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Category: Collections

Ornate red and ivory wall decoration, with plaque and symbols

Swedish Law – Global Legal Collection Highlights

Posted by: Elin Hofverberg

This blog post is part of our Global Legal Collection Highlights series intended to introduce readers to various foreign legal collections and resources. The creation of a nation is a particularly complex and difficult task. One might say that it often involves blood, sweat, and tears, as well as possibly toil and terror; the types of …

Ornate red and ivory wall decoration, with plaque and symbols

Finland: 100 Years of Independence – Global Legal Collection Highlights

Posted by: Elin Hofverberg

Just over 100 years ago, on December 6, 1917, Finland officially declared independence from Russia. The Declaration of Independence had been signed on December 4 by the Senate (then Finland’s highest governing body) and was adopted by the Finnish Parliament two days later. Work towards independence had commenced in March 1917 following the abdication of the Russian tsar. In …

Ornate red and ivory wall decoration, with plaque and symbols

250 Years of Press Freedom in Sweden

Posted by: Elin Hofverberg

December 2, 2016, marked the 250th anniversary of the first Swedish Freedom of the Press Act, which has been regarded as the world’s first statute related to freedom of the press. The Act abolished censorship and specifically provided a right for Swedish citizens to access government archives. It was therefore also the first act to establish …

Iceland – Global Legal Collection Highlights

Posted by: Elin Hofverberg

Today is the National Day of Iceland, which celebrates the establishment of the Republic of Iceland upon Iceland declaring full independence from Denmark on June 17, 1944.  This seemed like a good occasion to share some of the highlights of the Law Library of Congress collection of Icelandic materials with In Custodia Legis readers. Jónsbók …