Abolishing ancient laws in England is often no easy task. A significant degree of research is involved before these laws are amended or abolished. The research has to be particularly thorough to avoid one of the oldest – that of unintended consequences. The issue of thoroughly researching laws was demonstrated several years ago when the government was […]
Last year, Kurt looked into the origins of Saint Patrick’s Day and examined some of the Law Library’s Rare Book Collection holdings that relate to this day. I thought that I would do a slightly different take on the day and see how, despite the volatile history, it is celebrated in England. The celebrations are, […]
Cynthia informed us about International Plan Language Day and the global movement to improve the use of plain language in government and legal writing. Kelly continued the trend and wrote about New Zealand’s approach to using plain English in the country’s laws. I thought I would continue the series. Despite the last, rather confusing weird […]
The English are, generally speaking, a fairly genteel group of people. Hunting in England is now relatively uncommon, with fox hunting (very controversially) legislated against in 2007. Even owning a gun is rather unusual and involves a long and highly regulated process. I definitely noticed a huge contrast when I first moved here – during hunting season deer […]
King Henry IV of England forbade transmutation, a principle of alchemy, in the Act Against Multiplication of 1404.
This past October, I was able to take a trip to the United Kingdom. Being the legal geek that I am, I had to stop by the Royal Courts of Justice while in London. The Royal Courts of Justice house the High Court and Court of Appeal for England and Wales. The building complex is […]
“The Tryals of Major Stede Bonnet “describes the return of Blackbeard and Bonnet to the Carolinas in June 1718, aboard together on Blackbeard’s ship, the Queen Anne’s Revenge.
Join the Law Library of Congress online on December 8, 2022 at 3p.m. EST for our annual Human Rights Day event. Please register here. Human Rights Day was established to commemorate the adoption by the United Nations General Assembly of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights on December 10, 1948. This event will feature a […]
A description of Samuel Morse’s life and inventions, including the telegraph and Morse Code.
The following is a guest post by Erika Hope Spencer, reference specialist for France in the Latin American, Caribbean, and European Division at the Library of Congress. The history of witchcraft is a fascinating topic to research, but it is not always obvious where to locate the best resources. Primary sources are always a good […]