Public law

The distinction between public law and private law dates back to [[Roman law]], where the [[Roman Empire|Roman]] jurist [[Ulpian]] ({{circa}} 170 – 228) first noted it.<ref name="FundRights">{{cite book |last1= Cherednychenko |first1= Olha |title= Fundamental Rights, Contract Law, and Protection of the Weaker Party |date= April 18, 2007 |publisher= Utrecht University Institute for Legal Studies |location= Utrecht, the Netherlands |page= 21 |hdl= 1874/20945 }}</ref> It was later{{when|date=July 2020}} adopted{{by whom|date=July 2020}} to understand the legal systems both of countries that adhere to the [[Civil law (legal system)|civil-law tradition]], and of those that adhere to [[Common law (legal system)|common-law tradition]].

The distinction between public law and private law dates back to [[Roman law]], where the [[Roman Empire|Roman]] jurist [[Ulpian]] ({{circa}} 170 – 228) first noted it.<ref name="FundRights">{{cite book |last1= Cherednychenko |first1= Olha |title= Fundamental Rights, Contract Law, and Protection of the Weaker Party |date= April 18, 2007 |publisher= Utrecht University Institute for Legal Studies |location= Utrecht, the Netherlands |page= 21 |hdl= 1874/20945 }}</ref> It was later{{when|date=July 2020}} adopted{{by whom|date=July 2020}} to understand the legal systems both of countries that adhere to the [[Civil law (legal system)|civil-law tradition]], and of those that adhere to [[Common law (legal system)|common-law tradition]].

The borderline between public law and private law is not always clear. Law as a whole cannot neatly be divided into "law for the State" and "law for everyone else". As such, the distinction between public and private law is largely functional rather than factual, classifying laws according to which domain the activities, participants, and principal concerns involved best fit into.<ref name="PubLaw" /> This has given rise to attempts to establish a [[Jurisprudence|theoretical]] understanding for the basis of public law.

The borderline between public law and private law is not always clear. Law as a whole cannot neatly be divided into "law for the State" and "law for everyone else". As such, the distinction between public and private law is largely functional rather than factual, classifying laws according to which domain the activities, participants, and principal concerns involved best fit into.<ref name="PubLaw" /> This has given rise to attempts to establish a [[Jurisprudence|theoretical]] understanding for the basis of public law. For example, an individual entering into contract with a government for a service would usually be private law even if the State is involved.

==History of public law==

==History of public law==