People: in Politics in Law See Also References

The document discusses the definition and uses of the term 'people' in politics and law. Politically, 'people' can refer to a group used to justify governance, like a nation or republic. Legally, criminal cases are sometimes prosecuted in the name of the 'people' of a jurisdiction rather than the state.

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People: in Politics in Law See Also References

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People

A people is a plurality of persons considered as a whole, as is the case with an ethnic group or nation. Collectively, for example, the
contemporary Frisians and Danes are two related Germanic peoples, while various Middle Eastern ethnic groups are often
linguistically categorized asSemitic peoples.

Contents
In politics
In law
See also
References

In politics
Various states govern, or claim to govern, in the name of the people. Both the
Roman Republic and the Roman Empire used the Latin term Senatus Populusque
Romanus, (the Senate and People of Rome). This term was fixed to Roman
legionary standards, and even after the Roman Emperors achieved a state of total
personal autarchy, they continued to wield their power in the name of the Senate and
People of Rome.

A People's Republic is typically a Marxist or socialist one-party state that claims to

govern on behalf of the people even if it in practice often turns out to be a
dictatorship state. Populism is another umbrella term for various political tendencies
Liberty Leading the Peopleby
that claim to represent the people, usually with an implication that they serve the Eugène Delacroix
common people instead of the elite.

Chapter One, Article One of theCharter of the United Nationsstates that peoples have the right toself-determination.[1]

In law
In criminal law, in certain jurisdictions, criminal prosecutions are brought in the name of the People. Several U.S. states, including
California, Illinois, and New York, use this style.[2] Citations outside the jurisdictions in question usually substitute the name of the
state for the words "the People" in the case captions.[3] Four states — Massachusetts, Virginia, Pennsylvania, and Kentucky — refer
to themselves as the Commonwealth in case captions and legal process.[4] Other states, such as Indiana, typically refer to themselves
as the State in case captions and legal process. Outside the United States, criminal trials in Ireland and the Philippines are prosecuted
in the name of the people of their respective states.

The political theory underlying this format is that criminal prosecutions are brought in the name of the sovereign; thus, in these U.S.
states, the "people" are judged to be the sovereign, even as in the United Kingdom and other dependencies of the British Crown,
criminal prosecutions are typically brought in the name of the Crown. "The people" identifies the entire body of the citizens of a
[5]
jurisdiction invested with political power or gathered for political purposes.

List of contemporary ethnic groups

List of indigenous peoples
Nationality
Tribe

References
1. "Charter of the United Nations: Chapter I: Purposes and Principles"(https://www.webcitation.org/6YNQicd2P?url=htt
p://www.un.org/en/documents/charter/chapter1.shtml). United Nations. Archived fromthe original (https://www.un.or
g/en/documents/charter/chapter1.shtml)on 8 May 2015. Retrieved 22 April 2013.
2. See, e.g., California v. Anderson 6 Cal. 3d 628; 493 P.2d 880; 100 Cal. Rptr. 152; 1972 Cal. LEXIS 154 (1972)
3. See generally, The Bluebook: A Uniform System of Citation, rule 10.
4. See Commonwealth (United States)
5. Black's Law Dictionary, 5th ed., "People".

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