Articles tagged as Law | Smithsonian Magazine

Illegal in Iceland: Quirky Bans From the Land of Fire and Ice

From historical bans on Basques to modern-day naming restrictions, Iceland’s laws leave a lasting impression

December 16, 2015

Albany, Lexington, Boston and Tallahassee are all promoting the giving spirit

December 9, 2015

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So Long Shamu Show

In the face of criticism, SeaWorld is retiring its controversial killer whale show

November 10, 2015

A man walks by a family planning billboard portraying parents and one child in Beijing in 1983. China just announced it will reverse its controversial one-child policy.

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China Says It Will End One-Child Policy

Under new rules, Chinese families can have two children

October 29, 2015

A landmark court ruling allows the tech giant digitize library books

October 20, 2015

Today, the water tribunal in Valencia, Spain meets on the same day, in the same way and at the same time as it did 1,000 years ago.

Drink in History at the World’s Oldest Court

Valencia’s water tribunal doesn’t have written records or lawyers—but that doesn’t mean it’s outdated

October 15, 2015

A beach at Durban reserved for whites. An amendment to the Separate Amenities Act extended the laws to beaches. January 1, 1976

A Look Back at South Africa Under Apartheid, Twenty-Five Years After Its Repeal

Segregated public facilities, including beaches, were commonplace, but even today, the inequality persists

October 15, 2015

Demonstrators express support for The Perfect Moment, an exhibition by Robert Mapplethrope that included nude and sexually graphic photos.

When Art Fought the Law and the Art Won

The Mapplethorpe obscenity trial changed perceptions of public funding of art and shaped the city of Cincinnati

October 2, 2015

Sing without fear of being sued

September 25, 2015

Cool Finds

Supreme Court Justices Have a Thing for Shakespeare

The brief’s the thing

September 25, 2015

PETA Wants a Selfie-Snapping Monkey to be Granted Copyright to its Photo

September 24, 2015

Man claims intellectual property theft for putting chicken on a bun.

August 31, 2015

One of the most popular songs in the world could soon be free to sing

July 30, 2015

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Times Square’s Iconic Billboards May Be Illegal

Bright lights, big city, breaking the law

July 29, 2015

Runnymede meadow in Surrey, England, is the site of historic Magna Carta negotiations.

The Mad King and Magna Carta

How did a peace treaty signed — and broken — more than 800 years ago become one of the world’s most influential documents?

July 2015

A customs officer in Thailand examines specimens from a three ton ivory seizure, estimated to be worth $6 million.

Anthropocene

DNA and Databases Help Untangle the Web of the Illegal Wildlife Trade

Two new data-driven approaches help identify key hotspots for poaching and trafficking

June 18, 2015

Six years after the quake first struck, the city of L’Aquila is still rebuilding. The recovery is estimated to cost at least $16 billion.

The Shaky Science Behind Predicting Earthquakes

A powerful earthquake in Italy killed hundreds of people—and set in motion a legal battle and scientific debate that has kept seismologists on edge

June 2015

In a recent ad campaign, portraits of litterers made from DNA taken from tossed cigarettes, coffee cups and condoms were posted in public places around Hong Kong.

DNA Testing Could Identify Litterbugs and Dog Poop Miscreants

Anonymous crimes may not be quite so anonymous anymore

May 6, 2015

"The Legal Justice League" celebrates the first four women to sit on the country's highest court.

Cool Finds

Celebrating the Women of the Supreme Court With LEGOs

What better way to hail the female trailblazers of the bench than miniaturizing them into tiny toys?

March 11, 2015

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Adultery Is Now Legal in South Korea

62 years after the passage of a morality law, spouses can’t be prosecuted for extramarital affairs

February 26, 2015