Definitions
How legal terms are defined, stretched and contested.
The Collapse of Expertise: How Legal Terms Lose Meaning in Political and Media Debate
After reading an article in the Washington Times, the Legal Integrity Project has decided to tackle this difficult topic, but few legal terms carry the gravity of "genocide." Born from the ashes of the twentieth century's atrocities, the…
The Meaning of "Justice" and Why Fairness Still Depends on Process
Justice is about how things are decidedAsk someone if they received justice and they probably will not talk about the law. They will talk about whether they were treated fairly.Did someone listen? Was the decision explained? Did they…
The Meaning of "Proportionality"- How Courts Balance Rights in a Polarised World
“Proportionality” has quietly become one of the most important ideas in modern law. From free speech and data privacy to environmental regulation and national security, judges across the world use this doctrine to decide when rights can be…
"Malice" and Defamation. How Intent Still Shapes the Boundaries of Free Speech
“Malice” is one of the oldest and most misunderstood concepts in defamation law. Once a moral judgment about spite and bad faith, it has evolved into a precise legal test that still determines how far free speech can go. This article…
The Elastic Definition of "Consent": How Law Keeps Adapting to a Connected World
“Consent” sounds simple: say yes or no. In law, however, that tiny word carries enormous weight. From data privacy to medical treatment to AI, the question of what counts as genuine consent has become one of the hardest and most important…
What Counts as "Public Interest"? The Legal Justification Everyone Invokes
Politicians use it. Journalists rely on it. Lawyers argue it. Yet few can clearly define it. The phrase “public interest” is one of the most powerful and flexible concepts in modern law. This article explores how courts across the world…
When is a Company "Responsible"? The expanding definition of Liability
Corporate responsibility used to be straightforward: a company was liable for what it did, not for what others did in its name. That line has blurred. From parent companies facing lawsuits for overseas subsidiaries to regulators testing…
What counts as "Corruption"? How legal definitions are shifting across the globe
Few words in law carry as much moral weight, or as much ambiguity, as corruption. It’s invoked daily by politicians, prosecutors, and activists, often with absolute certainty about what it means. But peel back the rhetoric, and the legal…
How the definition of "due diligence" has shifted from corporate compliance to human rights
“Due diligence” used to mean checking the numbers before signing a deal. Now it has become one of the most powerful legal ideas in global business. This article explores how a once-routine corporate process has evolved into a moral and…