644 articles
Fourth Amendment to the United States Constitution
Fourth Amendment to the US Constitution (ratified 1791): bars unreasonable searches and seizures, requires warrants on probable cause. Modern doctrine spans Katz, Riley, Carpenter, and the 2026 Chatrie geofence-warrant ruling.
Frankpledge
Frankpledge (francplege): medieval English collective-surety system grouping men into tithings of ten or twelve under a chief pledge, enforced by the sheriff's view of frankpledge; regulated by the Assize of Clarendon and Magna Carta, decayed under the Tudors.
Freedom of assembly
Freedom of assembly: the right to gather peacefully, guaranteed by ICCPR article 21 and the US First Amendment, with ODIHR/Venice Commission restriction standards and 2025 CIVICUS data on protest detentions in 82 countries.
Freedom of association
Freedom of association is the right to form, join, or refuse organizations such as unions, parties, and civil society groups, protected by ILO Convention 87, ICCPR Article 22, and ECHR Article 11, subject to restrictions prescribed by law and necessary in a democratic society.
Freedom of expression in India
Freedom of expression in India: a fundamental right under Article 19(1)(a), subject to eight restriction grounds in Article 19(2). Covers Shreya Singhal, Anuradha Bhasin, the 1975-77 Emergency censorship, internet shutdowns, and RSF press freedom rankings.
Freedom of Information Act (United States)
Freedom of Information Act (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552, the 1966 U.S. federal law giving any person the right to request federal agency records, subject to nine exemptions, a 20-business-day response deadline, and post-2016 foreseeable-harm withholding standard.
Freedom of movement
Freedom of movement: the right to travel within a state, leave any country, choose residence, and return home. Grounded in ICCPR Article 12, ECHR Protocol 4, EU free movement law, and the US right to travel.
Freedom of movement under United States law
Freedom of movement under United States law protects interstate and foreign travel through judge-made constitutional doctrine, keyed to Saenz v. Roe's three components, Shapiro v. Thompson, Kent v. Dulles, and strict scrutiny for penalties on travel.
Freedom of religion in India
Freedom of religion in India: constitutional right under Articles 25–28 in a secular republic, shaped by the essential practices doctrine, state anti-conversion laws, the CAA, and contested USCIRF assessments.
Freedom of speech
Freedom of speech, also known as free expression, is the right to express opinions and information without censorship or state interference, recognized in international human rights law and limited only by restrictions provided by law.
Freedom of speech in the United States
Freedom of speech in the United States, protected by the First Amendment's Free Speech and Free Press Clauses, bars government restriction of expression except narrow categories like defamation, obscenity, and incitement, making US protection among the world's broadest.
French Constitution of 1793
French Constitution of 1793 (Constitution montagnarde, Constitution of Year I): first republican French constitution, adopted 24 June 1793, ratified by France's first referendum, never applied; suspended 10 October 1793.
French nationality law
French nationality law (droit de la nationalité française) governs who is French: attribution at birth by parentage or double jus soli, and later acquisition by declaration, decree, or automatically, including the 2026 B2 language and civic exam requirements.
Friedrich Julius Stahl
Friedrich Julius Stahl, born Julius Jolson-Uhlfelder, was a German jurist and conservative statesman who created the legal theory of the German-type constitutional monarchy in 1845.
Fuero
Fuero: Iberian legal term for local law, customary law, jurisdiction, or granted privileges; earliest grants in León 999–1027; Navarre and Basque foral regimes survive via Ley Paccionada 1841 and concierto económico.
Fugitive Slave Act of 1793
The Fugitive Slave Act of 1793 (1 Stat. 302), signed by Washington on February 12, 1793, was the first federal fugitive slave law, letting claimants seize alleged runaways before any magistrate without jury trial, enabling kidnappings of free Black people, upheld in Prigg v. Pennsylvania, and repealed June 28, 1864.
Fugitive Slave Act of 1850
Fugitive Slave Act of 1850 (9 Stat. 462), Compromise of 1850 statute strengthening capture and return of escaped enslaved people via federal commissioners, $10/$5 fees, $1,000 fines for aiders; resisted in the North, repealed 1864.
Full Faith and Credit Clause
The Full Faith and Credit Clause, Article IV, Section 1 of the U.S. Constitution, requires states to honor other states' public acts, records, and judgments, with congressional implementation under 28 U.S.C. § 1738.
Fundamental Law of Hungary
The Fundamental Law of Hungary (Magyarország Alaptörvénye) is the country's constitution, adopted by the National Assembly in 2011 and in force since 1 January 2012, replacing the 1949 constitution.
Fundamental rights
Fundamental rights are constitutionally entrenched, justiciable rights overriding ordinary law, exemplified by India's Part III (Articles 12–35) and US strict-scrutiny doctrine, distinct from universal human rights and positive-law civil rights.
Fundamental rights in India
Fundamental rights in India are the justiciable rights in Part III (Articles 12-35) of the Constitution of India, covering equality, freedom, and constitutional remedies; enforced by the Supreme Court under Article 32 and High Courts under Article 226.
Fundamental Rights, Directive Principles and Fundamental Duties of India
Three sections of the Constitution of India, also called the Indian Constitution's Parts III, IV, and IV-A: justiciable Fundamental Rights (Articles 12-35), non-justiciable Directive Principles (Articles 36-51), and Fundamental Duties (Article 51A), with their case-law relationship.
FURRIES Act
The FURRIES Act (Forbidding Unlawful Representation of Roleplaying in Educational Spaces) was Texas House Bill 54 of 2025, a Gerdes-authored, Abbott-backed bill banning non-human student behavior in schools; it died in committee.
Gambling in India
Gambling in India: regulated by the Public Gambling Act 1867 and state laws (Entry 34, State List); casinos only in Goa, Daman and Diu, and Sikkim; the PROG Act 2025 bans all online money games nationwide from 1 May 2026.
Gambling in Macau
Gambling in Macau: casino gaming in the Macao SAR, the only Chinese city where casinos are legal. Six concessionaires under 10-year contracts (2023-2032) under Law 16/2001 as amended by Law 7/2022; 2023 receipts MOP188.52 billion.
Gambling in the United States
Gambling in the United States: state-regulated lotteries, casinos, tribal gaming, and sports betting; 38 states plus DC had legal sports betting by end of 2024; $66.5B commercial casino revenue in 2023.
Garland v. Cargill
Garland v. Cargill (2024) is the Supreme Court case, also called the bump stock case, holding that ATF exceeded its authority by classifying bump stocks as machineguns under 26 U.S.C. 5845(b), decided with Thomas writing and Sotomayor dissenting.
German nationality law
German nationality law (Staatsangehörigkeitsrecht, StAG, Basic Law Art. 16): citizenship by descent, birth, declaration, adoption, or naturalisation; five-year residence and general dual citizenship since the 27 June 2024 StARModG; Nazi-era restitution under Art. 116(2) and §5 StAG.
Glomar response
Glomar response: a FOIA reply in which a US agency neither confirms nor denies (NCND) that records exist; named for the Hughes Glomar Explorer and Phillippi v. CIA (1976).
Golden Bull of 1222
The Golden Bull of 1222, or Aranybulla, was a charter of liberties issued by King Andrew II of Hungary in 1222, often compared with Magna Carta.