PRAXIS ARCHIVE · THE ANATOMY OF LAW

The anatomy
of a decision.

An archive of case law, concluded cases and the anatomy of law.
Read the decisions.
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A map of legal questions.

16 collections

Constitutional Law & Rights

Comparative analysis of supreme legal charters, structural allocations of state power, and fundamental civil rights established across democratic traditions.

0 ARTICLES · 8 CATEGORIES

Administrative Law & Judicial Review

The supervision of executive discretion, public regulatory agencies, administrative tribunals, and procedural standards governing state decisions.

0 ARTICLES · 8 CATEGORIES

Criminal Procedure & Fair Trial

Procedural safeguards, coercive state investigations, rules of trial administration, and appellate mechanisms in criminal justice systems.

0 ARTICLES · 8 CATEGORIES

Substantive Criminal Law

Foundational elements of criminal liability, categories of offences, statutory definitions of conduct, and legally recognized affirmative defences.

2 ARTICLES · 8 CATEGORIES

Contract Law

The creation, interpretation, performance, and breach of voluntary agreements across common law, civil law, and transnational frameworks.

2 ARTICLES · 8 CATEGORIES

Tort Law

Civil civil wrongs, non-contractual legal duties, standards of civil fault, remedies for personal and economic harm, and strict liability regimes.

1 ARTICLE · 8 CATEGORIES

Property & Real Rights

Doctrines governing legal interests in real and personal assets, title transfer mechanisms, land rights, and equitable proprietary devices.

0 ARTICLES · 8 CATEGORIES

Commercial & Corporate Law

The legal regulation of corporate enterprise, governance structures, capitalization, insolvency processes, and commercial trading relationships.

1 ARTICLE · 8 CATEGORIES

Intellectual Property & Information Law

Legal protection for intangible creative, industrial, and digital assets, including statutory monopolies, data rights, and internet governance.

1 ARTICLE · 8 CATEGORIES

Labour & Employment Law

The legal ordering of the employment relationship, collective labour bargaining, statutory protections, and workplace termination standards.

1 ARTICLE · 8 CATEGORIES

Civil Procedure & Dispute Resolution

Rules regulating the initiation, management, adjudication, and private resolution of non-criminal disputes within judicial forums.

2 ARTICLES · 8 CATEGORIES

Evidence & Judicial Proof

Rules governing the admissibility, credibility, evaluation, and exclusion of facts and witness materials before judicial fact-finders.

1 ARTICLE · 8 CATEGORIES

Public International Law

The legal regime governing sovereign states, intergovernmental bodies, international treaties, and collective territorial governance.

2 ARTICLES · 8 CATEGORIES

Human Rights & Humanitarian Law

Supranational guarantees protecting human dignity, war-time humanitarian limits, and the enforcement of individual criminal accountability.

1 ARTICLE · 8 CATEGORIES

Environmental & Planning Law

Legal mechanisms regulating land use, pollution control, resource preservation, urban planning, and climate-related litigation.

1 ARTICLE · 8 CATEGORIES

Legal Theory & Interpretation

Doctrines of jurisprudence, methodologies of judicial interpretation, judicial reasoning structures, and the operation of legal precedent.

Indirect Discrimination at Work: How the European Court of Justice Defined Facially Neutral Rules

THE LONG READ 01 / CASE NOTES

Equality & Non-Discrimination

Indirect Discrimination at Work: How the European Court of Justice Defined Facially Neutral Rules

This analysis examines the ECJ's development of the doctrine of indirect discrimination, focusing on how facially neutral workplace rules can violate equality mandates when they disproportionately impact protected groups.

Praxis Archive 5 min read November 5, 2026

Read the analysis

Worth your curiosity

THE EDITOR’S PICKS

Terms & Contractual Interpretation 01

Entire Agreement Clauses: How Merger Provisions Block Claims Based on Prior Negotiations

An examination of how merger and entire agreement clauses operate across common law jurisdictions to exclude informal understandings, collateral warranties, and extrinsic representations from final contracts.

Entire Agreement Clauses 13 min read

Privacy & Personal Autonomy 02

Constitutional Protection for End-of-Life Decisions: Canada’s Ruling in Carter v. Canada

The Supreme Court of Canada’s unanimous ruling in Carter v. Canada struck down the criminal prohibition on physician-assisted dying, establishing that total bans on end-of-life medical assistance violate Section 7 Charter guarantees of life, liberty, and security of the person.

Carter v. Canada (Attorney General) 11 min read

THE READING ROOM

Fresh from the archive 17

Terms & Contractual Interpretation 1533

Entire Agreement Clauses / Case study

Entire Agreement Clauses: How Merger Provisions Block Claims Based on Prior Negotiations

Praxis Archive 13 min read Nov 4, 2026

Privacy & Personal Autonomy 1368

Carter v. Canada (Attorney General) / Case study

Constitutional Protection for End-of-Life Decisions: Canada’s Ruling in Carter v. Canada

Praxis Archive 11 min read Nov 3, 2026

Privilege & Public Interest Immunity 1824

Public Interest Immunity Doctrine / Case study

Public Interest Immunity Certificates: How British Courts Balance Fair Trials Against National Security

An analysis of public interest immunity certificates in British law, tracing the shift from executive Crown privilege to judicial balancing under Conway v Rimmer and R v H, and the boundary with closed material procedures.

