Law is a set of rules that are created and are
enforceable by social or governmental institutions to regulate behavior, with its precise definition a matter of longstanding debate. It has been variously described as a
science and as the art of justice. State-enforced laws can be made by a group
legislature or by a single legislator, resulting in
statutes; by the executive through
decrees and
regulations; or established by judges through
precedent, usually in
common law jurisdictions. Private individuals may create legally binding
contracts, including arbitration agreements that adopt
alternative ways of resolving disputes to standard court litigation. The creation of laws themselves may be influenced by a
constitution, written or tacit, and the
rights encoded therein. The law shapes
politics,
economics,
history and
society in various ways and also serves as a mediator of relations between people.
Legal systems vary between
jurisdictions, with their differences analysed in
comparative law. In
civil law jurisdictions, a legislature or other central body
codifies and consolidates the law. In
common law systems, judges may make
binding case law through
precedent, although on occasion this may be overturned by a higher court or the legislature. Historically,
religious law has influenced secular matters and is, as of the 21st century, still in use in some religious communities.
Sharia law based on
Islamic principles is used as the primary legal system in several countries, including
Iran and
Saudi Arabia.
The Ministry of Justice was responsible for courts, prisons, and probations. Further responsibilities included criminal justice policy, sentencing policy, and prevention of re-offending in the USSR. The Ministry was organised into All-Union and Union departments. The All-Union level ministries were divided into separate organisations in the Republican, Autonomous Oblast, and provincial level. The leadership of the Ministry of Justice came from notable Soviet law organisations from around the country. (Full article...)
After serving as secretary to several more commissions, he was made Permanent Secretary to the Lord Chancellor's Office in 1915. Schuster served in this position for 29 years under ten different Lord Chancellors, and with the contacts obtained thanks to his long tenure and his work outside the Office he became "one of the most influential Permanent Secretaries of the 20th century". His influence over decisions within the Lord Chancellor's Office and greater Civil Service led to criticism and suspicions that he was a "power behind the throne", which culminated in a verbal attack by the
Lord Chief JusticeLord Hewart in 1934 during a session of the
House of Lords. Schuster retired in 1944 and was elevated to the
peerage. Despite being officially retired he continued to work in government circles, such as with the
Allied Commission for Austria and by using his seat in the House of Lords as a way to directly criticise legislation. (Full article...)
The Act of Independence of Lithuania (
Lithuanian: Lietuvos Nepriklausomybės Aktas) or the Act of February 16th, also the Lithuanian Resolution on Independence (
Lithuanian: Lietuvos Nepriklausomybės Nutarimas), was signed by the
Council of Lithuania on February 16, 1918, proclaiming the restoration of an independent State of
Lithuania, governed by
democratic principles, with
Vilnius as its capital. The Act was signed by all
twenty representatives of the Council, which was chaired by
Jonas Basanavičius. The Act of February 16 was the result of a series of resolutions on the issue, including one issued by the
Vilnius Conference and the Act of January 8. The path to the Act was long and complex because the
German Empire exerted pressure on the Council to form an alliance. The Council had to carefully maneuver between the Germans, whose troops were present in Lithuania, and the demands of the Lithuanian people.
The immediate effects of the announcement of Lithuania's re-establishment of independence were limited. Publication of the Act was prohibited by the German authorities, and the text was distributed and printed illegally. The work of the Council was hindered, and Germans remained in control over Lithuania. The situation changed only when Germany lost
World War I in the fall of 1918. In November 1918 the first Cabinet of Lithuania was formed, and the Council of Lithuania gained control over the territory of Lithuania. Independent Lithuania, although it would soon be battling the
Wars of Independence, became a reality.
The laconic Act is the legal basis for the existence of modern Lithuania, both during the
interwar period and since 1990. The Act formulated the basic constitutional principles that were and still are followed by all
Constitutions of Lithuania. The Act itself was a key element in the foundation of Lithuania's
re-establishment of independence in 1990. Lithuania, breaking away from the
Soviet Union, stressed that it was simply re-establishing the independent state that existed between the world wars and that the Act never lost its legal power. (Full article...)
... that Dutch physician Aletta Jacobs′ legal challenge to be added to the Amsterdam electoral rolls backfired, leading to a
constitutional amendment granting voting rights only to men?
... that when Henry McCardie was a
barrister, he often worked so late that his
chambers were nicknamed "the lighthouse", as there was light coming from the windows?
... that the diaries of James Humphreys, the "Emperor of Porn", were used to convict 13 policemen of accepting his bribes?
