644 articles
River basin management
River basin management, in its integrated form known as IRBM, governs water, land, and related resources across a whole river basin; the EU's 2000 Water Framework Directive made such plans obligatory for member states.
Royal charter
A Royal Charter is a UK instrument granted by the Sovereign on Privy Council advice under the royal prerogative, incorporating bodies such as the BBC, universities, and professional institutions with independent legal personality, over 1,000 grants recorded since 1155.
Rule of law
The rule of law, also called the supremacy of law, is the principle that everyone, including the state, is bound by laws applied by independent courts.
Russkaya Pravda (Русская Правда)
Russkaya Pravda (Русская Правда) is the medieval law code of Kievan Rus', the oldest known of the East Slavic lands, assembled in the 11th and 12th centuries.
S. R. Bommai v. Union of India
S. R. Bommai v. Union of India (1994), (1994) 3 SCC 1, is a nine-judge Supreme Court of India ruling holding Article 356 proclamations subject to judicial review, federalism and secularism basic features, and the floor test the way to prove majority.
Sáenz Peña Law
The Sáenz Peña Law (Ley Sáenz Peña) is Argentina's 1912 election law, named for President Roque Sáenz Peña, which established secret, obligatory voting for men and ended the fraudulent "voto cantado" era.
Safe and Secure Innovation for Frontier Artificial Intelligence Models Act
California SB 1047, the Safe and Secure Innovation for Frontier Artificial Intelligence Models Act by Senator Scott Wiener, required safety testing, protocols, and shutdown capability for models costing over $100 million to train; passed 2024, vetoed by Newsom September 29, 2024.
Safeguard American Voter Eligibility Act
Safeguard American Voter Eligibility Act (SAVE Act; SAVE America Act, H.R. 7296/S. 3752): proposed U.S. law requiring documentary proof of citizenship, such as a passport or REAL ID, to register to vote in federal elections; passed the House in 2025 and 2026.
Seat belt legislation
Seat belt legislation mandates belt use by vehicle occupants and defines enforcement type. Primary laws allow stops solely for non-use; secondary laws require another violation first. First enacted in Victoria, Australia, 1970.
Second Amendment sanctuary
Second Amendment sanctuary: a US state, county, or city resolution or law pledging nonenforcement of gun-control measures deemed unconstitutional; borrowed from immigration sanctuary cities; about 1,200 local adopters; generally no formal legal effect.
Second Amendment to the United States Constitution
The Second Amendment to the United States Constitution, ratified in 1791 as the second of the ten Bill of Rights amendments, states that "A well regulated Militia, being necessary to the security of a free State, the right of the people to keep and bear Arms, shall not be infringed."
Second Bill of Rights
The Second Bill of Rights, or Economic Bill of Rights, was Franklin D. Roosevelt's January 11, 1944 State of the Union proposal listing eight economic and social rights, from a useful job to medical care and education; never enacted, it inspired the UDHR.
Second impeachment trial of Donald Trump
Second impeachment trial of Donald Trump, the February 9–13, 2021 Senate trial on incitement of insurrection after January 6; first trial of a former president, presided over by Patrick Leahy, acquitted 57–43 with seven Republicans voting guilty.
Seventh Amendment to the United States Constitution
Seventh Amendment to the U.S. Constitution: part of the Bill of Rights (1791) preserving civil jury trial in federal common-law suits over $20 and barring fact reexamination; not incorporated against states, reshaped by SEC v. Jarkesy (2024).
Seventh Schedule to the Constitution of India
Seventh Schedule to the Constitution of India, under Article 246, divides legislative power via the Union List, State List, and Concurrent List, adapted from the Government of India Act 1935 and reshaped by the 42nd and 101st Amendments.
Shami Chakrabarti
Shami Chakrabarti, Baroness Chakrabarti, British barrister, and Labour peer; director of Liberty 2003-2016; chaired the 2016 Labour antisemitism inquiry; Shadow Attorney General 2016-2020; author of On Liberty.
Singaporean nationality law
Singaporean nationality law, governed by Articles 120–141 of the Constitution, defines citizenship by birth, descent, registration, and naturalisation; gender-neutral descent rules date from 15 May 2004, dual citizenship ends at 21, and the annual renunciation rate is below 0.1%.
Sixteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution
The Sixteenth Amendment (1913) lets Congress tax incomes without apportionment among the states. Covers Pollock v. Farmers' Loan & Trust Co., ratification, Eisner v. Macomber, and Moore v. United States.
Slave states and free states
Slave states and free states were the pre-Civil War U.S. legal division over slavery. Congress preserved Senate balance by paired admissions (Missouri Compromise 1820, Compromise of 1850) until Kansas-Nebraska, Dred Scott, and the 13th Amendment ended it.
Smoking ban
Smoking ban: laws prohibiting smoking in workplaces, restaurants, bars, and public spaces, grounded in WHO FCTC Article 8. Key facts: secondhand smoke kills over 1 million yearly; bans cut cardiovascular events about 12%; no substantial hospitality economic impact; Maldives has the first generational ban.
Social media age verification laws in the United States
US state laws requiring social media platforms or app stores to verify users' ages and obtain parental consent for minors; first enacted in Utah in 2023, mostly blocked in federal court under strict scrutiny, though Free Speech Coalition v. Paxton (2025) established intermediate scrutiny for age-verification requirements.
Social Security Act
The Social Security Act (Public Law 74-271, H.R. 7260) is the 1935 U.S. federal statute signed by Franklin D. Roosevelt on August 14, 1935, creating old-age benefits, unemployment compensation grants, and aid programs, later expanded by the 1939, 1950, 1965 Medicare, and 1972 amendments.
Socialist law
Socialist law, also called Soviet-type law, is the Marxist-Leninist legal family of communist states such as the USSR, China, Vietnam, and Cuba, defined by socialist legality, party-led justice, and state ownership.
Sok Daejeon
Sok Daejeon (속대전, Continued Great Code) is a Joseon dynasty legal code promulgated in 1746 under King Yeongjo, supplementing the fifteenth-century Gyeonggukdaejeon as basic law.
South Korean nationality law
South Korean nationality law, the Nationality Act (국적법) of 20 December 1948, defines who is a Korean national: descent-based jus sanguinis, naturalization tracks, strict single-nationality rules with limited exceptions.
Sovereign immunity
Sovereign immunity: the rule that states, their property, officials, and serving heads of state are shielded from foreign courts without consent. Covers jurisdictional versus execution immunity, the 1952 US shift to the restrictive theory, the 1976 FSIA and its exceptions, and the 2004 UN Convention.
Spanish nationality law
Spanish nationality law governs who is a Spanish national, acquisition by option, carta de naturaleza, residence, and possession of status, residence periods of 1 to 10 years, and loss rules, plus the Democratic Memory Law grandchildren route.
Speakers' Corner
Speakers' Corner is the open-air public speaking site at the north-east edge of London's Hyde Park near Marble Arch, established by the 1872 Parks Regulation Act after the 1866–1867 Reform League protests; anyone may speak on any lawful subject, traditionally on Sundays.
Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency Assistance Act
The Stafford Act (Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency Assistance Act, P.L. 100-707, 42 U.S.C. 5121 et seq.) is the 1988 U.S. statute authorizing presidential major disaster and emergency declarations, FEMA-administered aid, and the Disaster Relief Fund.
State constitutions in the United States
State constitutions in the United States are the 50 states' written fundamental laws, separate from the U.S. Constitution. The states have adopted 144 constitutions, held over 230 conventions, and ratified more than 7,000 amendments, with positive rights on education, labor, welfare, and the environment.