Also known as: leges publicae · public law
Written by attorneys · grounded in primary & secondary sources — see below
2 senses
A law enacted by a popular assembly in Roman law and binding on all the people.
A written law.
Each sense below has its own examples, sources, and questions.
A law enacted by a popular assembly in Roman law and binding on all the people.
Select any source to read its text and confirm it supports the definition.
A written law.
Select any source to read its text and confirm it supports the definition.
Layla Lane sells goods after an informant working with police falsely assures her the transaction is lawful. She later claims the inducement bars prosecution. The court examines whether the conduct qualifies as entrapment under rules governing public officials.
Lunar Dynamics seeks recovery of assets seized by a foreign government. The court declines to adjudicate the validity of the seizure. The decision rests on principles allocating authority between public enactments and private claims.
Liberty Trust claims title to cargo taken during hostilities. The court determines whether private parties may assert rights without sovereign authorization. The ruling turns on the scope of public authority over wartime seizures.
Loyal Insurance challenges spending limits imposed on political contributions. The court weighs whether the restrictions exceed legislative power over public processes. The outcome depends on the boundary between public regulation and private expression.
Lillian Locke seeks to compel seating after Congress refuses to seat her. The court considers whether internal legislative rules override judicial review. The case tests the reach of public lawmaking authority over membership decisions.
Lakeshore Industries attempts to enforce a judgment against property located in another state. The court examines whether publication alone suffices to bind an absent owner. The holding defines limits on public authority to adjudicate private rights.
Lex publica refers to enactments passed by popular assemblies that bind all citizens. It also denotes written statutes as opposed to customary or unwritten rules.
Supporting sources
One sense of the term requires passage by a popular assembly. The second sense simply identifies any written law regardless of origin.
Supporting sources
The phrase captures the Roman category of laws that govern relations between the state and individuals or among citizens at large, in contrast to rules regulating private transactions.
Supporting sources
…States are not truly independent sovereigns, Mr. Justice Field found that their jurisdiction was defined by the "principles of public law" that regulate the relationships among independent nations. The first of those principles was "that every State possesses exclusive jurisdiction and sovereignty over persons and property…