law of the land

1. 1.

   a phrase used in the Magna Carta to refer to the then established law of the kingdom (as distinct from Roman or civil law); today it refers to fundamental principles of justice commensurate with due process

   “the United States Constitution declares itself to be `the supreme law of the land'”

   Broaderlaw

   law

Questions about law of the land

What does law of the land mean?

law of the land means "a phrase used in the Magna Carta to refer to the then established law of the kingdom (as distinct from Roman or civil law); today it refers to fundamental principles of justice commensurate with due process".

Is law of the land a common word?

law of the land is banded "Rare" — specialist or archaic — most readers will not have met it. The band comes from how often the word appears in a large corpus of everyday English, not from an editor's impression.