conflict of laws, the existence worldwide, and within individual countries, of different legal traditions, different specific rules of private law, and different systems of private law, all of which are administered by court systems similarly subject to different rules and traditions of procedure.

the personal is political, political slogan expressing a common belief among feminists that the personal experiences of women are rooted in their political situation and gender inequality. Although the origin of the phrase “the personal is political” is uncertain, it became popular following the

Veijo Meri: …play, Sotamies Jokisen vihkiloma (1965; Private Jokinen’s Marriage Leave), is set in the war years of the 1940s. An autobiography, Kersantin poika (“The Son of a Sergeant”), was published in 1971.

positivism: Other issues: …the very possibility of a private language, maintained that, unless humans have objective criteria for the occurrence of mental states, they cannot even begin to communicate meaningfully with each other about their direct experiences. Wittgenstein thus repudiated the traditional view according to which one’s knowledge of other persons’ minds must…

administrative law: Distinctions between public administration and private action: …law is quite different from private law regulating the actions, interests, and obligations of private persons. Civil servants do not generally serve under a contract of employment but have a special status. Taxes are not debts, nor are they governed by the law relating to the recovery of debts by…

library: Private libraries: The libraries owned by private individuals are as varied in their range of interest as the individuals who collected them, and so they do not lend themselves to generalized treatment. The phrase private library is anyway unfortunate because it gives little idea of…

Paul Giamatti: …a disquieting postapocalyptic drama; and Private Life, a dramedy about the tribulations of fertility treatment (all 2018). In 2021 Giamatti lent his voice to the documentary miniseries The Sons of Sam: A Descent into Darkness, about a journalist who doggedly pursued various theories regarding serial killer David Berkowitz and his…

Jane Smiley: …Decameron set in Hollywood; and Private Life (2010), which examines a woman’s marriage and interior life. Some Luck (2014), which covers 33 years in the history of the Langdons, a farming family, was the first entry in a trilogy. Early Warning and Golden Age (both 2015), the second and third…

History of film: Nontechnical effects of sound: >The Private Life of Henry VIII, 1933; Rembrandt, 1936) in England.

Billy Wilder: Last films: …Wilder returned in 1970 with The Private Life of Sherlock Holmes (coscripted with Diamond), a generally underrated revisionist take on the fictional detective. Avanti! (1972) followed and starred Lemmon as a millionaire who travels to Italy to bury his father only to fall in love with the daughter (Juliet Mills)…

Private Lives, comedy in three acts by Noël Coward, published and produced in 1930. This cynical comment on love and marriage is one of Coward’s most brilliantly realized plays and is characterized by his trademark witty dialogue. Elyot Chase and his second wife, Sibyl, are honeymooning on the

Sidney Franklin: Private Lives (1931) was an elegant adaptation of the Noël Coward play, starring Shearer and Robert Montgomery. Smilin’ Through (1932) had Shearer reprising a melodramatic role in which Franklin had first directed Norma Talmadge in 1922.

Private Lives, comedy in three acts by Noël Coward, published and produced in 1930. This cynical comment on love and marriage is one of Coward’s most brilliantly realized plays and is characterized by his trademark witty dialogue. Elyot Chase and his second wife, Sibyl, are honeymooning on the

James Hogg: …important work is Hogg’s novel The Private Memoirs and Confessions of a Justified Sinner (1824), a macabre tale of a psychopath that anticipates the modern psychological thriller.

private military company (PMC), independent corporation that offers military services to national governments, international organizations, and substate actors. Private military companies (PMCs) constitute an important and deeply controversial element of the privatized military industry. PMCs

private military company (PMC), independent corporation that offers military services to national governments, international organizations, and substate actors. Private military companies (PMCs) constitute an important and deeply controversial element of the privatized military industry. PMCs

Buying a home is a complex transaction, with mountains of paperwork full of jargon, confusing terms, and above all, costs and fees. One of those potential costs—if you’re taking out a mortgage—is private mortgage insurance (PMI). Private mortgage insurance is designed to protect the lender in the

