Kinds of Law: Vocabulary

Question 1

Public Law

Answer 1

The set of laws that governs the relations hip between citizens and their government. This includes constitutional law, administrative law, and much of criminal law.

Question 2

Private Law

Answer 2

The set of laws that governs the relationship of private citizens with each other. Examples include contract law, tort law, and property law.

Question 3

State Action Doctrine

Answer 3

The constitutional law principle that the Constitution applies only to state action toward individuals, not actions between individuals where there is no state involvement.

Question 4

Substantive Law

Answer 4

The law that governs how people are to behave. This is the “semantics ” of law.

Question 5

Procedural Law

Answer 5

The law that governs how to make us e of the legal system, including how to make and enforce laws. This is law’s “grammar.”

Question 6

Jurisdiction

Answer 6

The power to make legal decisions and judgments . To say that a court “has jurisdiction” refers to its power to pronounce law, especially its power to hear a certain type of case or adjudicate disputes between particular persons . But “jurisdiction” is sometimes us ed differently in other contexts . For example, “this jurisdiction” refers to “this state” or “this nation’s laws.”

Question 7

Civil Law Jurisdiction

Answer 7

A legal system built around comprehensive codes . Examples include France, Germany, and the state of Louisiana.

Question 8

Common Law Jurisdiction

Answer 8

A legal system where law is made largely by court decisions rather than legal codes . Examples include the U.S. and other former British colonies .

Question 9

Tribal Law

Answer 9

Law created by a tribal government that applies to tribal members and territories. There are over 500 tribal governments recognized in the U.S.

Question 10

Domestic Law

Answer 10

The law that is made by U.S. sovereigns and governs activities on U.S. soil. In some cases, it may also govern U.S. citizens or others within the jurisdictional power of the U.S. even though they may not be physically present in the U.S.

Question 11

International Law

Answer 11

The set of rules that countries follow in dealing with each other. This includes the relations hip between sovereign states and international entities , s uch as the International Criminal Court, as well as supranational law, such as the law of the European Union that governs its members .

Question 12

Constitutional Law

Answer 12

The body of law that derives from the U.S. Constitution. It defines the role of the branches of federal government, divides authority between the federal government and the states , and enumerates the basic rights of citizens . States also have constitutional law based on their state constitutions, but when we speak of it we typically specify “state constitutional law.”

Question 13

Statute

Answer 13

A law passed by the legislative branch.

Question 14

Bicameralism

Answer 14

Refers to the practice of having two “chambers ” or “houses ” of the legislative branch, each of which must pas s a bill before it becomes law. A federal statute must be passed by both the House of Representatives and the Senate before it becomes law.

Question 15

Presentment

Answer 15

Refers to the practice of presenting a federal statute passed by both the House and Senate to the President for signature before it becomes law.

Question 16

Regulation

Answer 16

A rule is sued by a government agency that has the force of law. Sometimes the word “regulation” or “regulate” is also used more informally by lawyers to refer to governance. For example, “how should we regulate autonomous vehicles ?”