Notice
Due to the temporary shutdown of the federal government beginning midnight, October 1, all Library of Congress buildings are closed and all public events are canceled until further notice. More.

Top of page

Category: In the News

Ornate red and ivory wall decoration, with plaque and symbols

70th Anniversary of the German Federal Court of Justice

Posted by: Jenny Gesley

This month, the German Federal Court of Justice (Bundesgerichtshof, BGH)—Germany’s supreme court for civil and criminal cases—is celebrating its 70th anniversary. It was established on October 1, 1950, and immediately started hearing cases as it took over the case files from the German Supreme Court for the British Zone (Oberster Gerichtshof für die Britische Zone, …

Ornate red and ivory wall decoration, with plaque and symbols

New Report Examines Restrictions on Freedom of Expression during COVID-19 in Select Jurisdictions

Posted by: Hanibal Goitom

The permeation of misinformation and disinformation relating to any conceivable issue, particularly on social media platforms, is rampant. This problem has become particularly acute with the advent of the COVID-19 global pandemic. A policy document issued by the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OCED) described the ubiquity of false information and the challenge it presents in …

Ornate red and ivory wall decoration, with plaque and symbols

100 Year Anniversary of the Austrian Constitution

Posted by: Jenny Gesley

Unlike most countries, Austria does not have just one constitutional document, like the Constitution of the United States for example, but several documents that have constitutional status. Of these documents, the most important one is the Austrian Federal Constitutional Law (Bundes-Verfassungsgesetz). It was adopted by the Constituent National Assembly on October 1, 1920—100 years ago today—and entered into force …

Ornate red and ivory wall decoration, with plaque and symbols

New Report Examines the Regulation of the Sale of Wild Animals and Their Meat in Markets Around the World

Posted by: Kelly Buchanan

When a novel coronavirus was first reported as having been contracted by people in Wuhan, China, in  December 2019, there was a lot of discussion about the potential source of the virus. On January 12, 2020, the World Health Organization (WHO) released a statement saying that “[t]he evidence is highly suggestive that the outbreak is …

Ornate red and ivory wall decoration, with plaque and symbols

Join Us on September 24 for a Foreign and Comparative Law Webinar on “Worlds Apart: Legal Responses to COVID-19 in New Zealand and Sweden”

Posted by: Elin Hofverberg

Please join us for the Law Library's upcoming webinar: "Worlds Apart: Legal Responses to COVID-19 in New Zealand and Sweden" at 2 p.m. EDT on Thursday, September 24, 2020. This webinar is the latest installment in the Law Library's series of webinars focused on foreign and comparative law. In this webinar, we will discuss and compare the overarching policies and approaches of the two countries, outline the relevant laws, and a look at how the two governments have communicated with the public about the pandemic and the approaches taken.

Ornate red and ivory wall decoration, with plaque and symbols

“Justice Dogs” in Germany

Posted by: Jenny Gesley

Are you looking for a legitimate reason to browse adorable dog pictures at work? Well, this blog post might just be what you were looking for! In December 2019, the Golden Retriever “Watson” started his work as a “justice dog” in the German state of Baden-Württemberg as part of a pilot project. Justice dogs are trained …

Ornate red and ivory wall decoration, with plaque and symbols

Einstein’s Fateful Letter

Posted by: Margaret Wood

Between July 18 and August 15, 1939, one of the most consequential letters in modern history was drafted by Albert Einstein and the Hungarian-born physicist Leo Szilard. The letter, which was eventually delivered to President Franklin Roosevelt,led to the Manhattan Project and the development of the first two atomic weapons. Szilard and two other Hungarian-born physicists, …