Case law, also used interchangeably with
common law, is a
law that is based on
precedents, that is the
judicial decisions from previous cases, rather than law based on
constitutions,
statutes, or
regulations. Case law uses the detailed facts of a
legal case that have been resolved by
courts or similar
tribunals. These past decisions are called "case law", or precedent. Stare decisis—a Latin phrase meaning "let the decision stand"—is the principle by which judges are bound to such past decisions, drawing on established judicial authority to formulate their positions. (Full article...)
Miranda v. Arizona, 384 U.S. 436 (1966), was a
landmark decision of the
U.S. Supreme Court in which the Court ruled that
law enforcement in the United States must warn a person of their constitutional rights before
interrogating them, or else the person's statements cannot be used as
evidence at their
trial. Specifically, the Court held that under the
Fifth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution, the government cannot use a person's statements made in response to an interrogation while in police custody as evidence at the person's criminal trial unless they can show that the person was informed of the right to consult with a
lawyer before and during questioning, and of the right against
self-incrimination before police questioning, and that the defendant not only understood these rights but also voluntarily waived them before answering questions.
Miranda was viewed by many as a radical change in American criminal law, since the Fifth Amendment was traditionally understood only to protect Americans against formal types of compulsion to confess, such as threats of
contempt of court. It has had a significant impact on law enforcement in the United States, by making what became known as the
Miranda warning part of routine police procedure to ensure that suspects were informed of their rights, which would become known as "Miranda rights". The concept of "Miranda warnings" quickly caught on across American law enforcement agencies, who came to call the practice "Mirandizing".
Pursuant to the U.S. Supreme Court decision Berghuis v. Thompkins (2010), criminal suspects who are aware of their right to silence and to an attorney but choose not to "unambiguously" invoke them, may find any subsequent voluntary statements treated as an implied waiver of their rights, and used as or as part of evidence. At least one scholar has argued that Thompkins "fully undermined" Miranda. (Full article...)
... that due to legal and union restrictions, the production team for the Doctor Who episode "Space Babies" occasionally had to replace real babies with props?
... that a 1982 court case established that video games may qualify for multiple types of U.S. copyright protection?
Image 2The
Constitution of India is the longest written constitution for a country, containing 444 articles, 12 schedules, numerous amendments and 117,369 words (from Legal history)
This is a list of recognized content, updated weekly by
JL-Bot (
talk·contribs) (typically on Saturdays). There is no need to edit the list yourself. If an article is missing from the list, make sure it is
tagged (e.g. {{WikiProject Law}}) or
categorized correctly and wait for the next update. See
WP:RECOG for configuration options.
Law is a set of rules that are created and are
enforceable by social or governmental institutions to regulate behavior, with its precise definition a matter of longstanding debate. It has been variously described as a
science and as the art of justice. State-enforced laws can be made by a group
legislature or by a single legislator, resulting in
statutes; by the executive through
decrees and
regulations; or established by judges through
precedent, usually in
common law jurisdictions. Private individuals may create legally binding
contracts, including arbitration agreements that adopt
alternative ways of resolving disputes to standard court litigation. The creation of laws themselves may be influenced by a
constitution, written or tacit, and the
rights encoded therein. The law shapes
politics,
economics,
history and
society in various ways and also serves as a mediator of relations between people.
Legal systems vary between
jurisdictions, with their differences analysed in
comparative law. In
civil law jurisdictions, a legislature or other central body
codifies and consolidates the law. In
common law systems, judges may make
binding case law through
precedent, although on occasion this may be overturned by a higher court or the legislature. Historically,
religious law has influenced secular matters and is, as of the 21st century, still in use in some religious communities.
Sharia law based on
Islamic principles is used as the primary legal system in several countries, including
Iran and
Saudi Arabia.
The Ministry of Justice was responsible for courts, prisons, and probations. Further responsibilities included criminal justice policy, sentencing policy, and prevention of re-offending in the USSR. The Ministry was organised into All-Union and Union departments. The All-Union level ministries were divided into separate organisations in the Republican, Autonomous Oblast, and provincial level. The leadership of the Ministry of Justice came from notable Soviet law organisations from around the country. (Full article...)
After serving as secretary to several more commissions, he was made Permanent Secretary to the Lord Chancellor's Office in 1915. Schuster served in this position for 29 years under ten different Lord Chancellors, and with the contacts obtained thanks to his long tenure and his work outside the Office he became "one of the most influential Permanent Secretaries of the 20th century". His influence over decisions within the Lord Chancellor's Office and greater Civil Service led to criticism and suspicions that he was a "power behind the throne", which culminated in a verbal attack by the
Lord Chief JusticeLord Hewart in 1934 during a session of the
House of Lords. Schuster retired in 1944 and was elevated to the
peerage. Despite being officially retired he continued to work in government circles, such as with the
Allied Commission for Austria and by using his seat in the House of Lords as a way to directly criticise legislation. (Full article...)
