public law

noun

1. Also called public act, a law or statute of a general character that applies to the people of a whole state or nation.
2. a branch of law dealing with the legal relationships between the state and individuals and with the relations among governmental agencies. Compare private law.
3. public international law.

public law

noun

1. a law that applies to the public of a state or nation
2. the branch of law that deals with relations between a state and its individual members Compare private law

Word History and Origins

Origin of public law¹

First recorded in 1765–75

Example Sentences

The Premier League, in its summary, said that the tribunal identified "a small number of discrete elements of the rules which did not in their current form comply with competition and public law requirements" and that these could "quickly and effectively be remedied".

From BBC

Cliff added that it was "not correct that the tribunal’s decision identifies 'certain discrete elements' of the APT rules that need to be amended in order to comply with competition and public law requirements".

From BBC

After comparing gaps in the government’s redactions to hundreds of public civil suits, appeals and publicly posted disciplinary records, the Los Angeles Times and the Los Angeles Public Press identified seven of the deputies and tracked down court and public law enforcement records that shed light on the allegations against them and their efforts to overturn their punishments.

From Los Angeles Times

Such lack of progress comes as no surprise to Michele Di Bari, a researcher in comparative public law at the University of Padova, who says that Italy is structurally much slower to implement change compared with other countries in Western Europe.

From BBC

Adam Tomkins, professor of public law at Glasgow University, and a former Conservative MSP, voted against the bill because it could see someone convicted of stirring up hatred for a comment they make in private in their own home, not just in public, "and I just don't think that's where the criminal law belongs."

From BBC