joint-stock company

en-noun

joint-stock company (plural joint-stock companies)

合股公司

company with transferable ownership and unlimited shareholder liability

(business, finance, law, UK) A company with transferable ownership interests and limited shareholder liability.

shoqëri aksionare

company with transferable ownership and limited shareholder liability — see also public limited company

(business, finance, law, US) A company with transferable ownership interests and unlimited shareholder liability.


conveyancer

2006, “Conveyancers in Cape Town are furious over long delays holding up the issue of rates clearance certificates by the City of Cape Town that are playing havoc with property transfers and deed registrations.”, in Weekend Argus June 24 2006:

(law) An attorney who passes transfer of immovable property from one party to another.


disclosure

disclosure (countable and uncountable, plural disclosures)

From disclose by analogy with closure. A purely English formation.

get full disclosure

(law) The making known of a previously hidden fact or series of facts to another party; the act of disclosing.


drawee

(law) The party directed to pay the amount of a draft or cheque.


asc

Wild Animals and Circuses (Wales) Act 2020 (2020 asc 2)

Act of Senedd Cymru
w:Act of Senedd Cymru

(UK, law, in citation) Initialism of Act of Senedd Cymru; formerly called Acts of the National Assembly for Wales, and only used for Acts passed after the change of name.


intestacy

intestacy (countable and uncountable, plural intestacies)

(law) The state of being intestate, or of dying without having made a valid will.


crime of passion

crime of passion (plural crimes of passion)

There was this boy I sent to the gas chamber at Huntsville here a while back. My arrest and my testimony. He killed a fourteen-year-old girl. Papers said it was a crime of passion but he told me there wasn't any passion to it. Told me that he'd been planning to kill somebody for about as long as he could remember. Said that if they turned him out he'd do it again.

2007, Joel Coen, Ethan Coen, No Country for Old Men (motion picture), spoken by Ed Tom Bell (Tommy Lee Jones):

(law, criminology) A crime, typically a violent crime such as assault or murder, committed against a loved one because of sudden jealous rage or heartbreak rather than as a premeditated act.

crim passional

crime against a loved one because of jealous rage or heartbreak


EIR

(US, law) Initialism of establishment inspection report.: a report issued by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration following the inspection of a facility where goods under the authority of the agency are manufactured, held, or sold.


reassurance

reassurance (countable and uncountable, plural reassurances)


adjure

en-verb

adjure (third-person singular simple present adjures, present participle adjuring, simple past and past participle adjured)

adjures (present singular third-person)
adjuring (participle present)
adjured (participle past)
adjured (past)

From Middle English adjuren, from Latin adiūrō (“beg earnestly”), from ad- (“near, at; towards, to”)' + iūrō (“swear by oath”).

(transitive, often law) To issue a formal command.


GBH

grievous bodily harm
grievous bodily harm#English

(British, law) Initialism of grievous bodily harm.


subsection

Coordinate term: subparagraph

(law) A subpart of a legal document such as law.

款

Subsection of a legal document such as law


deforest

deforest (third-person singular simple present deforests, present participle deforesting, simple past and past participle deforested)

deforests (present singular third-person)
deforesting (participle present)
deforested (participle past)
deforested (past)

(transitive, law, archaic) To disafforest (remove legal status as forest).


parallelism

en-noun

parallelism (countable and uncountable, plural parallelisms)

From parallel + -ism and from Late Latin parallelismus.

(law) In antitrust law, the practice of competitors of raising prices by roughly the same amount at roughly the same time, without engaging in a formal agreement to do so.


actual bodily harm

(British, law) Hurt or injury which interferes with the health or comfort of the victim and which is more than transient or trifling.


pandect

Antiochus of Palestine
Lawrence Torrentinus
Russian Museum

Sense 3 (“comprehensive treatise”) is from Latin pandectēs (“book that contains everything, encyclopedia”), from Ancient Greek πανδέκτης (pandéktēs, “encyclopedia”, literally “all-receiver”), from παν- (pan-, prefix meaning ‘all’) (from πᾶς (pâs, “all”)) + δέκτης (déktēs, “receiver, recipient”) (from δέχομαι (dékhomai, “to receive”) (from Proto-Indo-European *deḱ- (“to take; to perceive”)) + -της (-tēs, suffix forming agent nouns)).
Sense 1 (“compendium of writings on Roman law”) in the plural form Pandects is from Late Latin pandectae (“the Pandects”), the plural of pandectēs, modelled after (Byzantine) Ancient Greek πανδέκται (pandéktai, “the Pandects”), the plural of πανδέκτης (pandéktēs): see further above.

refn

From the collection of the Russian Museum in Saint Petersburg, Russia.

der

After upwards of Thirty Years Study, and a painful Induſtry, in compiling A New Pandect or Complete Body of the Roman Civil Law; the Firſt Volume of this Undertaking craves Leave to appear in the World under the Patronage and Protection of your Lordſhip, [...]

1734, John Ayliffe, “[Dedication]”, in A New Pandect of Roman Civil Law, […], London: Printed for Tho[mas] Osborne, […], →OCLC:

And altho' there are many relations of perfect hermaphrodites, creatures that poſſeſſed the power of both ſexes, and could both beget and conceive children, yet theſe relations are treated as fabulous, notwithſtanding ſome laws concerning them are found both in the Roman and Gallic pandect.

1750 January, “We See in a Monthly Book Published at Paris, with the Royal License, an Advertisement with a New Print of a Remarkable and Famous Hermaphrodite, …”, in Sylvanus Urban [pseudonym; Edward Cave], editor, The Gentleman’s Magazine, and Historical Chronicle, volume XX, London: Printed by Edw[ard] Cave, […], published January 1755, →OCLC, page 20, column 2:

But the juriſprudence of the Pandects is circumſcribed within a period of an hundred years, from the perpetual edict to the death of Severus Alexander: [...]

1788, Edward Gibbon, chapter XLIV, in The History of the Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire, volume IV, London: […] W[illiam] Strahan; and T[homas] Cadell, […], →OCLC, page 361:

And now, upon this third morning after your departure, things are but little better; for though the lamp burns in my den, and Voet on the Pandects hath his wisdom spread open before me, yet as I only use him as a reading-desk on which to scribble this sheet of nonsense to Darsie Latimer, it is probable the vicinity will be of little furtherance to my studies.

