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Posted by: Kelly Buchanan
Last week Cynthia talked about International Plain Language Day and the global movement to improve the use of plain language in government and legal writing. This week, as a follow-up to International Plain Language Day, I would like to take a look at New Zealand‘s approach to using plain English in the country’s laws. I became familiar …
Posted in: Global Law
Posted by: Clare Feikert-Ahalt
As mentioned in my previous post, during my day-to-day work at my cool job, I never know what I’m going to stumble upon. It so happened that, as I was gathering information for my post on sumptuary laws, I came across a page of ‘legal curiosities’ compiled by the UK’s Law Commission and published by …
Posted in: Collections, Education, Global Law, In the News
Posted by: Andrew Weber
This week’s Pic of the Week is from Stephanie Rocío Miles, also known as the Bilingual Librarian. Stephanie recently visited the Law Library of Congress and blogged about her experience. She included several pictures from our bigger than a football field size stacks. She graciously allowed me to use my favorite for today’s Pic of the …
Posted in: Law Library, Pic of the Week
Posted by: Andrew Weber
The following is a guest post by Cynthia Jordan, Senior Writer-Editor at the Law Library of Congress. October 13, 2011, is being celebrated around the world as the First Annual International Plain Language Day. This new celebration is planned to coincide with the first anniversary of The Plain Writing Act, Public Law 111-274, enacted October 13, …
Posted in: Guest Post
Posted by: Francisco Macías
If you’ve ever seen this day marked on your desktop calendars and wondered what it was, think La Niña (née La Santa Clara), La Pinta, and La Santa María. On October 12, 1492, Christopher Columbus landed in the modern-day Commonwealth of the Bahamas. Although Columbus Day was formally recognized here in the United States on …
Posted in: Global Law, Guest Post, In the News
Posted by: Christine Sellers
The following is a guest post by Francisco Macías, Senior Legal Information Analyst. In the United States, National Hispanic Heritage Month takes place from September 15 to October 15. This month is set aside each year to recognize and honor the countless Hispanic Americans whose cultural legacy has enriched our country and our society. The …
Posted in: Guest Post, In the News, Law Library
Posted by: Clare Feikert-Ahalt
When doing my cool job, I never know what will cross my path. Recently, I happened to discover some items covering early sumptuary laws in England. These laws were prohibitions against what the Monarch at the time considered to be “extravagance,” typically in the form of food or clothing. They were reportedly aimed to preserve the class system …
Posted in: Collections, Law Library
Posted by: Hanibal Goitom
In my September 23, 2011 post, I discussed the August 23, 2011 referendum in Liberia, conducted largely in preparation for the constitutionally mandated general elections scheduled for October 11, 2011. The referendum included proposals that, if passed, would directly affect the conduct and outcome of the elections: a measure to amend the residency requirement for …
Posted in: Global Law
Posted by: Kelly Buchanan
This week the Law Library of Congress hosted Professor Joseph Raz who delivered a very thought-provoking lecture for the second Kellogg Biennial Lecture in Jurisprudence. Professor Raz is a leading proponent of legal positivism, which looks to the sources of laws as the basis for their validity, rather than their content. During the lecture, he offered …
Posted in: Event, Global Law, Law Library, Pic of the Week