bread." In a typical democracy, the central institutions for interpreting and creating law are the three main branches of government, namely an impartial judiciary, a democratic legislature, and an accountable executive. To implement and enforce the law and provide services to the public, a government's bureaucracy, the military and police are vital. While all these organs of the state are creatures created and bound by law, an independent legal profession and a vibrant civil society inform and support their progress. (More…)
Selected article
Same-sex marriage in Spain has been legal since July 3, 2005. In 2004, the newly elected Socialist government, led by José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero, began a campaign for its legalization. After much debate, a law permitting same-sex marriage was passed by the Cortes Generales (Spain's bicameral parliament, composed of the Senate and the Congress of Deputies) on 30 June 2005 and published on 2 July 2005. Same-sex marriage became legal in Spain on Sunday, 3 July 2005, making it the third country in the world to do so, after the Netherlands and Belgium and 17 days ahead of Canada. The ratification of this law was not devoid of conflict, despite support from 66% of the population. Roman Catholic authorities in particular were adamantly opposed, criticising what they regarded as the weakening of the meaning of marriage. Other associations expressed concern about lesbians and gays adopting children. After its approval, the People's Party challenged the law in the Constitutional Court. Approximately 4,500 same-sex couples married in Spain during the first year of the law. At least one partner must be a Spanish citizen in order to marry, although two non-Spaniards may marry if they both have legal residence in Spain. (more...)
Selected biography
The Jena Six were six black teenagers convicted in the beating of Justin Barker, a white student at Jena High School in Jena, Louisiana, on December 4, 2006. Barker was injured in the assault by the members of the Jena Six, and received treatment for his injuries at an emergency room. While the case was pending, it was often cited as an example of racial injustice in the United States, due to a belief that the defendants had initially been charged with too-serious offenses and had been treated unfairly.
A number of events took place in and around Jena in the months preceding the Barker assault which have been linked to an alleged escalation of racial tensions. These events included the hanging of nooses from a tree in the high school courtyard, two violent confrontations between white and black youths, and the destruction by fire of the main building of Jena High School. The incidents were often linked in the extensive news coverage regarding the Jena Six. (more...)
Did you know...
- ... that other than the Second World War, there has never been a declaration of war by Canada?
- ... that in Young v. Facebook, Inc., Judge Jeremy Fogel found that Facebook was not a physical place for the purpose of the Americans with Disabilities Act, despite its having "posts" and "walls"?
- ... DYK3
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Selected case
The Smith Act trials of Communist Party leaders were a series of federal prosecutions conducted from 1949 to 1958 in which leaders of the Communist Party of the United States (CPUSA) were accused of violating the Smith Act, a statute which imposed penalties on those who advocated violent overthrow of the government. The prosecution argued that the CPUSA's policies promoted violent revolution; the defendants countered that they advocated a peaceful transition to socialism, and that the First Amendment's guarantee of freedom of speech and of association protected their membership of a political party. The trials led to the US Supreme Court decisions Dennis v. United States (1951) and Yates v. United States (1957). (more...)
Selected statute
The Act on National Flag and Anthem is a law that formally established Japan's national flag and anthem. Before the ratification of the law on August 13, 1999, Japan had no official flag or anthem. From 1870, the Nisshōki flag , also referred to as the Hinomaru, was used in various capacities to represent Japan; Kimigayo was used as Japan's de facto anthem since 1880. After Japan's defeat in World War II, there were suggestions to make the Hinomaru and Kimgayo official symbols of Japan. However, due to their connection with Japan's militaristic past, an attempt in 1974 to make both symbols official failed to gain a majority in the Diet. The 1999 legislation was considered one of the most controversial laws passed by the Diet since 1990. Its passage was met with mixed feelings in Japan and abroad. While some Japanese hailed it as a step toward the future, others felt that it was a shift toward restoring nationalistic feelings and education. In the countries occupied by Japan in World War II, some felt that it was a shift toward the right. Other nations felt that the adoption of national symbols was purely an internal affair. (more...)
Legal news
- June 12: At least 50 dead in shooting at Florida nightclub
- June 11: Lawsuit filed against Ed Sheeran for his single Photograph
- June 10: International Tennis Federation bans Sharapova for two years after positive drug test
- June 6: Brisbane man granted bail on charge of raping 15-year-old girl
- June 3: Two people killed in apparent murder-suicide at UCLA
- May 27: India set to install panic buttons on buses to combat sexual assault
- May 25: Tax evasion investigators raid Google's Paris headquarters
- May 6: FIFA ethics committee recommends lifetime ban of former FIFA vice-president
- May 1: 100 tons of ivory burned in Africa; estimated at $250 million on black market
- April 23: Lebanon child abduction charges against mother may be dropped in exchange for custody
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Accurate News and Information Act
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William Calcraft
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Court of Chancery
CSI effect
Harold Davidson
Treaty of Devol
Dietrich v The Queen
Eastbourne manslaughter
Ex parte Crow Dog
Execution by elephant
Freedom for the Thought That We Hate
Fuck (film)
Fuck: Word Taboo and Protecting Our First Amendment Liberties
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William Garrow
Gray's Inn
Debora Green
Learned Hand
Hanged, drawn and quartered
Horse Protection Act of 1970
Hours of service
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Regulamentul Organic
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Same-sex marriage in Spain
Samlesbury witches
Saxbe fix
Antonin Scalia
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Scottish Parliament
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Assata Shakur
Elliott Fitch Shepard
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Melford Stevenson
Tichborne case
To Kill a Mockingbird
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Voting Rights Act of 1965
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