We recently published a report that surveys laws criminalizing blasphemy, defaming religion, harming religious feelings and other similar acts in seventy-seven jurisdictions around the world. The report includes a map showing the different regions of the world covered in the report. Reports such as this one, which survey a geographically, economically, and politically diverse group of countries, …
In 2015, there were slightly over 17 million people in Germany with a “migrant background”, accounting for 21% of the country’s total population. A person with a “migrant background” is defined by the German Federal Statistical Office (Destatis) as someone who was not born a German citizen or who has at least one parent who was not …
Spring may be the best time of year to take a break and visit Virginia’s historic triangle and Williamsburg, Virginia, especially the Virginia House of Burgesses. Spring is the anniversary time of so many historic revolutionary moments in Virginia. The House of Burgesses is the oldest English-speaking representative assembly in the New World, dating back …
The following is a guest post by Supreetha Sampath Kumar, a foreign law intern at the Law Library of Congress. This blog post is part of our Frequently Asked Legal Questions series. On November 8, 2016, the Prime Minister of India, Narendra Modi, announced the “notebandi” initiative, declaring that the use of all Rupees (Rs.) 500 and …
With the recent update to Congress.gov, you can now download your search results in a comma-separated value (CSV) file. This is a feature that I have heard users request almost as long as they have requested email alerts for legislation. We have limited the number of search results that you can download from a single …
This following is a guest post by Sayuri Umeda, a foreign law specialist who covers Japan and various other countries in East and Southeast Asia. She has previously written posts for In Custodia Legis on various topics, including testing of older drivers in Japan, English translations of post-World War II South Korean laws, laws and regulations passed …
Spring is a beautiful time of year in Washington, D.C. The temperature warms up; the cherry blossoms are out; and we frequently have an update of Congress.gov to share. In 2015 we added treaties and web-friendly bill text, and in 2016 we expanded the quick search feature. Today there is another round of enhancements to …
This week’s interview is with Joanne Baxter, who is working at the Law Library of Congress as a legal editor. 1. Describe your background. I was born in Panama and lived there until I was ten years old, after which my family moved to South Florida, where I remained until I relocated to Washington, D.C. in 2010. …