School of Law

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 serves as a mediator of relations between people. Ancient India and China represent distinct traditions of law, and have historically had independent schools of legal theory and practice. The Arthashastra, probably compiled around 100 AD , and the Manusmriti (c. 100–300 AD) were foundational treatises in India, and comprise texts considered authoritative legal guidance. Manu’s central philosophy was tolerance and pluralism, and was cited across Southeast Asia. During the Muslim conquests in the Indian subcontinent, sharia was established by the Muslim sultanates and empires, most notably Mughal Empire’s Fatawa-e-Alamgiri, compiled by emperor Aurangzeb and various scholars of Islam.

  • Banking law and financial regulation set minimum standards on the amounts of capital banks must hold, and rules about best practice for investment.
  • The small Greek city-state, ancient Athens, from about the 8th century BC was the first society to be based on broad inclusion of its citizenry, excluding women and enslaved people.
  • The stories revealed laws of mental functioning that, he assumed, would ultimately be traced to neural mechanisms.
  • Although many scholars argue that “the boundaries between public and private law are becoming blurred”, and that this distinction has become mere “folklore” (Bergkamp, Liability and Environment, 1–2).
  • Japan was the first country to begin modernising its legal system along western lines, by importing parts of the French, but mostly the German Civil Code.

Negotiation and dispute resolution skills are also important to legal practice, depending on the field. As the European Court of Human Rights has stated, the law should be adequately accessible to everyone and people should be able to foresee how the law affects them. In civil law systems such as those of Italy, France, Germany, Spain and Greece, there is a distinct category of notary, a legally trained public official, compensated by the parties to a transaction. This is a 16th-century painting of such a notary by Flemish painter Quentin Massys. Most countries have systems of appeal courts, with an apex court as the ultimate judicial authority. In the United States, this authority is the Supreme Court; in Australia, the High Court; in the UK, the Supreme Court; in Germany, the Bundesverfassungsgericht; and in France, the Cour de Cassation.

How can I find a case on Westlaw?

Strict duties for trustees made their way into company law and were applied to directors and chief executive officers. Another example of a trustee’s duty might be to invest property wisely or sell it. This is especially the case for pension funds, the most important form of trust, where investors are trustees for people’s savings until retirement. But trusts can also be set up for charitable purposes, famous examples being the British Museum or the Rockefeller Foundation.

We believe the lawyers of tomorrow will also be experts in business, communications, health, technology, international studies, social work, education, and emergent fields. As an essential part of the University of Pennsylvania family, we allow our students to enrich their legal education by offering them the opportunity to take graduate level courses at one of our sister schools as well as joint degrees or certificates of study. We also welcome into our classrooms students whose careers and educations cross sectors and international lines. Students pursuing Master in Law and LLM degrees enrich and diversify our course discussions, contributing to the Law School’s overarching mission to provide the finest and most comprehensive legal education for all students. The fundamental constitutional principle, inspired by John Locke, holds that the individual can do anything except that which is forbidden by law, and the state may do nothing except that which is authorised by law. Administrative law is the chief method for people to hold state bodies to account.

News at the Law Society

The small Greek city-state, ancient Athens, from about the 8th century BC was the first society to be based on broad inclusion of its citizenry, excluding women and enslaved people. However, Athens had no legal science or single word for “Law News“, relying instead on the three-way distinction between divine law (thémis), human decree and custom (díkē). Yet Ancient Greek law contained major constitutional innovations in the development of democracy. Especially since privatisation became popular and took management of services away from public law, private companies doing the jobs previously controlled by government have been bound by varying degrees of social responsibility. Energy, gas, telecomms and water are regulated industries in most OECD countries. Human rights, civil rights and human rights law are important fields to guarantee everyone basic freedoms and entitlements.

LAWYERS AND LEADERS

Under a presidential system, the executive branch is separate from the legislature to which it is not accountable. The executive in a legal system serves as the centre of political authority of the State. In a parliamentary system, as with Britain, Italy, Germany, India, and Japan, the executive is known as the cabinet, and composed of members of the legislature. The executive is led by the head of government, whose office holds power under the confidence of the legislature. Because popular elections appoint political parties to govern, the leader of a party can change in between elections.

Admiralty law also encompasses specialised issues such as salvage, maritime liens, and injuries to passengers. Family law covers marriage and divorce proceedings, the rights of children and rights to property and money in the event of separation. Evidence law involves which materials are admissible in courts for a case to be built. In exceptional circumstances defences can apply to specific acts, such as killing in self defence, or pleading insanity.