Jurisprudence or legal theory is the theoretical study of law. Scholars of jurisprudence seek to explain the nature of law in its most general form and provide a deeper understanding of legal reasoning, legal systems, legal institutions, the role of law in society. Modern jurisprudence began in the 18th century and was focused on the first principles of natural law, civil law, the law of nations. General jurisprudence can be divided into categories both by the type of question scholars seek to answer and by the theories of jurisprudence, or schools of thought, regarding how those questions are best answered. Contemporary philosophy of law, which deals with general jurisprudence, addresses problems internal to law and legal systems and problems of law as a social institution that relates to the larger political and social context in which it exists; this article addresses three distinct branches of thought in general jurisprudence. Ancient natural law is the idea that there are rational objective limits to the power of legislative rulers.

The foundations of law are accessible through reason, it is from these laws of nature that human laws gain whatever force they have. Analytic jurisprudence rejects natural law's fusing of what it ought to be, it espouses the use of a neutral point of view and descriptive language when referring to aspects of legal systems. It encompasses such theories of jurisprudence as "legal positivism", which holds that there is no necessary connection between law and morality and that the force of law comes from basic social facts. Normative jurisprudence is concerned with "evaluative" theories of law, it deals with what the goal or purpose of law is, or what moral or political theories provide a foundation for the law. It not only addresses the question "What is law?", but tries to determine what the proper function of law should be, or what sorts of acts should be subject to legal sanctions, what sorts of punishment should be permitted. The English word is derived from iurisprudentia. Juris is the genitive form of jus meaning law, prudentia meaning prudence.

It refers to the exercise of good judgment, common sense, caution in the conduct of practical matters. The word first appeared in written English in 1628, at a time when the word prudence meant knowledge of, or skill in, a matter, it may have entered English via the French jurisprudence. Ancient Indian jurisprudence is mentioned in various Dharmaśāstra texts, starting with the Dharmasutra of Bhodhayana. In Ancient China, the Daoists and Legalists all had competing theories of jurisprudence. Jurisprudence in Ancient Rome had its origins with the —experts in the jus mos maiorum, a body of oral laws and customs. Praetors established a working body of laws by judging whether or not singular cases were capable of being prosecuted either by the edicta, the annual pronunciation of prosecutable offense, or in extraordinary situations, additions made to the edicta. An iudex would prescribe a remedy according to the facts of the case; the sentences of the iudex were supposed to be simple interpretations of the traditional customs, but—apart from considering what traditional customs applied in each case—soon developed a more equitable interpretation, coherently adapting the law to newer social exigencies.

The law was adjusted with evolving institutiones, while remaining in the traditional mode. Praetors were replaced in the 3rd century BC by a laical body of prudentes. Admission to this body was conditional upon proof of experience. Under the Roman Empire, schools of law were created, practice of the law became more academic. From the early Roman Empire to the 3rd century, a relevant body of literature was produced by groups of scholars, including the Proculians and Sabinians; the scientific nature of the studies was unprecedented in ancient times. After the 3rd century, juris prudentia became a more bureaucratic activity, with few notable authors, it was during the Eastern Roman Empire that legal studies were once again undertaken in depth, it is from this cultural movement that Justinian's Corpus Juris Civilis was born. In its general sense, natural law theory may be compared to both state-of-nature law and general law understood on the basis of being analogous to the laws of physical science.

Natural law is contrasted to positive law which asserts law as the product of human activity and human volition. Another approach to natural-law jurisprudence asserts that human law must be in response to compelling reasons for action. There are two readings of the natural-law jurisprudential stance; the strong natural law thesis holds that if a human law fails to be in response to compelling reasons it is not properly a "law" at all. This is captured, imperfectly, in the famous maxim: lex iniusta non est lex; the weak natural law thesis holds that if a human law fails to be in response to compelling reasons it can still be called a "law", but it must be recognised as a defective law. Notions of an objective moral order, external to human legal systems, underlie natural law. What is right or wrong can vary according to the interests one is focused on. John Finnis, one of the most important of modern natural lawyers, has argued that the maxim "an unjust law is no law at all" is a poor guide to the classical Thomist position.

Related to theories of natural law are classical theories of justice, begi

United Nations Security Council Resolution 1654, adopted unanimously on January 31, 2006, after recalling previous resolutions concerning the situation in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, including resolutions 1616 and 1649, the Council extended the mandate of an expert panel monitoring the arms embargo against the country until July 31, 2006. Noting that the situation in the Democratic Republic of the Congo continued to constitute a threat to international peace and security, the Council expressed its determination to monitor and enforce the provisions of Resolution 1493 which imposed the arms embargo, subsequently expanded by Resolution 1596. Acting under Chapter VII of the United Nations Charter, the Council requested the Secretary-General Kofi Annan to re-establish the four-member expert panel monitoring the flow of weapons into and within the Democratic Republic of the Congo until July 31, 2006; the resolution urged the panel to continue to fulfill its mandate and demanded that all states and parties co-operate with the panel, ensuring its safety and unhindered access.

Kivu conflict Ituri conflict List of United Nations Security Council Resolutions 1601 to 1700 Second Congo War Works related to United Nations Security Council Resolution 1654 at Wikisource Text of the Resolution at undocs.org

Rick Rofihe is a Canadian American short story writer and editor. His work has appeared in The New Yorker Epiphany, Grand Street, Open City, The New York Times, The Village Voice, SPY, The East Hampton Star, online Mr. Beller’s Neighborhood, he founded the literary journal Anderbo. He has taught fiction-writing at Gotham Writers’ Workshop, in the MFA program at Columbia University, he now teaches in New York City. He judges the annual RRofihe Trophy short-story contest for Open City Books. 1991 Whiting Award. "BOYS who DO the BOP: 9 New Yorker Stories", Anderbo.com. "Australia", Slush Pile. Fresh Grease: New Writing from the Maritimes Straw Books, 1971. Gushy & Gooey and other stuff from the kids of Nova Skotia Anderbo Books, 1971 & 1973; such a neat idea, Nova Scotia people and stories Anderbo Books, 1973. Father Must. Farrar Straus Giroux. 1991. ISBN 978-0-374-15384-7; these surgically precise slices of intelligent life are distinguished by virtuosic phrase-making and fetchingly off-beat specifics. —Bruce Allen, The New York Times Book Review.

Mr. Rofihe can be effective, with a quirky tenderness. Oddly touching, the interest here lies not in the stories’ mundane incidents, but in things hinted at: beneath this calm surface, powerful currents flow. —Bruce Bawer, The Wall Street Journal. Rick Rofihe’s stories have bulging motor nerves and threadlike muscles, they are contour without mass. They are elusive, but not in the sense of escaping us, it is more as if we are unable to find them, they spring out at us. —Richard Eder, Los Angeles Times. The narratives weave toward minor epiphanies and filling, curving around their characters with a seeming lack of coherence—yet they are strangely compelling, as the refusal to make plain their meanings gives more depth to implication. —Michael Darling, Books in Canada. Anderbo website "Rick Moody, what does online publishing mean to you?", American Short Fiction blog Profile at The Whiting Foundation