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law

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Written and fact-checked by The Editors of Encyclopaedia Britannica

Last Updated: Dec 9, 2023 • Article History

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Law, the discipline and profession concerned

with the customs, practices, and rules of
conduct of a community that are recognized as
binding by the community. Enforcement of the
zoom_in
body of rules is through a controlling authority.

The law is treated in a number of articles. For

a description of legal training and a general
Harvard Law School: Dane Hall
background, see legal profession, legal
education, and legal ethics. Articles that See all media

delineate the relationship of law to political

Category: History & Society
structures are constitution; ideology; political
Key People: Abraham Lincoln •
party; and political system. For articles that
Francis Bacon • Cicero • John Marshall
discuss the importance of law regarding social • Hillary Clinton

justice and other social issues, see human Related Topics: property law •
procedural law • inheritance •
rights; land reform; and social service. For an
constitutional law • international law
examination of comparative legal systems and
the relationship of the law to the social See all related content →
sciences, see comparative law. For a description
of canon law, see canon law. For a description
of Islamic law, see Sharīʿah. For a description of Jewish law, see Talmud and
Midrash. For an analysis of the role of law in the administration of government, see
administrative law. For an exposition of social restrictions and their enforcement, see
censorship; crime and punishment; and police. For a description of the legal aspects
of war and the military, see war, law of. For a discussion of legal philosophy, see law,
philosophy of. For an exposition of various types of historical and contemporary legal
systems, see Chinese law; civil law; common law; court; Egyptian law; European law;
Germanic law; Greek law; Indian law; Israeli law; Japanese law; Roman law;
Scandinavian law; Scottish law; Soviet law; and Welsh law. For international aspects
of law, see international law; and United Nations. For an examination of the laws
covering specific fields, see agency; air law; bankruptcy; carriage of goods;
commercial transaction; contract; constitutional law; criminal law; family law;
inheritance; labour law; maritime law; medical jurisprudence; procedural law;
property law; tax law; and tort.

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This article was most recently revised and updated by Brian Duignan.

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privileged communication
law

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Also known as: confidential communication

Written and fact-checked by The Editors of Encyclopaedia Britannica
Last Updated: Article History

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Privileged communication, in law,
Category: History & Society
communication between persons who have a
Related Topics: legal ethics • shield
special duty of fidelity and secrecy toward each law • law
other. Communications between attorney and
client are privileged and do not have to be See all related content →
disclosed to the court. However, in the wake of
terrorist attacks against the United States in
2001, some policy makers supported eavesdropping on the attorney-client
discussions of suspected terrorists. The right of privileged communication exists
between husbands and wives in that they are not required to testify against each
other. In many jurisdictions the privilege exists between physicians and patients, as
the courts have recognized that the basis of a doctor-patient relationship is trust,
which would be negated were the doctor forced to reveal patients’ communications in
court. However, in some circumstances doctors may be required to disclose such
information if it is determined that the right of the defendant to receive a fair trial
outweighs the patient’s right to confidentiality. In some jurisdictions members of the
clergy have limited rights to refuse to testify in court on matters communicated to
them in confidence (the “priest-penitent” privilege). Reporters have been accorded a
limited right to privileged communication concerning the sources of their
information, though they can be ordered to divulge information in certain situations.
For example, in 1972 the U.S. Supreme Court rejected a news reporter’s claim of
confidentiality in Branzburg v. Hayes.

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