1824 June, [Walter Scott], “Letter II. Alan Fairford to Darsie Latimer.”, in Redgauntlet, […], volume I, Edinburgh: […] [James Ballantyne and Co.] for Archibald Constable and Co.; London: Hurst, Robinson, and Co., →OCLC, page 27:

(Ancient Rome, law, historical) Usually in the plural form Pandects: a compendium or digest of writings on Roman law divided in 50 books, compiled in the 6th century C.E. by order of the Eastern Roman emperor Justinian I (c. 482–565).


catch and release

(law) The practice of a patent holding company buying a patent, offering a license to its members, and then selling or donating the patent after a certain period.


Twinkie defence

en-noun

Twinkie defence (plural Twinkie defences)

From the 1979 trial of defendant Dan White for the murders of San Francisco city supervisor Harvey Milk and mayor George Moscone. White's defense was that he suffered diminished capacity as a result of his depression; his change in diet from healthy food to Twinkies and other sugary food was said to be a symptom of this depression.

(US, colloquial, law) A legal defense of diminished responsibility based on a claim that irregular behavior is caused by a poor diet or junk food.


attainder

From Anglo-Norman ataindre ("to reach"), with infinitives used as nouns being frequent in Law French. Doublet of attain and attinge.

Grandpa Piper led thereto by the arm […] and himself thrust into a chair, to support the character of dummy to Henry's prearranged attainder.

1930, Norman Lindsay, Redheap, Sydney, N.S.W.: Ure Smith, published 1965, →OCLC, page 139:

(law, rare) The state a prisoner enters once a death sentence (usually for treason) had been issued; the state of being stripped of all civil rights.

muerte civil

the state of a prisoner after a death sentence


attaint

From Middle English atteinte, from Old French ateint, past participle of ateindre; in some senses influenced by taint.

(obsolete, law) The giving of a false verdict by a jury; the conviction of such a jury, and the reversal of the verdict.


hot pursuit

(law) close and continuous pursuit of a fleeing suspected lawbreaker or hostile military force, especially across territorial lines.


act of God

They didn't get shot to death in hold-ups, strangled to death in rapes, stabbed to death in saloons, bludgeoned to death with axes by parents or children or die summarily by some other act of God.

1961 November 10, Joseph Heller, “The Soldier in White”, in Catch-22 […], New York, N.Y.: Simon and Schuster, →OCLC, page 168:

The action of “The Discovery of Heaven” combines the emotional melodrama of a telenovela with a sequence of events that an insurance lawyer would call acts of God.

1997 January 5, Jack Miles, “On a Mission From God”, in The New York Times, →ISSN:

Infrastructure failures tend to be treated like acts of God, but of course they aren't really.

2019 October, Ian Walmsley, “Cleaning up”, in Modern Railways, page 42:

(law) An unforeseen occurrence beyond one's control, such as a natural disaster.


letters close

(law, plural only) A sealed legal document, once issued by a monarch or government, granting a right, title etc to a person or corporation.


nasciturus rule

From Roman law (Digest 1.5.7): "nasciturus pro iam nato habetur quotiens de commodo eius agitur".

The right of a child to sue for prenatal injuries is recognised in law, but the more difficult question is whether such an action should be allowed by using the nasciturus rule or by using the ordinary principles of the law of delict. The contention that the recognition of an action for prenatal injuries is logically impossible without the conferment of legal rights, and hence legal personality, upon the unborn child, as achieved by the nasciturus rule, is to be rejected.

ROAD ACCIDENT FUND v MTATI 2005 (6) SA 215 (SCA)

(law) The rule stating that an unborn child, if subsequently born alive, is considered as already in existence whenever it is to its own advantage.


sub silencio

Borrowed from Latin sub silencio (“beneath the silence”).

bor

(law) in a clearly implied but not overtly stated way


beneficial owner

en-noun

beneficial owner (plural beneficial owners)

(law) The person who takes all or most of the returns of a property's equity or monetary gains.

bénéficiaire effectif

the person who takes all or most of the returns of a property's equity or monetary gains


surety

surety (countable and uncountable, plural sureties)

From Middle English surete, attested since the early 1300s in the sense "guarantee, promise, pledge, assurance", from Anglo-Norman seurté/Old French seurté with the same meaning (whence modern French sûreté), from Latin sēcūritās. Equivalent to sure + -ty. The senses "security, safety, stability" and "certainy" are attested since the late 1300s. "One who undertakes to pay if another does not" is from the early 1400s. Doublet of security.

There remains unpaid
A hundred thousand more; in surety of the which
One part of Aquitaine is bound to us.

c. 1595–1596 (date written), William Shakespeare, “Loues Labour’s Lost”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, →OCLC, [Act II, scene i]:

(law) A promise to pay a sum of money in the event that another person fails to fulfill an obligation.

borgtocht

law: promise to pay on behalf of another

He that is surety for a stranger shall smart for it.

1611, The Holy Bible, […] (King James Version), London: […] Robert Barker, […], →OCLC, Proverbs 11:15:

Trump’s lawyers said two days ago that to post a bond covering the full amount of the $454m civil fraud judgment against him while he appeals was “a practical impossibility” after 30 surety companies turned him down.

2024 March 20, “New York attorney general could soon move to seize Trump’s property”, in The Guardian, →ISSN:

(law) One who undertakes to pay money or perform other acts in the event that his principal fails therein.


hand down

en-verb

hand down (third-person singular simple present hands down, present participle handing down, simple past and past participle handed down)

hands down (present singular third-person)
handing down (participle present)
handed down (participle past)
handed down (past)

The jury handed down a verdict of guilty.

Justice James A. Burke, who presided over the trial in State Supreme Court in Manhattan, could have sentenced Mr. Weinstein to as little as five years, but he heeded the arguments of prosecutors who urged him to hand down a long sentence.

2020 March 11, Jan Ransom, “Harvey Weinstein’s Stunning Downfall: 23 Years in Prison”, in New York Times:

2024 March 25, United Nations, “Thailand: UN experts alarmed by sentences handed down to human rights lawyer Arnon Nampa on lèse-majesté charges”, in United Nations:

(law) To deliver (the decision of a court, etc.)

The Clerk of the Court of Appeals handed down its decision.