Anton Webern: Life and works: …as supervisor for the Schoenberg-founded Society for Private Musical Performances (1918–22). In 1924 Schoenberg formulated the 12-tone method of composition—the system in which a basic “row,” formed from the 12 independent tones of the chromatic scale, is used melodically and harmonically through the devices of inversion, retrograde progression, and transposition,…

Phyllis Diller: …on the Lam (1967), and The Private Navy of Sgt. O’Farrell (1968)—and appeared in more than 20 of his TV specials.

nuisance: A private nuisance is an activity or condition that interferes with the use and enjoyment of neighbouring privately owned lands, without, however, constituting an actual invasion of the property. Thus, excessive noise, noxious vapours, and disagreeable odours and vibrations may constitute a private nuisance to the…

Roy Del Ruth: Middle years: Private Number (1936) was a sodden soap opera, with Robert Taylor as the scion of a wealthy family; he secretly marries a housemaid (Loretta Young), to the displeasure of the nefarious butler (Basil Rathbone). In 1936 Del Ruth returned to musicals with Born to Dance,…

Howard Stern: …he wrote the best sellers Private Parts (1993), an autobiography, and Miss America (1995), in which he offered his opinions on a wide range of topics. In 1997 Stern starred as himself in the film adaptation of Private Parts, which was a critical and commercial success. He later served as…

Paul Giamatti: In Private Parts (1997), a film about the life of radio personality Howard Stern, Giamatti played an acrimonious program director tasked with containing the outrageous Stern. Small roles in commercially successful films followed, including My Best Friend’s Wedding (1997), The Truman Show (1998), and Saving Private…

Louise Fletcher: …recurring characters on ER, Heroes, Private Practice, Shameless, and Girlboss.

prison: Privatization: The term prison privatization can be applied to a variety of arrangements involving nongovernmental contractors. One privatization model, which originated in France and later spread to a number of countries, arranges responsibilities such that state employees control any functions that relate to deprivation of liberty while other…

Although the total number of incarcerations in the U.S. has declined in recent years—dropping 21 percent from a peak of 2.3 million imprisoned people in 2008—the country still leads the world in mass imprisonment. According to a March 11, 2025 Prison Policy Initiative study, the country’s

American colonies: How colonization took place: …and trade was abolished, and private property in land and stores took its place. An able soldier, Sir Thomas Dale, went to Virginia in 1611 with three ships, 300 colonists, and some livestock, and for five years exercised statesmanlike control. During these years the colony took up the cultivation of…

public sector: …the public sector from the private sector is relatively straightforward—it is evident in terms of employment relationships and the right of exercising public power. The next circle includes a number of different quasi-governmental agencies that are, however, placed outside the direct line of accountability within government. Examples range from social…

Gregory La Cava: Heyday: two films with Claudette Colbert: Private Worlds, a drama about doctors in a mental institution that also starred Charles Boyer, and the comedy She Married Her Boss.

Richard Attenborough: …a soldier in the comedy Private’s Progress (1956) and its sequel, I’m All Right Jack (1959); and a squadron leader engineering a breakout from a German POW camp in The Great Escape (1963). Attenborough won Golden Globe Awards for best supporting actor for The Sand Pebbles (1966) and for his…

Nakauchi Isao: … through his pioneering development of private-brand products.

nursing: History of nursing: …same time, independent contractors called private-duty nurses cared for sick individuals in their homes. These nurses performed important clinical work and supported families who had the financial resources to afford care, but the unregulated health care labour market left them vulnerable to competition from both untrained nurses and each year’s…

graphic design: William Morris and the private-press movement: During the 19th century, one by-product of industrialism was a decline in the quality of book design and production. Cheap, thin paper, shoddy presswork, drab, gray inks, and anemic text typefaces were often the order of the day. Near the end of the…

privateer, privately owned armed vessel commissioned by a belligerent state to attack enemy ships, usually vessels of commerce. Privateering was carried on by all nations from the earliest times until the 19th century. Crews were not paid by the commissioning government but were entitled to cruise

privatization, transfer of government services or assets to the private sector. State-owned assets may be sold to private owners, or statutory restrictions on competition between privately and publicly owned enterprises may be lifted. Services formerly provided by government may be contracted out.

