Hot answers tagged law
18
Probably not. It seems to have existed as a traditional right, but was almost never exercised.
Wikipedia denies the existence of this right, citing Albrecht Classen's The Medieval Chastity Belt.
Snopes concurs, citing Encyclopedia Britannica, 15th ed., 10.610:
[The droit du seigneur] is paralleled in various primitive societies, but the evidence of ...
15
Its important to start talking about copyright by explaining what it is. In the USA, it is not an artist's natural right to his own work, or somesuch. It is not a property right. It is instead a bargain. We (the public) allow someone to have a temporary monopoly on reproduction of a work, and we gain (eventually) more Public Domain works.
So you may now ...
13
Let me answer as a German with an analogy.
You can compare the German speed limit to weapon ownership in US. Any party suggesting introduction of a general speed limit would conduct political suicide and face serious debates with the automobile lobby and voters (most workplaces here come from this branch). Most rational arguments points towards a speed ...
9
You have several ways to go about it.
First, a set of powerful nations will recognise and guarantee the independence up to going to war over the state. This is generally the peaceful way as everyone comes to an agreement that this is what should happen. Some countries (such as Poland) were re-made after a war and given independence again. India could ...
9
One modern document that is considered a body of laws concerning warfare and predates the Geneva Conventions, is the "Instructions for the Government of Armies of the United States in the Field, General Order № 100", issued by President Lincoln in April 24, 1863. It was prepared by Francis Lieber and its commonly called the Lieber Code or Lieber ...
8
Depending on your definition of corporation, you could claim that Venice and other merchant cities of Italy were akin to corporations. Guilds could well be said to have been pseudo corporations and the Templar orders a pseudo-bank.
Corporations allow for a united front against competition, taxes, and a sharing of profits. The Merchant Adventurers of ...
8
Contrary to popular myth, cannabis is not legal in the Netherlands. But the current de facto liberal policy dates to 1976.
In 1976 the Netherlands adopted a formal written policy of non-enforcement for violations involving possession or sale of up to 30 grams of cannabis. [1] (emphasis mine)
That study I cited is worth perusing if you're interested in ...
7
In the late part of 1858, Count Charles Montalembert of France was put on trial and prosecuted by the French government for writing an article titled "A Debate on India in the English Parliament". The French government took the position that certain passages of this article were "seditious and an outrage upon the existing Government" of France. (This link ...
7
There's a pretty good discussion of this here: http://www.vroma.org/~bmcmanus/socialclass.html
Briefly, in the early republic, the populace was divided into the plebs (common people) and patricians (aristocracy) with most public offices reserved for the patricians. Over time, this evolved into more layers, with the senatorial class (highest) followed by the ...
7
Disney doesn't want the copyright over Micky Mouse to expire, so when the date is approaching, they "kindly ask" the government to extend it again.
Micky has been created in 1928, so the copyright duration will always be at least (current year - 1928 + 1).
Similarly, there has always been someone with similar interests and enough power to force this ...
7
Yes, there was such a bill, known as Indiana Pi Bill, but it was never approved by the State.
You can find a very interesting article on the matter, written by Arthur E. Hallerburg, in the text of Proceedings of the Indiana Academy of Science. Search for the phrase House Bill No. 246 Revisited.
The whole affair started in 1894, when American Mathematical ...
6
Prohibition required a constitutional amendment, because the Federal government does not have the power to regulate intra-state commerce.
The majority of states and many localities had already banned the sale of alcohol. The progressive and women's suffrage movements saw banning alcohol as a way to improve living conditions for women and children and reduce ...
6
Today's Louisiana, with its port of New Orleans, was the part of the Louisiana Territory that was most developed and populated when it was sold to America in 1803. Hence, the state was largely entrenched in its French ways. The LATER settlement by English speakers from the rest of the U.S. created a "bijudicial" system that retained a heavy French influence.
...
6
There is no formal process by which one country would declare its independence from another country. However, the most common form has been to simply declare your intentions to operate as an independent entity and then hope that the international community will recognize your claim.
Historically, this has been done by a number of countries. In South ...
6
The only thing resembling a "check" on pro-Pinochet activities in Chile was an investigation into U.S. intelligence activities in the 1960s and 1970s by the bi-partisan (but Democrat-led) Church Committee. These included the activities in Chile, but also Democratic initiatives (under Kennedy and Johnson) in the 1960s. The driving force was not foreign ...
