[Ws2-jurisdiction] Our work so far, and a way forward

[Mueller, Milton L]

While you have given us a richer sense of the nuances, Greg, I don’t see any serious disjunction in meaning here. I think it is a waste of time to get too hung up on Parminder’s use of the public/private dichotomy. His concerns are clear based on the specific examples he provided of issues (OFAC, antitrust, etc.) in the message I just replied to.


It appears that in Civil law, stemming from Roman law, the terms are used define (i) laws governing the activities of the state and the interaction between the state and the individual or private entity vs. laws governing the activities of individuals/private entities and their interaction with each other.
MM: That sounds _very similar_ to my statement that public law is legislation/court precedent, private law is contract. “Laws governing the activities of the state and the interaction between the state and the individual or private entity” sounds a lot like legislation and government regulation to me; “laws governing the activities of individuals/private entities and their interaction with each other” sounds a lot like contract.
In International law, "international public law" governs the actions of nations (but may in the case of treaties be turned into laws that govern the actions of individuals), while "international private law" applies directly to the acts of individuals and business entities.

MM: Forget about international public law. That gets us into treaties; fortunately we are out of that realm.

There also appears to be a usage of these two terms based on how the laws are enforced -- a public law is one enforced by the state, while a private law is enforced by one individual/entity against another.  However, there are many laws (at least in the US) that offer both state and private causes of action (e.g., both Department of Justice or a private plaintiff can bring a claim under the Americans with Disabilities Act).

MM: But the ADA is clearly public law.

Parminder, Can you clarify what you mean by "public law" and "private law"?  Without a better understanding, it would be premature to answer your question.  Alternatively, you could rephrase this without reliance on a public law/private law dichotomy.  Thanks!


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