Haiti: Haiti in the 21st century: The interim president, Jocelerme Privert, took office on February 14, 2016, for a term designated to end June 14. At that time a new interim president elected by the parliament was to be installed or Privert’s term officially extended, but, because of stalling tactics by members of the…

privet, any of about 40 to 50 species of shrubs and small trees belonging to the genus Ligustrum of the family Oleaceae that are widely used for hedges, screens, and ornamental plantings. Privets—native to Europe, Asia, Australia, and the Mediterranean region—are evergreen or deciduous plants with

evidence: Privileges: Privileges under Anglo-American law must be distinguished from the right to refuse to give evidence under particular circumstances as it exists in continental European practice. The latter is granted to witnesses for either personal or objective reasons. The personal reasons are the same as…

diplomatics: Classification of documents: …documents can be classified as diplomas or mandates. Privileges and diplomas give evidence of legal transactions designed to be of long duration or even of permanent effect, while mandates and many papal letters contain commands.

Casimir IV: …nobility substantial concessions by the Privilege (statute) of Nieszawa (November 1454); these, however, became important only after his death, and royal power was not greatly diminished during his lifetime.

privileged communication, in law, communication between persons who have a special duty of fidelity and secrecy toward each other. Communications between attorney and client are privileged and do not have to be disclosed to the court. However, in the wake of terrorist attacks against the United

parliamentary procedure: Rules of parliamentary procedure: Privileged motions relate to matters of such urgent importance that they temporarily supersede pending business. They take precedence over all other motions and may be offered while other questions are pending. In this class of motions are the motions to fix the time at which…

United Nations: Privileges and immunities: A general Convention on the Privileges and Immunities of the United Nations, approved by the General Assembly in February 1946 and accepted by most of the members, asserts that the UN possesses juridical personality. The convention also provides for such matters as immunity from legal process of…

United States: The middle colonies: Finally, in 1701, a Charter of Privileges, giving the lower house all legislative power and transforming the council into an appointive body with advisory functions only, was approved by the citizens. The Charter of Privileges, like the other three frames of government, continued to guarantee the principle of religious…

Alfonso III: …compelled to grant the so-called “Privilegio de la Unión,” which handed over a number of important royal prerogatives to baronial control. At Alfonso’s death the crown passed to his brother James II, who had been king of Sicily (as James I) since 1285.

Austria: Accession of the Habsburgs: …1359 Rudolf’s forged charter, the Privilegium Majus, by which he claimed immense privileges for Austria and its dynasty, as well as the title of archduke, caused a breach between him and the emperor Charles IV. Charles was not prepared to accept the Privilegium Majus to its full extent (although it…

Henry II Jasomirgott: …in Austria by obtaining the Privilegium Minus (a grant of special privileges and a reduction of obligations toward the empire) from the Holy Roman emperor Frederick I Barbarossa when Austria was raised to a duchy.

Casimir IV: …nobility substantial concessions by the Privilege (statute) of Nieszawa (November 1454); these, however, became important only after his death, and royal power was not greatly diminished during his lifetime.

Saxon Dynasty: He concluded the Privilegium Ottonianum, a treaty that regulated relations between emperor and pope, and initiated a Holy Roman Empire of the German nation. His son Otto II (973–83) continued his policy, but his grandson Otto III (983–1002) was interested in Italian affairs to the detriment of Germany.

warranty: History: Originally, warranties also contained a privity requirement—i.e., any duties or protections imposed were extended only to those directly involved in the sales transaction. To protect the consumer, the privity requirement was slowly reduced and then completely discarded as industrialized society distanced manufacturers and consumers and thus decreased the built-in safeguards…

France: The development of central government: The Privy Council (Conseil Privé) judged disputes between individuals or bodies and dispensed the king’s supreme and final judgments. The State Council for Finances (Conseil d’État et Finances) expedited financial matters of secondary importance, while the Financial Arbitration Court (Grande Direction des Finances) was an administrative…

Privy Council, historically, the British sovereign’s private council. Once powerful, the Privy Council has long ceased to be an active body, having lost most of its judicial and political functions since the middle of the 17th century. This atrophy was a result of the decline of the sovereign’s

sigillography: Royal and official seals: The privy seal appeared early in the 13th century in the custody of the clerks of the king’s chamber. It was soon transferred to the wardrobe clerks, and gradually its importance increased until by the early 14th century the keeper of the privy seal was the…