(law) To forward to the proper officer (the decision of a higher court).


bench memo

(law) A legal research memorandum drafted by a law clerk to assist a judge in deciding a case.


justifiable

en-adj

justifiable (comparative more justifiable, superlative most justifiable)

more justifiable (comparative)
most justifiable (superlative)

From Middle French justifiable. By surface analysis, justify + -able.

justifiable homicide

(law, specifically) Describing an illegal and intentional act that is nevertheless not blameworthy, for example because its positive consequences outweighed the bad. Distinguished from excusable, describing an involuntary illegal act.


on point

Possibly from the French "en pointe" meaning to be on the tip of the toes in ballet and reflects a higher degree of skill. "On point" also describes a degree of competence and in the military the man "on point" was at the front and most exposed position in a combat military formation, that is, the leading soldier or unit advancing through hostile or unsecured territory. In recent American youth (especially hip hop) culture, the idiom "on point" refers either to someone who possesses abundant and various qualities of competence, leadership or style, or to specific acts which demonstrate such qualities.

We have no decisions in our state directly on point. With us the problem is one of first impression. None of the cases cited is on point.

1937, Herdman Motor Co. v. State Bd. of Tax Appeals, 119 N.J.L. 164, 166

His historical discussions always appear on point, well researched, and indicate a great deal of care.

1984, Eike-Henner W. Kluge, “Review of Frege and the Philosophy of Mathematics by Michael D. Resnik and Gottlob Frege by Hans D. Sluga”, in Noûs, volume 18, number 2, page 342:

Eitingon raised Jung's idea of substituting a new complex; Freud did not answer on point, but talked at length about transference.

1994, John Kerr, A Most Dangerous Method: The Story of Jung, Freud, and Sabina Spielrein, →ISBN:

The second question of the night was about the shortage of flu vaccine. Bush gave a fine answer, on point.

2004 October 13, Dick Meyer, “Opinion: Bush Did Well, But Kerry Won”, in CBS News, retrieved 2012-06-22:

(chiefly US, law, philosophy) Having a direct application to the case or topic under consideration; apposite, relevant.


controlled substance

en-noun

controlled substance (plural controlled substances)

In order to determine that a controlled substance is present, it is frequently necessary to carry out a full forensic analysis of such samples.

2003, Michael D. Cole, The Analysis of Controlled Substances, John Wiley and Sons, →ISBN, page 120:

(officialese, law) A drug or chemical whose use, possession, manufacture, or sale is regulated or banned by the government.


court order

The Reds were raising an awful howl. Andrews, the lawyer, had succeeded in getting a court order to see the arrested men, and of course the prisoners had all declared that the case was a put-up job.

1920, Upton Sinclair, 100%: The Story of a Patriot:

(law) A written command, issued by a judge, requiring whomever it is served upon to do whatever the order says, under penalty of being held in contempt of court.


rehabilitate

en-verb

rehabilitate (third-person singular simple present rehabilitates, present participle rehabilitating, simple past and past participle rehabilitated)

rehabilitates (present singular third-person)
rehabilitating (participle present)
rehabilitated (participle past)
rehabilitated (past)

Learned borrowing from Medieval Latin rehabilitātus, perfect passive participle of Latin rehabilitō.

lbor

(transitive, criminology) To restore to (a criminal etc.) the necessary training and education to allow for a successful reintegration into society; to retrain.


subrogation

en-noun

subrogation (countable and uncountable, plural subrogations)

From Late Latin subrogātiō, from sub- + rogātiō (“inquiry, request”); equivalent to sub- + rogation.

Subrogation is a staple element of the casualty insurance business.

He became my creditor as the result of a subrogation by a vendor.

(law) Substitution of a different person in place of a creditor or claimant with respect to certain rights and duties.

subrogation

the substitution of a different person in place of a creditor or claimant


bastardy

bastardy (countable and uncountable, plural bastardies)

From Middle English bastardie (also as bastardrie), a borrowing from Middle French bastardie. Equivalent to bastard + -y.

Go, after, after, cousin Buckingham.
The Mayor towards Guildhall hies him in all post:—
There, at your meet'st advantage of the time,
Infer the bastardy of Edward's children:
Tell them how Edward put to death a citizen,
Only for saying he would make his son
Heir to the crown;—meaning, indeed, his house,
Which, by the sign thereof, was termed so.

c. 1593 (date written), William Shakespeare, “The Tragedy of Richard the Third: […]”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, →OCLC, [Act III, scene v]:

(law) The condition of being illegitimate, of being born to an unmarried woman and man or as the fruit of adultery.

bastardie

the condition of being illegitimate (born to an unmarried woman and man or as the result of adultery)


excusable

en-adj

excusable (comparative more excusable, superlative most excusable)

more excusable (comparative)
most excusable (superlative)

From Old French escusable, from Latin excusabilis.

(law, specifically) Describing an illegal act that was committed involuntarily, for example under false information or because of a faulty device. Distinguished from justifiable, describing an illegal act that was intentional but justified for other reasons.


puffing

(law) An opinion or judgment, often made by the seller of property to a potential buyer, that is not made as a representation of fact.


blue sky law

blue sky (canonical)
blue sky laws (plural)

(law, US) In the United States, a law that regulates the offering and sale of securities to protect the public from fraud, requiring the registration of all securities offerings and sales, as well as of stock brokers and brokerage firms.


noscitur a sociis

/ˌnəʊsɪtʊə ˈɑː ˌsəʊsiɪs/

Latin, meaning "it is known from its associates."

Foster v Diphwys Casson (1887) 18 QBD 428, involved a statute which stated that explosives taken into a mine must be in a "case or canister". Here the defendant used a cloth bag. The courts had to consider whether a cloth bag was within the definition. Under noscitur a sociis, it was held that the bag could not have been within the statutory definition, because parliament's intention was referring to a case or container of the same strength as a canister.

canon of construction
canon of construction

(law) A canon of construction under which the questionable meaning of a doubtful word can be derived from its association with other words.


judgment proof

(law) Of a person whom a judgment cannot be enforced against.


certified

(law) Authenticated or verified in writing.


after-discovered evidence

"After-discovered evidence that a cap...identified as belonging to the accused who was convicted, belonged to another...who had a similar gun, motive and opportunity, and admitted to several that he had committed the crime, held ground for a new trial." Hines v. Commonwealth. June 14, 1923. p. 365 §4

(US, law) Evidence discovered after a legal decision has been reached. A party may attempt to have the decision reversed using this evidence. They must first prove that the evidence could not have been discovered until after the decision was reached.


Hilary

From Latin Hilarius (“cheerful, happy”), name of a fourth-century saint and from its feminine form Hilaria.

It was the first day of term, and one of the rare days in Oxford when the weather was deceitfully marvellous; when its warmth promised more sunshine and joy than the relentless rain and sleet Hilary inevitably brought.

2022, R. F. Kuang, Babel, HarperVoyager, page 447:

(UK, Ireland, law, education) Ellipsis of Hilary term.


final decree

(law) In some states, the second legal order on a divorce, issued after the filing of a declaration of separation.


thirds

(law, historical) The third part of the estate of a deceased husband, which, by some local laws, the widow was entitled to enjoy during her life.


non constat

(law, religion, sciences) It is not certain; It is doubted.


ratio decidendi

en-noun

ratio decidendi (plural rationes decidendi)

Borrowed from Medieval Latin ratiō dēcidendī, from ratiō (“reckoning, method, reasoning”) + dēcidendī, genitive singular of dēcidendus, gerund of dēcidere (“to settle”).

(law) The legal principle or rationale on which a judicial decision is based.

判決依據

legal principle on which judicial decision is based


adversely possess

en-verb

adversely possess (third-person singular simple present adversely possesses, present participle adversely possessing, simple past and past participle adversely possessed)

adversely possesses (present singular third-person)
adversely possessing (participle present)
adversely possessed (participle past)
adversely possessed (past)

(transitive, law) To take ownership of (property) through the doctrine of adverse possession.


conjuror

(law, obsolete) One bound by a common oath with others.


obiter

(law) An obiter dictum; a statement from the bench commenting on a point of law which is not necessary for the judgment at hand and therefore has no judicial weight, as opposed to ratio decidendi.


repossess

repossess (third-person singular simple present repossesses, present participle repossessing, simple past and past participle repossessed)

repossesses (present singular third-person)
repossessing (participle present)
repossessed (participle past)
repossessed (past)

(law, finance) To reclaim ownership of property for which payment remains due.


conscious parallelism

(law, US, antitrust law) Price fixing that occurs without direct communication between the participants, but where the participants instead intentionally follow one another in raising prices to maximize profits at the expense of competitive pricing.


constructive eviction

en-noun

constructive eviction (countable and uncountable, plural constructive evictions)

(law) The breach of a landlord or tenant relationship that occurs when the landlord does not order the tenant to leave the property, but allows the property occupied by the tenant to fall into such poor condition that it is no longer suitable for occupancy.


cesser

(law) A neglect of a tenant to perform services, or make payment, for two years.


adverse possession

adverse possession (countable and uncountable, plural adverse possessions)

Adverse possession was a legal maneuver straight out of the Sovereign Citizen canon.

2019, Anthony McCann, Shadowlands: Fear and Freedom at the Oregon Standoff, Bloomsbury, →ISBN:

(law) A means of acquiring title to another's real property without compensation by occupying the property in a manner that has under common law the requirements of being actual, open and notorious, exclusive, hostile, under cover of claim or right, and continuous for a certain number of years.

usucapion

mostly or comparatively, for civil law or religious law rather than common law

disseizee

one whose property is adversely possessed

disseizor

one who is adversely possessing the property of another


price fixing

(law) In antitrust law, collusion between competitors in order to raise prices, at the expense of the consumer.


watered stock

watered stock (countable and uncountable, plural watered stocks)

Derived from the practice of "watering" livestock before sale, where the seller gives an animal a large quantity of water to drink before a potential buyer weighs the animal to determine its value.

(law) Shares of stock in a business that are inflated by parties colluding with the seller making inflated offers for the property that the stock represents, which are reported to potential sellers as indicative of the value of the stock.


due process

From Middle English dewe processe, from Anglo-Norman due procés.

(law) A legal concept where a person is ensured all legal rights when deprived of their liberty for a given reason.

(law) The limits of laws and legal proceedings, so as to ensure a person fairness, justice and liberty.


material breach

material breach (plural material breaches)

(law) A breach of contract sufficiently serious to destroy the contract.


jury trial

(law) A legal process in which the guilt or liability of a party is determined by a jury, a group of citizens selected from the local population.


filing fee

(law) A fee assessed against a party initiating a lawsuit, or other legal process, e.g. filing a patent.


joinder

Substantivisation of the Old French verb joindre (“to join”), from Latin iungō (“join”).

(law) The joining of a litigant to a suit.

присъединяване

(law) the joining of a litigant to a suit


fully briefed

(law) Of an action before a court: for which the lawyers for both sides have presented all the arguments which they are permitted to present, and for which nothing further remains but the ruling of the court.


time is of the essence

Most construction phase agreements and some pre-construction agreements contain a time is of the essence provision. If time is of the essence, a delay caused by the fault of the construction manager would constitute a breach of contract and could result in the construction manager's being liable for damages incurred by the owner as a result of the delay. If there is no time is of the essence provision, reasonableness will be the guide when measuring the timelines of the services provided by the construction manager.

2007, Paul H. Martinez, Rashida Y. V. MacMurray, “Chapter 10: Construction Manager's Responsibilities: Pre-Design, Design and Pre-Construction Phase”, in Stephen A. Hess, Jerome V. Bales, P. Douglas Folk, L. Tyrone Holt, editors, Design Professional and Construction Manager Law, page 297:

In a variety of contracts, the courts have held that the requirement that time is of the essence should be applied to the respective obligations of both parties (examples are between (a) buyer and seller, (b) ship owner and charterer, (c) purchaser and vendor, and (d) contractor and owner). Time is normally of the essence where:[…].

2010, John Adriaanse, Construction Contract Law: The Essentials, 3rd edition, page 172:

If there is no express stipulation in the contract that time is of the essence, it can be made so by serving a notice fixing a specified time for completion.

2015, MacRoberts Solicitors, MacRoberts on Scottish Construction Contracts, 3rd edition, John Wiley & Sons, page 142:

(law, in a contract) Failure to complete the required performance by the date certain set forth will constitute an incurable breach.


briefed

A most interesting and thoroughly briefed case involving the right of creditors in a life insurance policy is that of Keckley v. Glass Co., 86 Ohio St. 213, 99 N. E. 299.

1914, Cases Argued and Determined in the Court of Appeals of the state of Colorado, page 181:

On November 8, 1996, in a closely watched and heavily briefed appeal, the Sixth Circuit, en banc, reversed an earlier appeals decision that held that a copyshop's preparation of "coursepacks," created by photocopying portions of copyrighted works and combining the excerpts for sale to students for class use, constituted "fair use" within the meaning of the Copyright Act.

We will wait for a properly briefed appeal to determine this important issue .

1997, Individual Employment Rights Cases - Volume 12, page 1095:

Third, if an argument is in both the briefs (litigant, amicus, or litigant and amicus) and in the oral argument transcripts, I code this as a briefed and orally argued issue .

2004, Timothy R. Johnson, Oral Arguments and Decision Making on the United States, page 96:

(law) Having had one or more briefs (a memorandum of points of fact or of law for use in conducting a case or an attorney's legal argument in written form) submitted.


vote of no confidence

vote of no confidence (plural votes of no confidence)

(politics, law) A parliamentary motion representing the lack of confidence of a parliament in the standing government. A passed motion of no confidence usually results in the government's fall.


enter into

en-verb

enter into (third-person singular simple present enters into, present participle entering into, simple past and past participle entered into)

enters into (present singular third-person)
entering into (participle present)
entered into (participle past)
entered into (past)

One must be of legal age to enter into a contract.

(transitive, law) To become legally committed to.


bad faith

* (philosophy): a semantic loan from French mauvaise foi, coined by existentialist philosopher Jean-Paul Sartre.

(law) Intent to deceive or mislead another to gain some advantage; dishonesty or fraud in a transaction (such as knowingly misrepresenting the quality of something that is being bought or sold).

(law) A malicious motive by a party in a lawsuit. This has an effect on the ability to maintain causes of action and obtain legal remedies.


oyer

(law, archaic) A hearing in a civil case which is based on the content of a document, in which the plaintiff is required to produce the document.


surreply

(law) An additional reply to a motion filed after the motion has already been fully briefed.


oyer and terminer

en-noun

oyer and terminer (countable and uncountable, plural oyer and terminers or oyers and terminers)

oyer and terminers (plural)
oyers and terminers (plural)

From Middle English oier and terminer, oyer and termyner, from Anglo-Norman oyer (“hear”) and terminer (“determine”).

(law, archaic) A commission under which a court is empowered to hear and determine a criminal case.

(law, archaic) The hearing or trial carried out under such authority.


adversarial

en-adj

adversarial (comparative more adversarial, superlative most adversarial)

more adversarial (comparative)
most adversarial (superlative)

Canada uses an adversarial system of criminal justice, whereas France uses an inquisitorial model.

(law) In which issues are tried through the presentation of evidence and argument by adverse parties, with no or limited inquiry by the court's own initiative.


legal tender

en-noun

legal tender (countable and uncountable, plural legal tenders)

LL-Q1860 (eng)-Flame, not lame-legal tender.wav

(law) Any form of currency that by law cannot be refused as payment to extinguish a debt equal to the amount offered.

moneda de curs legal

currency that cannot be refused as payment to extinguish a debt


venireman

The state probed into the attitude of each venireman concerning the value he would attach to the testimony of a co-conspirator

1963, Eliot Asinof, “The Trial”, in Eight Men Out:

(law) A potential juror summoned for duty.


in fact

From fact (“deed, action”) (now obsolete, except in law).

(law) Resulting from the actions of parties.


joint venture

A cooperative partnership between two individuals or businesses in which profits and risks are shared.

(law) A cooperative partnership between two or more criminals.


positive law

positive law (usually uncountable, plural positive laws)

We know that generally in all commonwealths, the execution of corporal punishments, was either put upon the guards, or other soldiers of the sovereign power; or given to those, in whom want of means, contempt of honour, and hardness of heart, concurred, to make them sue for such an office. But amongst the Israelites it was a positive law of God their sovereign, that he that was convicted of a capital crime, should be stoned to death by the people.

But the same term, positive law, is also very often used to designate statute law or positive legislation, as distinguished from customary or unwritten law derived by the judicial application of natural reason.

a. 1862, John Codman Hurd, The Law Of Freedom And Bondage In The United States, page 576:

There are four kinds of law: the eternal law, the natural law, the divine positive law and human positive law.

1962, Frederick Copleston, A history of philosophy, volume 2, page 418:

(law) Law explicitly made, as compared to natural law; law prescribed by express enactment or institution.

The Leviathan
Thomas Hobbes
positive law


prejudicial

en-adj

prejudicial (comparative more prejudicial, superlative most prejudicial)

more prejudicial (comparative)
most prejudicial (superlative)

From Middle English prejudiceele, prejudicial, prejudiciall, prejudiciel, prejudiciell, prejudycyall, from Old French prejudicial, prejudiciel and Medieval Latin prēiūdiciālis.

The judge had granted the DA a one-week extension with the caustic admonition that the case would be summarily dismissed if at that time probative, as opposed to prejudicial, evidence was not produced.

1999, Dana Stabenow, Hunter's Moon, →ISBN, page 109:

(law) Tending to convince based on past history rather than on evidence about the case at hand.


amercement

From Middle English amercement, from Old French amerciment and Latin amerciāmentum; equivalent to amerce + -ment.

29 March. The quhilk daye Thomas Garnes is fund in þe wrang and amerchiament of court, for þe violent ſchuting and towking of Dauid Fleming, officiar to the Cowparis, on frydaye laſt.

1832, Burgh Records of the City of Glasgow, 1573-1581, records for year 1577, page 67:

29 March. The day which Thomas Garnes is found in the wrong and amercement of court, for the violent shooting and touching [beating] of David Fleming, officer to the Cowpers, on last Friday.

(law) A non-statutory monetary penalty or forfeiture, usually applied at the discretion of a court.


estray

From Middle English astrai, from Anglo-Norman estray, from the Old French verb estraier. Etymological doublet with stray.

(law) An animal that has escaped from its owner; a wandering animal whose owner is unknown. An animal cannot be an estray when on the range where it was raised, and permitted by its owner to run. A lost animal whose owner is known to the party at hand is not an estray.


friendly suit

Federal courts cannot adjudicate a friendly suit, collusively arranged between non-adverse parties to obtain the judicial resolution of some constitutional issue.

2007, Norman Redlich, John B. Attanasio, Joel K. Goldstein, Understanding Constitutional Law, →ISBN:

The summer after my freshman year in college, four years after the death of Miss Agnes, my father's bank filed a friendly suit against him to receive the court's interpretation of Miss Agnes's will.

2015, Kate Mayfield, The Undertaker's Daughter, →ISBN, page 293:

(law) The situation where a person sues another person (friend) purely to settle a point of (unsettled) law.


animadvert

en-verb

animadvert (third-person singular simple present animadverts, present participle animadverting, simple past and past participle animadverted)

animadverts (present singular third-person)
animadverting (participle present)
animadverted (participle past)
animadverted (past)

/ˌænɪmədˈvɜːt/

From Latin animadvertō, from Latin animum (“mind”) (accusative singular of animus (“mind; soul; life force”), ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *h₂enh₁mos (“breath”), from *h₂enh₁- (“to breathe”)) + Latin advertō (“to turn to”) (from Latin ad- (“to”), ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *h₂éd (“at; near”) + Latin vertō (“to turn”), ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *wértti (“to be turning around”)).

der

The learned judge animadverted with great severity upon the behaviour of Mr. Young, the cabin passenger, who went out on board the vessel as agent and supercargo, to protect the interests of the shippers, and who, on the outward voyage, conducted himself with great impropriety towards the master; […]

1837, “Law Proceedings”, in The Nautical Magazine and Naval Chronicle, for 1837. A Journal of Papers on Subjects Connected with Maritime Affairs, London: Simpkin, Marshall, and Co., Stationers' Hall Court, →OCLC, page 269:

[T]he attention of the Board in New-street, Spring-gardens, was in vain called to the petinacious obstinacy of these justices, until, wearied with official correspondence, and "having no reasonable expectation," they state, "that any steps would be taken by the committee of visiting justices to the remedy of the manifest defects," upon which they had animadverted, they inform us that they had recourse to the dernier ressort—an appeal to the Secretary of State […]

1853 October 1, “Art. I. State of Lunacy in England.”, in Forbes Winslow, editor, The Journal of Psychological Medicine and Mental Pathology, volume VI, number XXIV, London: John Churchill, Princes Street, Soho, →OCLC, pages 475–476:

(intransitive, law, archaic) To turn judicial attention (to); to criticise or punish.


templar

From Middle English templer, from Old French templier; cf. the Medieval Latin templārius, from Latin templum (“temple”).

(law, British) A barrister having chambers in the Inner Temple or Middle Temple.


amparo

(law) In some Hispanic jurisdictions, such as Mexico: a writ or an appeal demanding or seeking the protection of constitutional rights similar to a habeas corpus acting as a remedy for the violation of a person's constitutional rights thereby invalidating any laws preventing said person from exercising them.


narcotics

(law enforcement, law, politics) Pertaining to illicit drugs, especially psychoactive ones.


misprision

en-noun

misprision (countable and uncountable, plural misprisions)

From Late Middle English misprision, mesprision (“criminal offence or illegal action, especially one committed by a public official”) [and other forms], from Anglo-Norman misprision, mesprision, mesprison (“criminal offence or illegal action; error, mistake, specifically an error by a court”) [and other forms] (whence Late Latin mesprisio, misprisio), and Old French mesprison, from mespris (“contempt, disdain”) (modern French mépris) + -ion (suffix indicating a condition or state). Mespris is the past participle of mesprendre (“to misunderstand”), from mes- (prefix meaning ‘badly; wrongly’) + prendre (“to take”) (from Latin prēndere, the present active infinitive of prēndō, a variant of prehendō (“to seize, take”), ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *gʰed- (“to find; to seize, take; to hold”)).

nb...

mesprisoun, mispresyon, mysprecion, mysprision, mysseprision

mesprisioun, mesprisiun, mesprisoun, mesprisun

der

/ˌmɪsˈpɹɪʒn̩/

[I]f any persone were perceiued to be absent, or were sene to laughe at the folye of the emperour [Nero], he was forthe with accused, as it were, of missprision: whereby the emperour founde occasion to committe him to prison or to put hym to tortures.

1531, Thomas Elyot, “In what Wise Musike may be to a Noble Man Necessarie: And what Modestie ought to be therin”, in Ernest Rhys, editor, The Boke Named the Governour […] (Everyman’s Library), London: J[oseph] M[alaby] Dent & Co; New York, N.Y.: E[dward] P[ayson] Dutton & Co, published [1907], →OCLC, 1st book, pages 26–27:

Bribery is a great miſpriſion, when any man in Judiciall place takes any Fee or Penſion, Robe, or Livery, Gift, Reward, or Brocage of any perſon, that hath to do before him any way, for doing his office, or by colour of his office, but of the King only, unleſſe it be of meat and drink, and that of ſmall value, upon divers, and grievous puniſhments.

1644, Edw[ard] Coke, “Of Bribery, Extortion, Exaction, &c. And First of Bribery.”, in The Third Part of the Institutes of the Laws of England. […], London: […] M[iles] Flesher, for W[illiam] Lee, and D[aniel] Pakeman, →OCLC, page 145:

(uncountable) Criminal neglect or wrongful execution of duty, especially by a public official; (countable) a specific instance of this.

瀆職

criminal neglect or wrongful execution of duty, especially by a public official; a specific instance of this

misprision of heresy
(literally, “the crime of failing to disclose heresy that one is aware of”)

Misprisions (a term derived from the old French, meſpris, a neglect or contempt) are, in the acceptation of our law, generally underſtood to be all ſuch high offences as are under the degree of capital, but nearly bordering thereon: and it is ſaid, that a miſpriſion is contained in every treaſon and felony whatſoever; and that, if the king ſo pleaſe, the offender may be proceeded againſt for the miſpriſion only. […] Miſpriſions are generally divided into two ſorts; negative, which conſiſt in the concealment of ſomething which ought to be revealed; and poſitive, which conſiſt in the commiſſion of ſomething which ought not to be done.

1769, William Blackstone, “Of Misprisions and Contempts, Affecting the King and Government”, in Commentaries on the Laws of England, book IV (Of Public Wrongs), Oxford, Oxfordshire: […] Clarendon Press, →OCLC, page 119:

The argument was a worthless one in law; for Eustace had been a prisoner before he was a guest, and Amyas was guilty of something very like misprision of treason in not handing him over to the nearest justice.

1855, Charles Kingsley, “How Salvation Yeo Slew the King of the Gubbings”, in Westward Ho!: Or, The Voyages and Adventures of Sir Amyas Leigh, Knight, […], volume II, Cambridge, Cambridgeshire: Macmillan & Co., →OCLC, page 176:

Mr Borthrop Trumbull really knew nothing about old Featherstone's will; but he could hardly have been bought to declare any ignorance unless he had been arrested for misprision of treason.

1872, George Eliot [pseudonym; Mary Ann Evans], chapter XXXII, in Middlemarch […], volume II, Edinburgh, London: William Blackwood and Sons, →OCLC, book III, page 161:

(uncountable) In full misprision of felony or misprision of treason: originally, a less serious form of felony or treason; later, the crime of (intentionally) failing to give information about a felony or treason that one knows about; (countable) an instance of this.

укрыва́тельство

less serious form of felony or treason; the crime of (intentionally) failing to give information about a felony or treason that one knows about; an instance of this


torts

From tort + -s (suffix forming pluralia tantum, and regular plurals of nouns).

suffix

(law) Synonym of tort law (“the area of law dealing with wrongful acts, whether intentional or negligent, regarded as non-criminal and unrelated to contracts, which cause injuries and can be remedied in civil courts, usually through the awarding of damages”)


vesting

en-noun

vesting (countable and uncountable, plural vestings)

(law) The entitlement of an employee to receive the full benefit of a pension at normal retirement age or a reduced pension upon early retirement even upon change of employer before retirement.

(law) The entitlement of an employee to exercise a stock option after a predetermined period of time.


misericordia

misericordia (countable and uncountable, plural misericordias)

/ˌmɪsəɹɪˈkɔː(ɹ)di.ə/

Borrowed from Latin misericordia. Doublet of misericord.

It is likely there was some Difference between a Misericordia and an Amerciament. For Example : It was called an Amercement, after it was reduced to a certain Sum; and a Misericordia both before and afterwards.

1769, Thomas Madox, Gervasius (of Tilbury.), The History and Antiquities of the Exchequer of the Kings of England, in Two Periods, page 527:

Neither do I see any reason why such an award of a misericordia by a judge of a court-leet, should express any certain sum for which the party should be in misericordia, except in such cases only where no other person is afterwards to affere it; for in other cases the award of a misericordia is only in order to authorise others to fix the sum which the party is to pay to the king for his default;

1824, William Hawkins, A Treatise of the Pleas of the Crown, page 94:

In criticizing this Schedule we would first observe how Gervase Paynel of Dudley having compounded for his offences by a Fine of the former year, was not visited by a misericordia of later date.

1880, Staffordshire Record Society, Collections for a History of Staffordshire - Volume 1, page 83:


legitime

[…] when there is no testament; but this is not to be understood of persons to whom a legitime, or child's part, is due by law.

1850, The Civil Law in Its Natural Order, volume 1, page 102:

[…] or of renouncing all testamentary advantage, and claiming his legitime only as secured to him by the law independent of the testament. But where the testator bequeaths to the forced heir nothing beyond his legitime, […]

1892, Biographical and Historical Memoirs of Louisian, page 98:

[W]here a compulsory heir and an heir not entitled to a legitime are institute to the entire state without designation of shares, the legitime should first be paid before the equal sharing is applied.
[…]
Article 983 does not modify the rules on legitimes, the legitimes of LCDs and the surviving spouse (SS) shall always be first satisfied in preference to the illegitimate children and descendants (ICDs).

2006, Jose C. Vitug, Property, ownership, and its modifications, pages 216 and 302:

(law) That portion of a parent's estate of which he cannot disinherit his children without a legal cause.


terminer

terminer (countable and uncountable, plural terminers)


rasure

rasure (countable and uncountable, plural rasures)

From Middle English rasure, from Anglo-Norman rasure, Middle French rasure, from Latin rāsūra (“scraping, shaving”), from the participle stem of rādere (“to scrape, shave”).

(now rare, law) Scraping the surface of a parchment etc. in order to erase something from the document; erasure, more generally.


damnum absque injuria

(law) Loss without injury: the situation, in tort law, when one person causes damage or loss to another for which the latter has no remedy. (For example, opening a burger stand near someone else's may cause them to lose customers, but they will have no legal recourse.)


vires

The → United Kingdom, in particular, argued that the adoption of universally applicable rules for determining the law applicable to non-contractual obligations was not necessary for the proper functioning of the Internal Market and that some territorial restriction on the situations to which the Regulation’s rules would apply was appropriate. Although that position was apparently supported by a legal opinion given by the Council’s legal service (Opinion of the Council Legal Service on the proposal for a Regulation on the law applicable to non-contractual obligations (“ROME II”) of 2 March 2004, 7015/04), the Commission, with the support of the vast majority of Member States, fiercely resisted limits of this kind. Its wish ultimately prevailed, and a challenge to the vires of the Regulation now appears a remote prospect given the broadening of EU competence in the area of justice by the Lisbon Treaty (see now art 81 TFEU).

2017, Andrew Dickinson, “Rome II Regulation (non-contractual obligations”, in Encyclopedia of Private International Law, volume 2, Cheltenham: Edward Elgar Publishing, →ISBN, page 1563:

(law) the state of being either ultra vires or intra vires; the extent of a court or legislature's jurisdiction to do something.


pseudonymous

en-adj

pseudonymous (not generally comparable, comparative more pseudonymous, superlative most pseudonymous)

more pseudonymous (comparative)
most pseudonymous (superlative)

From Latin pseudōnymus, from Ancient Greek ψευδώνῠμος (pseudṓnumos). By surface analysis, pseudonym + -ous.

(computing, law) Pertaining to pseudonymization.


recognizance

en-noun

recognizance (countable and uncountable, plural recognizances)

From Middle English reconisaunce, from Old French reconissance. Doublet of reconnaissance.

The defendant was released on his own recognizance.

(law) A form of bail; a promise made by the accused to the court that they will attend all required judicial proceedings and will not engage in further illegal activity or other prohibited conduct as set by the court.


first bite free

(law, informal) the concept that a dog is not considered dangerous until it has bitten someone.


assoilzie

en-verb

assoilzie (third-person singular simple present assoilzies, present participle assoilzieing or assoilzying or assoilziing, simple past and past participle assoilzied)

assoilzies (present singular third-person)
assoilzieing (participle present)
assoilzying (participle present)
assoilziing (participle present)
assoilzied (participle past)
assoilzied (past)

A Scottish variant of assoil, from Scottish Middle English assolyhe, assolȝe, retaining the -le- or -li- sounds of Anglo-Norman as(s)oilier and Old French as(s)oille which were dropped in modern English spoken in England.

The verdict, when in writing, is authenticated by the subscriptions of the chancellor and clerk of the jury, and accompanied with a list of the names of the jurors, and a state of the vote of each individual, "whether condemning or assoilzieing;" Regulations 1672, No. 9.

1826, Robert Bell, William Bell, “CRIMINAL PROSECUTION”, in A Dictionary of the Law of Scotland, 3rd edition, volume I, Edinburgh: […] John Anderson & Co. […], and Bell & Bradfute, →OCLC, page 334:

In these circumstances, I will uphold the defender’s fourth plea-in-law […] and assoilzie the defender from the craves of the initial writ.

2017, Sheriff Ross, Macdonald v. Clydesdale Bank:

(transitive, Scotland) Synonym of assoil.

(law) Followed by from or of: to acquit (someone) from a criminal charge; to find (someone) not guilty; to clear.


practising

(law) Related to the practise of law by a legal practitioner.

You really should seek advice from a practising solicitor.

(law) Specifically related to a legal practitioner's status of being currently certified to practise.


presiding

(law) Having authority over; vested with the authority to preside over.


sole custody

(law) An arrangement whereby only one parent has physical and legal custody of a child while the other parent has visitation rights.


paternal custody

(law) An arrangement whereby only the father has physical and legal custody of a child while the mother has visitation rights. (This entry is a translation hub.)

isän yksinhuoltajuus

arrangement in which the father has the custody of a child


maternal custody

(law) An arrangement whereby only the mother has physical and legal custody of a child while the father has visitation rights.

äidin yksinhuoltajuus

arrangement in which the mother has the custody of a child


preemption

en-noun

preemption (countable and uncountable, plural preemptions)

From Medieval Latin praeēmptiō (“previous purchase”), from praeemō (“buy before”), from Latin prae- (“before”) + emō (“buy”).

An act or process that preempts; a preventive or forestalling action; as:

(law) The displacement of a lower jurisdiction's laws when they conflict with those of a higher jurisdiction.

preempción

the displacement of a lower jurisdiction's laws when they conflict with those of a higher jurisdiction


reverse discrimination

In one instance, Title VII authorizes reverse discrimination. The act gives employers ranging from Minnesota wild-rice farmers to New Mexico electronics manufacturers the option of hiring only American Indians.

1965 July 9, “Statutes: Sex & VII”, in Time:

Alan Bakke at the University of California At Davis Medical School, Karen Hopwood at the law school of the University of Texas, and Jennifer Gratz at the University of Michigan all have argued successfully in court that they were the victims of reverse discrimination because blacks were given preferential treatment in the admissions process at these schools.

2002, “Why Affirmative Action Does Little Harm to White Students”, in The Journal of Blacks in Higher Education, number 36, page 21:

(law, ethics, public policy) The policy or practice of discriminating against members of a designated group which has in the past unfairly received preferential treatment in social, legal, educational, or employment situations, with the intention of benefiting one or more other groups (such as racial, disabled, or gender groups) that have previously been discriminated against.

逆向歧視

advantaging minority groups who have traditionally been discriminated


assignor

(law) The person or party which makes an assignment.


trier

From Middle English triour, from Anglo-Norman triour and Middle English trien (equivalent to try + -er).

(law) A person appointed by law to try challenges of jurors; a trior.


assessor

From Middle English assessour, from Old French assessour, from Latin assessor (“assistant judge; assessor of taxes”). Cognate with French assesseur.

der

(law) A specialist who assists the court in determining a matter.

assessor

a specialist who assists the court in determining a matter


enure

en-verb

enure (third-person singular simple present enures, present participle enuring, simple past and past participle enured)

enures (present singular third-person)
enuring (participle present)
enured (participle past)
enured (past)

All our striving enures to our own spiritual benefit.

1934, Abdullah Yusuf Ali, Commentary on The Holy Qur'an, note 3428 on 29:6

The position of the individual as a subject of international law has often been obscured by the failure to observe the distinction between the recognition, in an international instrument of rights enuring to the benefit of the individual and the enforceability of these rights at his instance.

1995, Rosalyn Higgins, Problems and Process: International Law and How We Use It, page 53:

(intransitive, chiefly law) To take effect, to be operative; used with to.


child abuse

Coordinate term: elder abuse

(criminology) Physical, sexual or emotional mistreatment of a child that causes long-term or permanent damage.


assoil

assoil (third-person singular simple present assoils, present participle assoiling, simple past and past participle assoiled)

assoils (present singular third-person)
assoiling (participle present)
assoiled (participle past)
assoiled (past)

From Middle English assoilen (“to absolve or release from blame or sin”), from Anglo-Norman as(s)oiler, as(s)oilier, and Old French as(s)oille [and other forms], the present subjunctive, and as(s)oil, the present indicative, of as(s)oldre, as(s)oudre (“to absolve from blame”) (modern French absoudre), from Latin absoluere, the present active infinitive of absoluō, a variant of absolvō (“to set free from”), from ab- (prefix meaning ‘away from’) + solvō (“to loosen, set free”) (from sē- (“prefix meaning ‘apart; aside; away’”) + luō (“to let go, set free”). Ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *lewH- (“to cut off, to free”). Doublet of absolve and assoilzie.

nb...

assoiler, assoilier, assoillir, assolier, assolir, asoiler, asoilier, asoillir, asolier, asolir

der

For if the mater appere vpon his ſyde therby, either clere or doubtefull, than may the iudges acquite and aſſoyle the defendaũt [defendaunt]. And better were it the faute to be quytte, than the fautles to be punyſhed.

1528, Thomas More, “A Dialogue Concernynge Heresyes & Matters of Religion […]. Chapter IIII.”, in Wyllyam Rastell [i.e., William Rastell], editor, The Workes of Sir Thomas More Knyght, […], London: […] Iohn Cawod, Iohn Waly, and Richarde Tottell, published 30 April 1557, →OCLC, book III, page 211, column 2:

Whom Ceſar doth condemne, god ſumtime doeth aſſoyle: and whom the prince doth aſſoyle, he leaueth in the cumpany of mẽ [men], to make other like himſelf: […]

1549 February 10 (Gregorian calendar; indicated as 1548), Erasmus, “The Paraphrase of Erasmus vpon the Gospell of Saincte Matthew. The .xviii. Chapter.”, in Nicolas Udall [i.e., Nicholas Udall], transl., The First Tome or Volume of the Paraphrase of Erasmus vpon the Newe Testamente, London: […] Edwarde Whitchurche, →OCLC, folio xciii, recto:

Then are there 70 judges deputed to ſit upon his cauſe; and if it happen that they aſſoile and quit this partie condemned: then thoſe 30 vvho condemned him, are diſplaced from their ſtate and dignitie, vvith a moſt bitter and greevous rebuke, and for ever after, as diſgraced perſons live in ſhame and infamie.

1601, C[aius] Plinius Secundus [i.e., Pliny the Elder], “[Book VI.] The Iland Taprobane.”, in Philemon Holland, transl., The Historie of the World. Commonly Called, The Naturall Historie of C. