Constitutional law1803
Marbury v. Madison
Supreme Court of the United States · United States
The decision that established judicial review in federal constitutional law.
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Every judgment held in the archive, searchable and filterable by jurisdiction, doctrine, court and period.
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Constitutional lawCase on the Legality of Military Deployment in Internal Armed ConflictConstitutional Court of the Russian Federation · RussiaConstitutional lawUnion of India v. Association for Democratic Reforms (ADR)Supreme Court of India · IndiaCriminal lawWoolmington v. Director of Public ProsecutionsHouse of Lords · United Kingdom
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- Case on the Legality of Military Deployment in Internal Armed ConflictConstitutional Court of the Russian Federation · 1995
- Union of India v. Association for Democratic Reforms (ADR)Supreme Court of India · 2002
- Case on the Constitutionality of Presidential Decrees on Chechnya (Chechen War Case)Constitutional Court of the Russian Federation · 1995
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Constitutional law1819
McCulloch v. Maryland
Supreme Court of the United States · United States
Implied powers and federal supremacy: Congress may choose appropriate means, and states may not tax federal instrumentalities.
Civil rights1954
Brown v. Board of Education
Supreme Court of the United States · United States
State-imposed segregation in public education held incompatible with the Equal Protection Clause.
Criminal law1966
Miranda v. Arizona
Supreme Court of the United States · United States
Procedural safeguards required before custodial interrogation may yield admissible statements.
Administrative law1984
Chevron U.S.A. Inc. v. Natural Resources Defense Council
Supreme Court of the United States · United States
The two-step framework for reviewing agency interpretations of ambiguous statutes.
Constitutional law1975
Société des Cafés Jacques Vabre
Cour de cassation · France
The Cour de cassation accepts that a ratified treaty prevails over a later conflicting statute.
Administrative law1989
Nicolo
Conseil d’État · France
The Conseil d’État accepts review of statutes for compatibility with treaties, ending the law-screen theory.
Constitutional law1971
Freedom of Association Decision
Constitutional Council · France
The decision that created the bloc de constitutionnalité and made the Conseil constitutionnel a rights-protecting court.
Constitutional law2001
Qi Yuling v. Chen Xiaoqi et al.
Supreme People’s Court · China
China’s most famous constitutional case: a brief judicial application of the right to education, later withdrawn.
Administrative law2002
The 2002 Administrative Evidence Interpretation
Supreme People’s Court · China
A judicial interpretation requiring administrative agencies to disclose the evidence behind contested decisions.
Constitutional law2001–2008
Nicolo-style constitutional review in China is not available; use PRC constitutional-administrative landmark cases instead
Supreme People’s Court · China
The institutional episode marking the limits of constitutional enforcement by ordinary Chinese courts.
Citizenship and federal jurisdiction1857
Dred Scott v. Sandford
Supreme Court of the United States · United States
Dred Scott v.
Free speech, clear and present danger1919
Schenck v. United States
Supreme Court of the United States · United States
Schenck v.
Equal protection, military necessity1944
Korematsu v. United States
Supreme Court of the United States · United States
Korematsu is one of the most infamous Supreme Court decisions because it upheld the internment of Japanese Americans during World War II.
Supremacy of Supreme Court decisions1958
Cooper v. Aaron
Supreme Court of the United States · United States
Cooper v.
Equal protection, affirmative action1978
Regents of the University of California v. Bakke
Supreme Court of the United States · United States
Bakke is the landmark affirmative-action case because it rejected rigid racial quotas while allowing race to remain a factor in university admissions under certain conditions.
Sexual privacy, substantive due process2003
Lawrence v. Texas
Supreme Court of the United States · United States
Lawrence v.
Public law liability1873
Blanco
Tribunal of Conflicts · France
Blanco is the classic founding case of modern French administrative law because it held that state liability for damage caused by public services is governed by special administrative principles rather than the ordinary Civil Code.
Administrative jurisdiction1889
Cadot
Council of State · France
Cadot ended the old system in which the executive minister was the first and often final judge of administrative disputes.
Pacta sunt servanda / judicial non-intervention1876
Canal de Craponne
Court of Cassation · France
Canal de Craponne is the classic French contract-law case for the idea that judges may not rewrite a contract simply because economic circumstances have changed.
Right to judicial review1950
Dame Lamotte
Council of State · France
Dame Lamotte is a landmark because it affirmed that administrative acts may in principle always be challenged for abuse of power, even where a statute seems to exclude review.
Rights of defence1945
Aramu
Council of State · France
Aramu is a landmark administrative-law case because it recognized the general principle of rights of defence in administrative proceedings.
Police powers and public order1933
Benjamin
Council of State · France
Benjamin is a landmark freedom case because it held that public-order restrictions must be necessary and proportionate.