André Previn was a German-born American pianist, composer, arranger, and conductor, especially sympathetic to French, Russian, and English music of the 19th and 20th centuries. Previn’s family fled Nazi persecution and moved to Los Angeles in 1939. While still a teenager he was recognized as a

Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe, one of the world’s foremost horse races, originated in 1920, and run over a 2,400-metre (about 1 12-mile) course at Longchamp, Paris. The race is an international event for horses at least three years old and attracts entries from several nations of Europe and other parts

Darcey Bussell: …year, she also won the Prix de Lausanne (a major international dance competition held annually in Lausanne, Switzerland). After Bussell graduated from White Lodge in 1987, she was taken into the Sadler’s Wells Royal Ballet (later Birmingham Royal Ballet). A year later she was back at the Royal Ballet as…

Prix de Rome, any of a group of scholarships awarded by the French government between 1663 and 1968 to enable young French artists to study in Rome. It was so named because the students who won the grand, or first, prize in each artistic category went to study at the Académie de France in Rome. As

horsemanship: Olympic equestrian competition: …tests, less strenuous than the Prix des Nations jumping event, are held on the third day.

Prix du Jockey Club, one of the major French horse races, an event for three-year- old colts and fillies that originated in 1836. It is run over a 2,400-metre (about 1 12-mile) course at Chantilly, near Paris, and is sometimes termed the French Derby because of its similarity to the older English

Prix Goncourt, French literary prize, one of the most important in France. It was first conceived in 1867 by the brothers Edmond and Jules de Goncourt, authors of Journals, and created in 1903 by a bequest of Edmond that established the Académie Goncourt, a literary society of 10 members (none of

Prix Renaudot, French literary prize awarded to the author of an outstanding original novel published during the previous year. Named for Théophraste Renaudot (1586?–1653), who founded La Gazette (later La Gazette de France), an influential weekly newspaper, the prize was established in 1925 and

Coop Himmelblau: The two central members were Wolf D. Prix (b. December 13, 1942, Vienna, Austria) and Helmut Swiczinsky (b. January 13, 1944, Poznań, Poland).

South Asian arts: The theatre: …three charming plays: Ratnāvalī and Priyadarśikā, both of which are of the harem type; and Nāgānanda (“The Joy of the Serpents”), inspired by Buddhism and illustrating the generosity of the snake deity Jīmūtavāhana.

priyayi, in traditional Javanese society, a class that comprised the elite in contrast to the masses, or “little people” (wong cilik). Until the 18th century the priyayi, under the royal families, were the rulers of the Javanese states. Like the knights in medieval Europe and the samurai of Japan,

prize, in law, a vessel, aircraft, or goods acquired through capture by a belligerent state, which is subject to condemnation by a prize court. “Capture” and “prize” are not synonymous terms, and a legal determination that the captured property is good prize, within the accepted definition, is

prize cases, (1863), in U.S. history, legal dispute in which the Supreme Court upheld President Abraham Lincoln’s seizure of ships that ran the naval blockade prior to the congressional declaration of war in July 1861. On April 19 and 27, 1861, Lincoln issued proclamations authorizing a blockade of

prize court, a municipal (national) court in which the legality of captures of goods and vessels at sea and related questions are determined. During time of war private enemy ships and neutral merchantmen carrying contraband are subject to seizure. Title to such vessels and their cargoes does not

prize: …past, prize money or “bounty” has been paid, partly as a reward for bravery and as a stimulus to exertion and partly as a compensation for the poor rates of pay prevailing in naval services. However, prize bounty was abolished in the United States in 1899 and in England…

Mark Robson: Films of the 1950s: Robson next made A Prize of Gold (1955), an action drama that featured Richard Widmark as an army sergeant stationed in Berlin who helps steal a shipment of gold to help relocate a group of war orphans.