6
Yes, indeed! During the Penal Law period of the 18th Century, there were laws in Northern Ireland designed to "protect Protestants against the pollution of Popery" (Akenson, 111)
You might find this history of marriage in the west interesting. Marriage started as a pact between families, and was a purely secular matter following the Roman patriarchal ...
6
The way people like to do this comparison of laws or enforcement policies (eg: Broken Window enforcement) is to compare the delta in crime rates with similar cities that don't have the policy. Just looking at the local crime rate change can be misleading, as other factors may account for any differences (eg: economic changes). Finding a good "control" city ...
6
There are several types of repeals.
First, there are partial repeals where a poorly crafted portion of a law causes problems. For example, the onerous 1099 reporting section of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (aka Obamacare) was repealed. The rest of the law remains intact so far but that portion was repealed. Another recent example would be ...
6
Yes.
The Latin League was founded in 7th century B.C. by a set of Italian states. The capital city was Alba Longa.
Delian League was founded in 5th century BC
Peloponnesian League was formed between 6 and 4th centuries BC
League of Corinth was formed during the winter of 338 BC/337 BC
Achaean League existed between 280 BC and 146 BC
In central, barbarian, ...
6
In his book "The Longest Struggle: Animal Advocacy from Pythagoras to Peta", Norm Phelps speaking about origins of animal protection refers to the times of Maurya Empire under Ashoka rules in 3rd century BCE, where it had mainly religious reasons. In his empire, not only hunting was banned, but also slaughter and eating of cattle, together with restrictions ...
5
The least bloodshed occurs when the stronger country is willing to grant independence without a fight. As between the Czech Republic and Slovakia, when Slovakia wanted to leave, "the feeling was mutual" on the Czech side. Some divorces are "amicable."
Britain granted independence to far away Australia early in the 20th century. It had previous experiences ...
5
prohibition of polygamy most certainly doesn't correlate with democracy.
Polygamy was prohibited in the entire Christendom throughout Dark Ages and absolute monarchies - not exactly the best circumstances for Democracy. Same with USSR and Nazi Germany.
On the other side of the matter, modern western democracies and USA are fairly obviously evolving into ...
5
British colonial rule after the end of the Seven Year's War ended in 1763 gave the Canadians, including those in Quebec, little choice. Since the British ruled, their laws became the law of the land. It really wasn't so much of a transition as it was an imposition, in that the British imposed it upon the Canadians.
In 1774, however, the British Parliament ...
5
The word "corporation" originates from Ancient Rome. Ancient Rome had special laws concerning the creation of corporations. Under the republic the creation of corporations was free, but starting from the reign of Augustus, only the Senate could approve the creation of new corporations.
A Roman corporation was unlike the modern ones. It was more like a ...
5
Well, technically the states don't have to do anything at all for the parties. So, if the parties would like their primaries to show up on state ballots counted at state expense by state-funded officials, then they have to follow the rules (laws) the state sets for such activity.
There's nothing stopping you from starting your own party and selecting your ...
5
I believe this was to make the local State laws, that were a hodgepodge of enactments on a State level, more uniform and to bring the enforcement into the Federal realm. This was especially easy since the Temperance Movements had become politically powerful in the early 20th Century and in the election of 1917 the pro-Prohibitionists finally had a majority ...
5
In 2 court rulings this century the pre civil war secession situation was described as either unresolved or unsettled, not illegal nor unconstitutional.
In 2004 the SCOTUS observed that inclusion of the word “indivisible” in the Pledge of Allegiance was significant because “the question whether a State could secede from the Union had been intensely ...
5
The earliest political body designed to harness the power of multiple independent sovereign states for trade and military purposes we have a historical record for appears to be the Awussa League.
The Assuwa League was an alliance of city-states and kingdoms formed to oppose Hittite influence in Anatolia, dating to just before the 14th century BCE.
5
I don't remember much of an outcry but I do recall that some of the labelling laws did come about due to health issues. Mattresses and blankets were often carriers of diseases especially in crowded urban areas, and in some of the history books about the time I read the labelling laws were often pointed more towards public safety.
If you think of this as an ...
5
There is a provision in the Constitution for the President to propose bills to Congress. From Article II, Section 3 (emphasis mine):
He shall from time to time give to the Congress Information of the State of the Union, and recommend to their Consideration such Measures as he shall judge necessary and expedient;
While every President has had the ...
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