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Ornate red and ivory wall decoration, with plaque and symbols

The “Lieber Code” – the First Modern Codification of the Laws of War

Posted by: Jenny Gesley

On April 24, 1863, U.S. President Abraham Lincoln issued “General Orders No. 100: Instructions for the Government of the Armies of the United States in the Field,” commonly known as the “Lieber Code” after its main author Francis (Franz) Lieber. The Lieber Code set out rules of conduct during hostilities for Union soldiers throughout the U.S. Civil …

Ornate red and ivory wall decoration, with plaque and symbols

Irish Law and St. Patrick’s Day on the Shelf

Posted by: Jennifer Davis

Saint Patrick, the patron saint of Ireland, has his feast day on the anniversary of his death, March 17. Thanks to the Irish diaspora, “St. Patrick’s Day is celebrated in more countries around the world than any other national festival” (Cronin, 242). Originally observed to celebrate Saint Patrick bringing Catholicism to Ireland, it has also …

Ornate red and ivory wall decoration, with plaque and symbols

Historical U.S. Reports Available Online

Posted by: Jennifer González

Following our releases of the Federal Register and United States Code collections, the Library of Congress is pleased to make available the decisions and orders from the United States Reports, from 1754 through 2003. The U.S. Reports is the collection of bound volumes that contain the official version of the U.S. Supreme Court opinions. The …

Ornate red and ivory wall decoration, with plaque and symbols

More Historical Statutes at Large Available Online

Posted by: Jennifer González

The individual statutes for congresses 68 through 81 are now available on the Law Library of Congress website. This addition closes the gap for the years for which the Statutes at Large were not available on the Internet. As with the volumes for previous congresses, each of these statutes is tagged with tailored, descriptive metadata …

Ornate red and ivory wall decoration, with plaque and symbols

Nauru – 50 Years of Independence

Posted by: Kelly Buchanan

Fifty years ago, on January 31, 1968, Nauru became an independent nation. It is the smallest island republic in the world with a land area of just 8.1 square miles (“about 0.1 times the size of Washington, DC“) and a population of around 10,000 people. Prior to independence, from 1947 onward, the island was subject to a …

Ornate red and ivory wall decoration, with plaque and symbols

On the Shelf – More D.C. Regulations

Posted by: Betty Lupinacci

Recently, it seems as though we have had a run on 1940s D.C. regulations.  In November, I wrote about the city’s 1941 building height restrictions, and yesterday, Ann Hemmens (again) brought me a copy of the 1944 Police Regulations a patron had requested.  I perused the index of the latter and found the entry “Sheep: …

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 …