On September 24, 2015, Pope Francis delivered a speech before a joint meeting of Congress. I thought it would be interesting to provide some information about joint sessions and meetings of Congress–what they are, how they occur and where one can find historical information about joint sessions. The Senate website defines a joint session as …
In commemoration of Constitution Day, the Law Library of Congress hosted a public program on Wednesday, September 16, that examined the right of religious freedom, which is protected by the First Amendment of the United States Constitution. The program featured Robert P. George, McCormick Professor of Jurisprudence at Princeton University, and Jess Bravin, Supreme Court …
This is a guest post by Nicolas Boring who has previously written for the blog on a variety of topics including FALQs: Freedom of Speech in France, How Sunday Came to be a Day of Rest in France, Napoleon Bonaparte and Mining Rights in France, French Law Global Legal Collection Highlights, and co-collaborated on the post, Does the …
This week’s interview is with Chloe Gillenwater, a foreign law intern working in the Global Legal Research Directorate of the Law Library of Congress. Describe your background. I was born and raised in Paris. I’m a French lawyer with a Paris Ouest Nanterre Master 2 and an LL.M from Duke University, and have been admitted to the …
The emergence of electronic cigarettes (e-cigarettes) is a recent phenomenon. E-cigarettes are battery-operated products that typically resemble conventional cigarettes. Instead of tobacco, they contain cartridges filled with liquids that are generally composed of nicotine, flavor, and other chemicals. During consumption, the liquids are heated and thereby vaporize. Because e-cigarettes are relatively new and potential risks are still …
This blog post is part of our Frequently Asked Legal Questions series. On July 8, 2015, the new Greek Finance Minister Euclid Tsakalotos submitted a request for a third loan package to the European Stability Mechanism (ESM). The ESM was set up in 2012 as a permanent intergovernmental organization under public international law to issue debt instruments …
This week’s interview is with Julia Heron, one of our summer interns in the Global Legal Directorate. You may already know Julia from a post she co-authored for In Custodia Legis, “National Holiday of Quebec: An Introduction to Quebec Dual Legal System.” Describe your background. I was born and raised in Montreal. I recently completed …
Now that we are midway through the year I thought it would be a good opportunity to look at our metrics at this point. What In Custodia Legis blog posts have been popular? What Law Library of Congress reports? What legislation? The mix of the top ten new blog posts highlights both our foreign and …
The following is a guest post by Geneviève Claveau and Julia Heron, summer interns at the Global Legal Research Directorate, Law Library of Congress. Every year on June 24th, the province of Quebec, Canada celebrates Saint-Jean-Baptiste day. Initially associated with Catholicism, this holiday goes as far back as 1834, when it was first used to …