Mark Robson: Later films: Robson reteamed with Newman on The Prize (1963), a political thriller adapted from Irving Wallace’s sensationalist best seller. Von Ryan’s Express (1965) was one of Frank Sinatra’s better films, a well-paced World War II adventure about an escape from a POW camp. Robson had less success with Lost Command (1966),…

W.S. Van Dyke: One Take Woody: The Prizefighter and the Lady (1933) featured heavyweight boxer Max Baer as a former sailor who fights his way to the top only to turn his back on those who helped him get there, including his wife (played by Loy) and coach (Huston). The boxing…

boxing, sport, both amateur and professional, involving attack and defense with the fists. Boxers usually wear padded gloves and generally observe the code set forth in the marquess of Queensberry rules. Matched in weight and ability, boxing contestants try to land blows hard and often with their

motion-picture technology: Introduction of color: …ordinary projector without filters was Prizma Color in 1919. (Prizma Color had been introduced as an additive process but was soon revised.) The basis was an ingenious “duplitized” film with emulsion on both sides. One side was toned red-orange and the other blue-green. The stock long outlasted the Prizma company…

Prizren, town in Kosovo, in the foothills of the Šar Mountains. As the capital of Serbia in the 14th century, Prizren was a large cultural and trading centre and minted its own coinage. The town is very picturesque, with churches, mosques, numerous old houses, and ancient Turkish baths. The church

Albanian League, first Albanian nationalist organization. Formed at Prizren (now in Kosovo) on July 1, 1878, the league, initially supported by the Ottoman Turks, tried to influence the Congress of Berlin, which was formulating a peace settlement following the Russo-Turkish War of 1877–78 and which

Slavic languages: The Western subgroup: Serbian, Croatian, and Slovene: …among them those of the Prizren-Timok group, which are close to some North Macedonian and West Bulgarian dialects. The literary Serbian and Croatian languages were formed in the first half of the 19th century on the basis of the Shtokavian dialects that extend over the greater part of Bosnian, Serbian,…

John Huston: Last films: Far more satisfying was Prizzi’s Honor (1985), a stylized version of Richard Condon’s novel (adapted by Condon and Janet Roach) about the Mafia. Jack Nicholson delivered what many critics considered to be among his best performances as mob hit man Charley Partanna. He falls for a woman (Kathleen Turner)…

John Huston: Last films: …stylized version of Richard Condon’s novel (adapted by Condon and Janet Roach) about the Mafia. Jack Nicholson delivered what many critics considered to be among his best performances as mob hit man Charley Partanna. He falls for a woman (Kathleen Turner) who turns out not only to share his profession…

photorefractive keratectomy (PRK), common surgical method that reshapes the cornea (the transparent membrane covering the front of the eye) to improve vision in patients affected by farsightedness (hyperopia) or nearsightedness (myopia). In this procedure a local anesthetic is applied to the eye

Parkinson disease: Risk factors: mutations in a gene called PRKN, which encodes a protein known as parkin, have been associated with early-onset (before age 40) Parkinson disease and with some cases of late-onset (after age 50) Parkinson disease. Mutations in several other genes have been linked to noninherited forms of the disease.

Institutional Revolutionary Party (PRI), Mexican political party that dominated the country’s political institutions from its founding in 1929 until the end of the 20th century. Virtually all important figures in Mexican national and local politics belonged to the party, because the nomination of

rock: Types of remanent magnetization: PRM (pressure remanent, or piezoremanent, magnetization) arises when a material undergoes mechanical deformation while in a magnetic field. The process of deformation may result from hydrostatic pressure, shock impact (as produced by a meteorite striking the Earth’s surface), or directed tectonic stress. There are magnetization changes with stress in…

Dominican Republic: Bosch, Balaguer, and their successors: …Abinader, the candidate of the Modern Revolutionary Party (Partido Revolucionario Moderno; PRM), who won the presidency, had himself been forced to temporarily suspend his campaign when he contracted COVID-19. The PRM had been founded in 2014 by Abinader and other prominent former members of the PRD. Abinader won the election…

multiple sclerosis: Prevalence and types of multiple sclerosis: (SPMS), primary-progressive (PPMS), and progressive-relapsing (PRMS). About 80–85 percent of patients are diagnosed initially with RRMS. In this form of the disease, onset is usually gradual, and there are alternating intervals of symptom exacerbation and complete symptom remission. In many patients with RRMS, symptoms may worsen gradually during subsequent…

