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common law

(Encyclopedia)common law, system of law that prevails in England and in countries colonized by England. The name is derived from the medieval theory that the law administered by the king's courts represented the co...

canon law

(Encyclopedia)canon law, in the Roman Catholic Church, the body of law based on the legislation of the councils (both ecumenical and local) and the popes, as well as the bishops (for diocesan matters). It is the la...

Reading, Rufus Daniel Isaacs, 1st marquess of

(Encyclopedia)Reading, Rufus Daniel Isaacs, 1st marquess of rĕdˈĭng [key], 1860–1935, British statesman. Called to the bar in 1887, he achieved great success in his profession. He entered Parliament as a Liber...

Cobb, Howell

(Encyclopedia)Cobb, Howell, 1815–68, American politican, b. Jefferson co., Ga. In 1837 he became solicitor general of the western judicial circuit of Georgia, a district populated largely by small farmers of Unio...

Torrington, George Byng, Viscount

(Encyclopedia)Torrington, George Byng, Viscount bĭng, tŏrˈĭngtən [key], 1663–1733, British admiral. Early in his career he helped win the support of the navy for William of Orange in the Glorious Revolution ...

Avon, 1st earl of

(Encyclopedia)Avon, 1st earl of: see Eden, Anthony, 1st earl of Avon. ...

Beer's law

(Encyclopedia)Beer's law [for August Beer], physical law stating that the quantity of light absorbed by a substance dissolved in a nonabsorbing solvent is directly proportional to the concentration of the substance...

natural law

(Encyclopedia)natural law, theory that some laws are basic and fundamental to human nature and are discoverable by human reason without reference to specific legislative enactments or judicial decisions. Natural la...

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