Human dignity as public order1995
Morsang-sur-Orge
Council of State · France
Morsang-sur-Orge is one of the most famous modern French public-law cases because it recognized human dignity as an element of public order that authorities may protect even against the wishes of the individuals involved.
Compensation and contributory fault1982
Desmares
Court of Cassation · France
Desmares is a major tort case because it sharply restricted the ability to reduce a victim’s compensation for contributory negligence in road-accident cases.
Wrongful life2000
Perruche
Court of Cassation · France
Perruche is one of the most controversial French cases because it held that a child born with severe disabilities could, in some circumstances, seek compensation for wrongful life.
Public liability for wartime crimes2002
Papon
Court of Cassation · France
Papon is a landmark because it addressed civil liability connected to the deportation of Jews during the Second World War and the shared responsibility of the French state and a former official.
Judicial review of administrative acts1999
Tian Yong v. Beijing No. 1 Intermediate People’s Court
Supreme People’s Court · China
Tian Yong is widely regarded as a landmark in Chinese administrative law because it expanded the practical willingness of courts to review government action and protect individual rights.
Rights impairment and administrative review2000s
Liu Guangming case
Supreme People’s Court · China
The Liu Guangming case is treated as a landmark in Chinese administrative-law scholarship because it helped crystallize the idea that administrative acts should be reviewable where they impair rights.
Constitutional application in ordinary litigation2001
Zhao Yuling-style constitutional reasoning / Qi Yuling-related rights enforcement
Supreme People’s Court · China
This line of cases and interpretive practice is landmark because it briefly suggested that constitutional rights could be applied by ordinary courts in civil disputes.
Land expropriation / administrative compensation2000s
Wang v. local land administration dispute
Chinese courts · China
Land-expropriation litigation has been a major frontier of Chinese public law because it sits at the intersection of state development power and individual property interests.
Personal bankruptcy2021
China’s first personal bankruptcy ruling
Chinese courts · China
China’s first personal bankruptcy ruling is landmark because it signaled the maturation of modern insolvency law beyond corporate collapse and toward individual debt relief.
Pollution liability2016
The Taizhou water pollution case
Supreme People’s Court · China
The Taizhou pollution case is a landmark environmental ruling because it confirmed criminal and civil accountability for serious industrial pollution that damaged local water resources.
Anti-monopoly / SEP licensing2024
First anti-monopoly refusal-to-license SEP case
Supreme People’s Court · China
China’s first anti-monopoly case on refusal to license a standard-essential patent is landmark because it sits at the intersection of innovation, market power, and competition law.
Government information disclosure2011–2025
Government information disclosure landmark case
Chinese courts · China
Government information disclosure cases are landmark because they define how far citizens can compel transparency from the state.
Environmental civil liability2010s–2020s
Guiding environmental public-interest litigation case
Supreme People’s Court · China
Environmental public-interest cases are landmark in China because they allow state or authorized actors to litigate on behalf of the public interest in ecological protection.
Administrative coercion2025
Landmark administrative coercion case involving enterprises
Supreme People’s Court · China
The SPC’s administrative-coercion cases are landmark because they clarify how government enforcement measures against enterprises must be lawful and proportionate.
Contract law1892
Carlill v. Carbolic Smoke Ball Co.
Court of Appeal of England and Wales · United Kingdom
Carlill v.
Criminal law1884
R v. Dudley and Stephens
High Court of Justice (Queen's Bench Division) · United Kingdom
R v.
Constitutional law2017
R (Miller) v. Secretary of State for Exiting the European Union (Miller I)
Supreme Court of the United Kingdom · United Kingdom
R (Miller) v.
Constitutional law2019
R (Miller) v. The Prime Minister / Cherry v. Advocate General for Scotland (Miller II)
Supreme Court of the United Kingdom · United Kingdom
Miller II ([2019] UKSC 41) is a watershed UK constitutional ruling that established that executive advice given to the Monarch to prorogue Parliament is subject to judicial review and declared an unlawful 5-week prorogation null and void..
Law of torts1990
Caparo Industries plc v. Dickman
House of Lords · United Kingdom
Caparo Industries plc v.
Administrative law1969
Anisminic Ltd v. Foreign Compensation Commission
House of Lords · United Kingdom
Anisminic Ltd v.
Contract law1947
Central London Property Trust Ltd v. High Trees House Ltd
High Court of Justice (King's Bench Division) · United Kingdom
High Trees ([1947] KB 130) established the modern doctrine of Promissory Estoppel in contract law, preventing parties from going back on promises made during contractual performance even in the absence of formal consideration..
Criminal law1935
Woolmington v. Director of Public Prosecutions
House of Lords · United Kingdom
Woolmington v.