Praxis Archive 15 min read Nov 2, 2026

Law of the Sea & Maritime Zones 1860

Freedom of the High Seas: Jurisdictional Enforcement / Case study

Freedom of the High Seas: Who Has the Authority to Police Piracy and Unregulated Fishing in International Waters?

This article examines the jurisdictional framework for policing the high seas, analyzing the limits of universal jurisdiction over piracy versus the sovereign enforcement constraints governing illegal fishing under UNCLOS.

Praxis Archive 6 min read Nov 1, 2026

Mistake & Frustration 1543

The Suez Canal Closures / Case study

The Suez Canal Closures: Why Longer Sea Routes Did Not Frustrate English Shipping Charters

This analysis examines the English law of frustration through the Suez Canal closures, establishing why a forced rerouting of cargo vessels does not terminate charterparty obligations.

Praxis Archive 5 min read Oct 30, 2026

Presumptions & Judicial Notice 1840

The Missing Witness Rule / Case study

The Missing Witness Rule: When a Jury May Infer That Uncalled Evidence Would Be Damaging

When a party fails to call a knowledgeable witness under its control, common-law courts permit an adverse inference that the testimony would have been hostile. The doctrine balances factual deduction against constitutional protections and the burden of proof.

Praxis Archive 14 min read Oct 28, 2026

Freehold & Leasehold Estates 1609

Life Tenants and the Law of Waste / Case study

Life Tenants and the Law of Waste: What a Surviving Spouse Cannot Tear Down or Neglect on Inherited Land

A detailed examination of the doctrine of waste in common law property, examining the obligations of life tenants, the limits of their possessory interest, and the protections afforded to remaindermen against voluntary, permissive, and equitable destruction of land value.

Praxis Archive 12 min read Oct 26, 2026

Federalism & Devolution 1383

Reference by the Lord Advocate (Scottish Independence Referendum) / Case study

Can Scotland Hold an Independence Referendum Without Westminster Approval? The UK Supreme Court Ruling

In November 2022, the UK Supreme Court held unanimously that the Scottish Parliament lacks the legislative competence to legislate for a second independence referendum without Westminster consent, ruling that the proposed bill relates to reserved constitutional matters.

Praxis Archive 16 min read Oct 25, 2026

Geneva Conventions & Armed Conflict 1897

Common Article 3 of the Geneva Conventions / Case study

Common Article 3: The Minimum Legal Safeguards Governing Civil Wars and Insurgencies

Common Article 3 of the 1949 Geneva Conventions establishes a mandatory floor of humane conduct in internal armed conflicts, binding state armed forces and non-state insurgent groups alike to baseline protections that courts recognize as customary international law.

Praxis Archive 13 min read Oct 24, 2026

Summary Judgment & Strike-Out 1779

Limitation Defense and Early Disposition / Case study

Can a Defendant End a Lawsuit Early If the Limitation Period Has Passed?

When a claim is brought outside the statutory limitation period, defendants can often terminate the proceedings before trial through strike-out, motion to dismiss, or summary judgment, provided no unresolved factual disputes affect the accrual date or statutory tolling.

Praxis Archive 12 min read Oct 23, 2026

Duty of Care & Financial Loss 1562

Smith v Eric S Bush / Case study

Can a Negligent Home Surveyor Owe a Duty to Buyers? Smith v Eric S Bush in English Law

The House of Lords established that a surveyor retained by a building society owes a common law duty of care to a modest home purchaser, and that statutory reasonableness bars disclaimers of liability in routine domestic purchases.

Praxis Archive 15 min read Oct 22, 2026

Non-Compete Agreements & Mobility 1733

Section 16600 and California Worker Mobility / Case study

California's Strict Ban on Non-Competes: Section 16600 and the Protection of Worker Mobility

California's categorical prohibition on non-compete covenants under Business and Professions Code Section 16600 anchors one of the most uncompromising worker mobility regimes in the United States, rejecting common law reasonableness in favour of open labour markets.

Praxis Archive 14 min read Oct 21, 2026

A NOTE FROM THE ARCHIVE

Court decisions deserve
a closer reading.

We separate the factual record, the holding and editorial analysis. Jurisdiction and context matter.

Our approach

The anatomyof a decision.

A map of legal questions.

Constitutional Law & Rights

Administrative Law & Judicial Review

Criminal Procedure & Fair Trial

Substantive Criminal Law

Contract Law

Tort Law

Property & Real Rights

Commercial & Corporate Law

Intellectual Property & Information Law

Labour & Employment Law

Civil Procedure & Dispute Resolution

Evidence & Judicial Proof

Public International Law

Human Rights & Humanitarian Law

Environmental & Planning Law

Legal Theory & Interpretation

Fresh from the archive 17

Court decisions deservea closer reading.

The anatomy
of a decision.

Court decisions deserve
a closer reading.