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Where laws come from, the rights they protect and the courts that judge the worst crimes. The notes explain principles and history in general terms. Laws differ from country to country, and none of these notes is legal advice.
12 notes from Graphite. Free to read, with no account. Nothing here is for sale.
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The note that answers the topic’s biggest question, then the two it leads to most directly.
Start here
Law is a system of rules that a society's institutions make, apply and enforce. Where those rules come from, how they divide up, and what the rule of law asks of them.
Graphite8 min read
Then
Human rights are the rights every person holds simply for being human, set out in the 1948 Universal Declaration and binding treaties. What they cover, and how they are enforced.
Graphite7 min read
And then
Copyright gives the author of an original work control over copying it, automatically, from the moment it is fixed. What it protects, how long it lasts, and what fair use allows.
Graphite8 min read
Every note
The three above, then the rest. Each answers one question and links to the notes it leads to.
Magna Carta is the charter King John sealed at Runnymede in 1215 to end a rebellion. The Pope annulled it within ten weeks, yet three of its clauses are still law in England.
Graphite7 min read
Common law systems build law from judges' past decisions; civil law systems start from written codes descended from Roman law. How they differ, where each is used, and why they now overlap.
Graphite7 min read
Habeas corpus is the legal right to make a court ask a jailer to justify holding someone, and to order release if the reason is unlawful. How it works, and when it has been suspended.
Graphite8 min read
The public domain is the body of creative work no one owns, free for anyone to copy, adapt and sell. How works enter it, how to work out when, and what it doesn't free.
Graphite6 min read
Capital punishment is the execution of a person by the state as the penalty for a crime. Where it is still used, what Amnesty's 2025 figures show, and the case for and against.
Graphite6 min read
The Nuremberg trials were the Allied prosecutions of Nazi Germany's leaders in 1945 and 1946, and of officials after them. Who was tried, the verdicts, and why they still matter.
Graphite7 min read
Genocide is any of five acts committed with intent to destroy a national, ethnic, racial or religious group, in whole or in part. Where the definition comes from, and why intent is hard to prove.
Graphite7 min read
The Geneva Conventions are four treaties of 1949, joined by every state, that protect people who are not or no longer fighting in war. Who each protects, and what a grave breach is.
Graphite7 min read
The International Criminal Court is a permanent court in The Hague that tries individuals for genocide, crimes against humanity, war crimes and aggression when national courts don't.
Graphite7 min read
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