law of the land

Law of the Land refers to the complete set of enforceable laws that govern a jurisdiction at a given time. This includes constitutional provisions, valid statutes, administrative regulations, and binding judicial decisions. When lawfully enacted and not in conflict with superior legal norms, a statute becomes part of the law of the land within its operative scope. The law of the land is dynamic and evolves over time; legislatures amend or repeal statutes, courts revise precedent, and regulatory agencies issue or withdraw rules.

Historically, the phrase is rooted in Chapter 39 of Magna Carta (1215), which restricted arbitrary punishment by requiring judgment according to established law. That clause stated that no free person could be deprived of rights or punished except by the lawful judgment of peers or by the law of the land. Seventeenth-century jurist Edward Coke interpreted this clause to mean that individuals could not be punished except by due process of law. This reading influenced early American jurisprudence. The Fifth and Fourteenth Amendments of the U.S. Constitution later codified due process as a constitutional requirement. The phrase “supreme Law of the Land” appears in the Supremacy Clause. Article VI, Clause 2 of the Constitution states: “This Constitution, and the laws of the United States which shall be made in pursuance thereof; and all treaties made, or which shall be made, under the authority of the United States, shall be the supreme law of the land; and the judges in every state shall be bound thereby, anything in the Constitution or laws of any State to the contrary notwithstanding.”

[Last reviewed in November of 2025 by the Wex Definitions Team]

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