Constitutional law1973
Kesavananda Bharati v. State of Kerala
Supreme Court of India · India
Kesavananda Bharati v.
Constitutional law2017
Justice K. S. Puttaswamy v. Union of India
Supreme Court of India · India
Justice K.
Environmental law1987
M. C. Mehta v. Union of India (Oleum Gas Leak Case)
Supreme Court of India · India
M.
Civil rights2018
Navtej Singh Johar v. Union of India
Supreme Court of India · India
Navtej Singh Johar v.
Contract law1954
Satyabrata Ghose v. Mugneeram Bangur & Co.
Supreme Court of India · India
Satyabrata Ghose v.
Corporate law2012
Vodafone International Holdings B.V. v. Union of India
Supreme Court of India · India
Vodafone International Holdings B.V.
Constitutional law1993
Unni Krishnan, J.P. v. State of Andhra Pradesh
Supreme Court of India · India
Unni Krishnan, J.P.
Constitutional law1951
State of Madras v. Champakam Dorairajan
Supreme Court of India · India
State of Madras v.
Constitutional law1993
Supreme Court Advocates-on-Record Association v. Union of India (Second Judges Case)
Supreme Court of India · India
The Second Judges Case ((1993) 4 SCC 441) is a monumental 9-judge constitutional ruling that created the 'Collegium System' for judicial appointments in India.
Constitutional law2002
Union of India v. Association for Democratic Reforms (ADR)
Supreme Court of India · India
Union of India v.
Constitutional law2015
Decision on the Priority of the Russian Constitution over International Human Rights Rulings
Constitutional Court of the Russian Federation · Russia
Judgment No.
Constitutional law2020
Decision on the Constitutionality of the 2020 Amendments to the Russian Constitution
Constitutional Court of the Russian Federation · Russia
In Conclusion No.
Environmental law2013
Greenpeace Arctic Sunrise Case (State v. Arctic Sunrise Crew)
Murmansk Regional Court / Investigative Committee of Russia · Russia
The Arctic Sunrise case (2013) established strict state enforcement guidelines regarding environmental protests targeting strategic offshore energy infrastructure in Russia's Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ)..
Criminal law2019
Khachaturyan Sisters Case
Moscow City Court · Russia
The Khachaturyan Sisters Case (2019–2021) is a landmark Russian criminal prosecution that ignited national legal debate regarding the boundaries of Necessary Defence (Article 37 of the Criminal Code) in cases of continuous, severe domestic abuse..
Constitutional law2013
Decision on the Freedom of Assembly and Public Demonstrations (Judgment No. 14-P)
Constitutional Court of the Russian Federation · Russia
Judgment No.
Criminal law2017
Judgment on Article 212.1 of the Criminal Code (Dadin Case)
Constitutional Court of the Russian Federation · Russia
Judgment No.
Corporate law2004
Yukos Shareholders v. Russian Federation (Tax & Reorganization Proceedings)
Constitutional Court / Supreme Court / Commercial Courts of Russia · Russia
The Yukos cases (2003–2006) represent a landmark corporate tax enforcement precedent in Russia.
Civil law2021
Defense of Honor, Dignity and Business Reputation (Constitutional Court Clarification)
Constitutional Court of the Russian Federation · Russia
Judgment No.
Criminal procedure2000
Decision on the Right to Legal Counsel in Pre-Trial Detention (Maslov Case)
Constitutional Court of the Russian Federation · Russia
Judgment No.
Civil law2019
Decision on the Protection of Private Property Rights against Arbitrary Expropriation
Constitutional Court of the Russian Federation · Russia
Judgment No.
Constitutional law2019
Decision on the Restitution of Property to Victims of Political Repressions
Constitutional Court of the Russian Federation · Russia
Judgment No.
Family law2021
Decision on the Application of Paternity Determination and DNA Testing (Family Law)
Constitutional Court of the Russian Federation · Russia
Judgment No.
Property law2012
The Trans-Siberian Railroad Land Dispute (State Property vs. Municipal Rights)
Supreme Arbitration Court of the Russian Federation · Russia
In Judgment No.
Information law2018
The Telegram Encryption Keys Case (Telegram Messenger LLP v. FSB)
Supreme Court of the Russian Federation · Russia
In Judgment No.
Constitutional law1995
Case on the Constitutionality of Presidential Decrees on Chechnya (Chechen War Case)
Constitutional Court of the Russian Federation · Russia
The Chechen War decision (Judgment No.
Constitutional law1995
Case on the Legality of Military Deployment in Internal Armed Conflict
Constitutional Court of the Russian Federation · Russia
The Constitutional Court evaluated executive powers and armed forces deployment during internal security crises, affirming presidential Commander-in-Chief authority to protect national territorial integrity..