Law

Regional casino (UK Super Casino proposal) Regional casino A large-category casino concept introduced in the UK in the mid-2000s intended to match Las Vegas–style resorts; proposed sites, controversies, and the policy decisions that halted…

Registration (official recording of rights, events and entities) Registration Registration is the formal recording of an event, right, person, or thing in an official register or database. It creates evidence, supports legal effects, administration and publi…

Religious law Legal systems derived from religious traditions and texts that govern personal, moral and sometimes public conduct, often operating alongside secular legal systems in many countrie…

Reparation (legal) Compensation and remedies provided to victims of wrongdoing, including restitution, compensation, and other measures ordered by courts or states to repair harm.

Repeal (law): meaning, types, process and legal effects Repeal Repeal is the formal removal of a law. This article explains its forms, how it is carried out, its legal consequences, historical practice and distinctions from revocation or annul…

Resisting arrest: legal concept, variations, and practical issues Resisting arrest Overview of the offence commonly called resisting arrest, its typical elements, variations across jurisdictions, possible defenses, historical origins, and practical implications.

Resolution Resolution denotes the fineness of detail or the formal expression of a decision. It describes technical limits (image, audio, temporal, spectral) and procedural acts (votes, decla…

Right to a Fair Trial An overview of the right to a fair trial: core guarantees, historical development, variations among legal systems, remedies for violations, and its role in upholding the rule of la…

Right to an Adequate Standard of Living Overview of the right to an adequate standard of living: its elements (food, housing, healthcare, social security), legal foundations, history, state obligations, implementation ex…

Right to Housing: legal basis, principles, and practical measures Right to housing Overview of the right to housing, its legal foundations, core elements, implementation approaches, challenges such as homelessness and affordability, and how states and institution…

Right to Petition The right to petition allows people to request redress, information or action from public authorities without fear of punishment. It includes written, collective and electronic pet…

Rights: legal, moral, and human protections Rights Rights are entitlements or permissions recognized by law, moral systems, or social consensus. They guide what individuals may do, must not be denied, and how claims are balanced wi…

Rights of Englishmen: Origins, Principles, and Colonial Impact Rights of Englishmen Historical political concept of privileges claimed by English subjects—roots in Magna Carta and common law, its adoption in British North America, and influence on the American Rev…

Roman law: origins, structure, and lasting influence Roman law Roman law is the legal system developed in ancient Rome whose principles shaped civil law traditions worldwide; it covers origins, main divisions, sources, development under Justin…

Ronald Dworkin: Philosopher of Law and Rights Ronald Dworkin Overview of Ronald Dworkin (1931–2013), his career, principal ideas (law as integrity, rights as trumps), major works, influence on legal theory, and legacy.

Roper v. Simmons (2005): Juvenile Death Penalty Decision Roper v. Simmons Landmark U.S. Supreme Court ruling (2005) that found executing people for crimes committed under age 18 violates the Eighth Amendment; it overruled earlier precedent and reshaped j…

Rowlatt Act (Anarchical and Revolutionary Crimes Act, 1919) Rowlatt Act A 1919 British law that extended wartime emergency powers in India, allowing detention without trial and press restrictions. It provoked nationwide protests, Gandhi's Rowlatt Satya…

Royal charter — formal grants of rights and corporate status by a monarch Royal charter A royal charter is a formal grant issued by a monarch that creates or recognises an organisation, defines its constitution and privileges, and historically established towns, compa…

Royalty payment: definition, types, calculation, and legal context Royalty payment Royalty payments are fees paid to owners for the use of intellectual property or natural resources. This article explains types, calculation methods, licensing, history, and practi…

Rule of Law: Principles, History, and Practical Significance Rule of law An overview of the rule of law: core principles, historical roots, institutional elements, role in protecting rights and limiting power, and challenges to implementation in modern…

Rum‑running and Bootlegging: Smuggling Alcohol by Sea and Land Rum-running Illegal transport of alcoholic beverages to evade taxes or prohibition laws, historically tied to Prohibition-era sea smuggling and to land-based bootlegging traditions.

Runaway (dependent) A runaway is a child or dependent minor who leaves home without permission. This article explains causes, legal and social responses, risks, and distinctions from other forms of yo…

Salic law: Frankish legal code and its legacy in inheritance and succession Salic law Salic law was an early medieval Frankish legal code originating with the Salian Franks. It influenced property, family and succession rules, most famously the exclusion of women fr…

Salus populi suprema lex esto — origin, meaning, and use Salus populi suprema lex esto Latin maxim meaning 'the welfare of the people is the highest law'; traced to Cicero, used in legal and civic contexts and as Missouri's state motto and seal element.