Institutional Revolutionary Party (PRI), Mexican political party that dominated the country’s political institutions from its founding in 1929 until the end of the 20th century. Virtually all important figures in Mexican national and local politics belonged to the party, because the nomination of

Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease: Types: …mutation in a gene designated PRNP), which encodes the prion protein PrP, is passed from parent to child in a dominant fashion (i.e., only one of the two copies of the gene that are inherited—one from each parent—need be mutated for disease to occur). More than 50 different mutations in…

Mauricio Macri: …foundation for the successor party, Republican Proposal (PRO). Under his leadership, over the next dozen years, PRO was transformed into Argentina’s first new nationally viable and competitive political party in more than 60 years.

To access extended pro and con arguments, sources, and discussion questions about whether alternative energy can effectively replace fossil fuels, go to ProCon.org. Whether alternative energy can meet energy demands effectively enough to phase out finite fossil fuels (such as coal, oil, and natural

Jean-François Vonck: …Pro Aris et Focis (For Altar and Hearth), which gained widespread support, and then organized a volunteer army based at Liège and commanded by a former Austrian officer, Jean-André van der Meersch.

Cicero: Oratory: …he is attacking Clodia in Pro Caelio. His capacity for arousing anger may be seen in the opening sentences of the first speech against Catiline and, for arousing pity, in the last page of Pro Milone. His technique in winning a case against the evidence is exemplified by Pro Cluentio,…

Cicero: Oratory: …the evidence is exemplified by Pro Cluentio, a speech in an inordinately complex murder trial; Cicero later boasted of “throwing dust in the jurymen’s eyes.”

proconsul, in the ancient Roman Republic, a consul whose powers had been extended for a definite period after his regular term of one year. From the mid-4th century bc the Romans recognized the necessity, during lengthy wars, of extending the terms of certain magistrates; such extension was termed

Canton: …in organizing the sport, the Pro Football Hall of Fame was established there in 1963.

Miguel Pro Juárez was a Mexican Jesuit priest martyred during anti-Roman Catholic persecutions of the 1920s in Mexico. The son of a socially prominent family, Pro entered the Jesuit novitiate in 1911. Because of government persecutions, he fled to California (1914–15) and then to Spain (1915–19)

Miguel Pro Juárez was a Mexican Jesuit priest martyred during anti-Roman Catholic persecutions of the 1920s in Mexico. The son of a socially prominent family, Pro entered the Jesuit novitiate in 1911. Because of government persecutions, he fled to California (1914–15) and then to Spain (1915–19)

Titus Annius Milo: …the trial; his extant oration Pro Milone is an expanded form of the unspoken defense. Milo retired into exile at Massilia (now Marseille, France). He joked that if Cicero had delivered the speech in his defense, he would never have been able to enjoy the fine mullets of Massilia. Milo…

Cicero: Oratory: …bantering of the Stoics in Pro Murena in order to discredit Cato, who was among the prosecutors, and at its most biting when he is attacking Clodia in Pro Caelio. His capacity for arousing anger may be seen in the opening sentences of the first speech against Catiline and, for…

Harry, count von Arnim: …into exile and anonymously published Pro Nihilo (1875), a pamphlet attributing his disgrace to Bismarck’s jealousy. Convicted of treason, of insulting the emperor, and of libeling Bismarck, Arnim was sentenced in absentia to five years’ penal servitude. Since the legal grounds for Arnim’s prosecution had been doubtful, Bismarck obtained passage…

Cicero: Letters and poetry: …in the Pro Sulla and Pro Plancio, which Cicero sent to Pompey at the end of 63; Pompey hardly as much as acknowledged it, and Cicero was mocked about it in public later. Many letters were evidently suppressed for political reasons after Cicero’s death.

Roscius: …on behalf of the actor, Pro Roscio comoedo, survives. Among those to acquire the honorary epithet Roscius were the English child star William Henry West Betty (1791–1874), known as the Young Roscius, and the American-born black tragedian Ira Aldridge (1807–67), dubbed the African Roscius.