The foreign law specialists and legal analysts at the Law Library of Congress have had another busy year writing reports and other responses to requests from a wide range of patrons. Some of these were detailed multinational studies, such as our reports on police weapons in select countries and on the regulation of genetically modified …
What an exciting year it has been for In Custodia Legis! We added Jennifer and Betty to our blog team. We published over 200 posts (go back and read any of them you might have missed, I’ll wait). The three most-viewed months in our blog’s four year history came in September, October, and November. Towards the …
The Constitutions of Clarendon were issued by Henry II in 1164. This document became the bone of contention between Henry II and the Archbishop of Canterbury, who was also his former chancellor and friend, Thomas Beckett. The quarrel between these two men eventually led to Thomas’s murder and then elevation to sainthood, as well as …
The following is guest post by Constance Johnson, a senior legal information analyst at the Law Library of Congress. Connie is chair of the Law Library’s planning committee for Human Rights Day and has previously written or co-written a number of posts for In Custodia Legis. Today is the world’s Human Rights Day, a day proclaimed by the …
The following is a guest post by Graciela Rodriguez-Ferrand, senior foreign law specialist for Argentina and several other Spanish-speaking jurisdictions. Argentina has a federal republic form of government and a democratic political system. The Argentine Constitution, enacted in 1853 and last amended in 1994, provides for three branches of government: an executive branch headed by …
Scholars, historians and contemporary thinkers will discuss how Magna Carta’s political and legal traditions have carried into our current times at a symposium on Dec. 9, 2014. The symposium, Conversations on the Enduring Legacy of the Great Charter, is being held in conjunction with the Library’s exhibition,”Magna Carta: Muse and Mentor.” The afternoon program, “Contemporary …
The Library of Congress is commemorating the 800th anniversary of Magna Carta with an exhibition – Magna Carta: Muse and Mentor, a symposium, and a series of talks starting this year. Through January 19, 2015, the Lincoln Cathedral Magna Carta, one of four remaining originals from 1215 is on display along with other rare materials from the Library’s rich …
Black Friday! A day of shopping and a day off for me. It didn’t used to be such. When I worked in a D.C. law firm, we all worked Black Friday (as well as most Saturdays, Monday holidays, Christmas Eve, New Year’s Eve and, during tax season, quite a few Sundays). As my friends were …
The following is a guest post by Susan Reyburn, writer-editor in the Library’s Publishing Office. Seventy-five years ago this week, the Lincoln Cathedral Magna Carta (1215) made its first visit to the Library of Congress, something that had not been on its itinerary when it arrived in New York in April 1939 for the World’s Fair. …