- The law of the land is the whole body of valid laws, statutory or otherwise, existing and in force in a country or jurisdiction at a particular date. Every valid statute is the “lawoftheland” with respect to its subject matter. The lawoftheland is constantly changing as new statutes are enacted and old ones repealed, or new principles evolved.
- “Law of the land” is synonymous with “due process of law.” For example, the Constitution of North Carolina states, “No person shall be . . . deprived of his life, liberty, or property, but by the law of the land,” while the United States Constitution states, no person shall “be deprived of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law.” The phrase “law of the land” can trace its origins to the Magna Carta where it was used in the law of the land clause, the predecessor to the due process clauses of the United States Constitution. The law of the land clause states, “No Freeman shall be taken or imprisoned, or be disseised of his Freehold, or Liberties, or free Customs, or be outlawed, or exiled, or any other wise destroyed; nor will We not pass upon him, nor condemn him, but by lawful judgment of his Peers, or by the Law of the Land.”
[Last updated in June of 2020 by the Wex Definitions Team]
