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public law
noun
1
: a legislative enactment affecting the public at large
2
: a branch of law concerned with regulating the relations of individuals with the government and the organization and conduct of the government itself compare private law
Examples of public law in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web
Stephen Woolpert is professor emeritus of public law and former dean of the School of Liberal Arts at Saint Mary’s College of California.
—Stephen Woolpert, The Mercury News, 3 Oct. 2024
The project enhances community space by adding a new public law library, ground-floor retail spaces and a parking garage.
—Jane Tyska, The Mercury News, 10 July 2024
He’s been implicated in covert endeavors like trying to transform a broke liberal arts college into a capitalist incubator and rename a public law school after one of the Supreme Court’s staunchest right-wingers.
—Nina Burleigh, The New Republic, 16 May 2023
Under her leadership, the college rose from #24 to #6 among public law schools, according to the U.S. News law school rankings.
—Michael T. Nietzel, Forbes, 9 Mar. 2023
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Word History
First Known Use
1531, in the meaning defined at sense 1
Dictionary Entries Near public law
Cite this Entry
“Public law.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/public%20law. Accessed 21 Nov. 2024.
Legal Definition
public law
noun1
: an enactment of a legislature that affects the public at large throughout the entire territory (as a state or nation) which is subject to the jurisdiction of the legislature or within a particular subdivision of its jurisdiction : general law
called also public act, public statute
compare local law sense 1a2
a
: the area of law that deals with the relations of individuals with the state and regulates the organization and conduct of government compare private law
b
: international law regulating the relations among sovereign states or nations as distinguished from private international law
More from Merriam-Webster on public law
Britannica.com: Encyclopedia article about public law
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