The Act of Independence of Lithuania (
Lithuanian: Lietuvos Nepriklausomybės Aktas) or the Act of February 16th, also the Lithuanian Resolution on Independence (
Lithuanian: Lietuvos Nepriklausomybės Nutarimas), was signed by the
Council of Lithuania on February 16, 1918, proclaiming the restoration of an independent State of
Lithuania, governed by
democratic principles, with
Vilnius as its capital. The Act was signed by all
twenty representatives of the Council, which was chaired by
Jonas Basanavičius. The Act of February 16 was the result of a series of resolutions on the issue, including one issued by the
Vilnius Conference and the Act of January 8. The path to the Act was long and complex because the
German Empire exerted pressure on the Council to form an alliance. The Council had to carefully maneuver between the Germans, whose troops were present in Lithuania, and the demands of the Lithuanian people.
The immediate effects of the announcement of Lithuania's re-establishment of independence were limited. Publication of the Act was prohibited by the German authorities, and the text was distributed and printed illegally. The work of the Council was hindered, and Germans remained in control over Lithuania. The situation changed only when Germany lost
World War I in the fall of 1918. In November 1918 the first Cabinet of Lithuania was formed, and the Council of Lithuania gained control over the territory of Lithuania. Independent Lithuania, although it would soon be battling the
Wars of Independence, became a reality.
The laconic Act is the legal basis for the existence of modern Lithuania, both during the
interwar period and since 1990. The Act formulated the basic constitutional principles that were and still are followed by all
Constitutions of Lithuania. The Act itself was a key element in the foundation of Lithuania's
re-establishment of independence in 1990. Lithuania, breaking away from the
Soviet Union, stressed that it was simply re-establishing the independent state that existed between the world wars and that the Act never lost its legal power. (Full article...)
... that Dutch physician Aletta Jacobs′ legal challenge to be added to the Amsterdam electoral rolls backfired, leading to a
constitutional amendment granting voting rights only to men?
... that when Henry McCardie was a
barrister, he often worked so late that his
chambers were nicknamed "the lighthouse", as there was light coming from the windows?
... that the diaries of James Humphreys, the "Emperor of Porn", were used to convict 13 policemen of accepting his bribes?
Case law, also used interchangeably with
common law, is a
law that is based on
precedents, that is the
judicial decisions from previous cases, rather than law based on
constitutions,
statutes, or
regulations. Case law uses the detailed facts of a
legal case that have been resolved by
courts or similar
tribunals. These past decisions are called "case law", or precedent. Stare decisis—a Latin phrase meaning "let the decision stand"—is the principle by which judges are bound to such past decisions, drawing on established judicial authority to formulate their positions. (Full article...)
Miranda v. Arizona, 384 U.S. 436 (1966), was a
landmark decision of the
U.S. Supreme Court in which the Court ruled that
law enforcement in the United States must warn a person of their constitutional rights before
interrogating them, or else the person's statements cannot be used as
evidence at their
trial. Specifically, the Court held that under the
Fifth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution, the government cannot use a person's statements made in response to an interrogation while in police custody as evidence at the person's criminal trial unless they can show that the person was informed of the right to consult with a
lawyer before and during questioning, and of the right against
self-incrimination before police questioning, and that the defendant not only understood these rights but also voluntarily waived them before answering questions.
Miranda was viewed by many as a radical change in American criminal law, since the Fifth Amendment was traditionally understood only to protect Americans against formal types of compulsion to confess, such as threats of
contempt of court. It has had a significant impact on law enforcement in the United States, by making what became known as the
Miranda warning part of routine police procedure to ensure that suspects were informed of their rights, which would become known as "Miranda rights". The concept of "Miranda warnings" quickly caught on across American law enforcement agencies, who came to call the practice "Mirandizing".
Pursuant to the U.S. Supreme Court decision Berghuis v. Thompkins (2010), criminal suspects who are aware of their right to silence and to an attorney but choose not to "unambiguously" invoke them, may find any subsequent voluntary statements treated as an implied waiver of their rights, and used as or as part of evidence. At least one scholar has argued that Thompkins "fully undermined" Miranda. (Full article...)
... that due to legal and union restrictions, the production team for the Doctor Who episode "Space Babies" occasionally had to replace real babies with props?
... that a 1982 court case established that video games may qualify for multiple types of U.S. copyright protection?
Image 2The
Constitution of India is the longest written constitution for a country, containing 444 articles, 12 schedules, numerous amendments and 117,369 words (from Legal history)
This is a list of recognized content, updated weekly by
JL-Bot (
talk·contribs) (typically on Saturdays). There is no need to edit the list yourself. If an article is missing from the list, make sure it is
tagged (e.g. {{WikiProject Law}}) or
categorized correctly and wait for the next update. See
WP:RECOG for configuration options.
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