Same-sex marriage (marriage equality) Same-sex marriage Marriage between two people of the same sex; covers legal recognition, social and religious dimensions, history of change, common impacts, and distinctions from other partnership f…

Same-sex marriage in the United Kingdom Legal recognition and development of same-sex marriage across the UK, its relationship with civil partnerships, key dates, jurisdictional differences, and social and legal implicat…

Same-sex marriage in the United States Legal recognition of marriage between persons of the same sex in the U.S., its development, major court decisions, rights conferred, and social and legal issues since the 1970s.

Search and seizure Search and seizure: the legal procedures by which authorities inspect places or persons to find and take evidence, governed by warrants, standards of proof, and exceptions that bal…

Second Amendment to the United States Constitution Part of the U.S. Bill of Rights, the Second Amendment protects the right to keep and bear arms; its meaning and scope have been debated from the Founding era through modern court d…

Second Geneva Convention: 1906 revision and its place in humanitarian law Second Geneva Convention Overview of the Second Geneva Convention (1906 revision), its purpose for the wounded in the field, development, core protections, legal legacy, and differences with later Geneva i…

Security: concepts, types, history, and practical measures Security Overview of security as protection from threats and loss, its types (physical, information, human), common measures, historical development, applications (airports, banks, prisons)…

Security clearance: purpose, levels, process, and significance Security clearance An explanation of security clearances: what they are, typical levels and compartments, how background investigations work, uses in government and industry, and important distinctio…

Security interest: secured loans, collateral, and creditor rights Security interest A security interest is a creditor’s legal claim on collateral that secures an obligation. This article explains what it covers, how it is created and enforced, common types, and ke…

Sedition: legal meaning, history, and contemporary issues Sedition Sedition refers to speech or actions intended to disturb or overthrow civil authority. This article outlines legal elements, historical development, differences from treason, and m…

Self-defence: principles, methods, and legal limits Self-defence Overview of self-defence: what it is, common legal principles, methods (including martial arts and weapons), historical development, examples, and important distinctions and limits…

Self-determination (right of peoples to choose their political status) Self-determination Principle that peoples or nations may choose their sovereignty and political status. Covers history, legal development, mechanisms (referendums, autonomy), examples, and controvers…

Sentence (law): meaning, types, purpose and procedure Sentence (law) A sentence is the court’s formal punishment imposed after a criminal conviction. This article explains what sentences are, common types, how they are decided, historical context, p…

Separate but equal — U.S. legal doctrine Separate but equal “Separate but equal” was a U.S. legal doctrine that permitted racial segregation so long as separate facilities were deemed equal; established in Plessy v. Ferguson (1896) and over…

Seriatim: meaning and use in law and formal writing Seriatim Seriatim is a Latin adverb meaning 'in series' or 'one after another'. In law it describes addressing multiple issues or issuing separate opinions in sequence rather than as a sing…

Seventeenth Amendment to the United States Constitution Amendment XVII (ratified 1913) shifted election of U.S. Senators from state legislatures to direct popular vote, altered vacancy procedures, and reconfigured aspects of federal rep…

Seventh Amendment to the United States Constitution Overview of the Seventh Amendment: its guarantees of civil jury trials, limits on judicial re‑examination, historical roots, exceptions, and modern significance.

Severance Package: Definition, Components, Legal Issues, and Best Practices Severance package A severance package is compensation and benefits provided when employment ends. This article explains typical components, eligibility, legal and tax points, negotiation tips, and c…

Sex assignment (assignment at birth) Sex assignment Process of recording a newborn as male or female based on physical characteristics; covers methods, ambiguous cases, clinical evaluation, legal recording, social implications and e…

Sex shop (adult store): overview, products, laws, and social context Sex shop A sex shop (adult store) sells products for sexual expression and pleasure. This article explains typical goods, store layouts, legal limits, history, health considerations, and di…

Sexual assault: definition, causes, impacts, and prevention Sexual assault Overview of sexual assault: definition and legal distinctions, common forms, contributing factors, effects on survivors, and approaches to prevention and support.

Sexual harassment: definitions, forms, history and prevention Sexual harassment Overview of sexual harassment: what it is, common forms, historical origin of the term, impacts, legal and workplace responses, and practical prevention and support measures.

Sexual slavery: definition, forms, history, and legal responses Sexual slavery Sexual slavery is the forced sexual exploitation of people as a form of servitude or trafficking. This article explains its forms, historical and wartime contexts, legal frameworks…

Sharia (Islamic law): principles, history, and contemporary application Sharia Concise guide to sharia: its meaning, primary sources and jurisprudence, historical development, principal areas of application, and how it is interpreted and used across modern so…