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

This sequence of events brings to mind, for me – a public law scholar who studies the historical role of foreign workers in the U.S. – the legacy of Carter’s immigration policy and its stark contrast with Trump’s agenda. —Gabrielle Clark, The Conversation, 29 Jan. 2025

The November 2023 raid at Suggs’ Brooklyn home was the first public law enforcement action taken as part of the Adams-Turkey investigation. —Chris Sommerfeldt, New York Daily News, 16 Jan. 2025

To find out how that compares to other places, CBS News filed a series of Freedom of Information Act requests with the ATF for details about the high-powered arsenal it's granted to public law enforcement over the past decade. —E.d. Cauchi, CBS News, 4 Dec. 2024

The meeting was authorized by public law and supported with federal funds. —Michael Barnes, Austin American-Statesman, 18 Nov. 2024

Word History

First Known Use

1531, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Legal Definition

public law

noun

1

: 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 1a

2

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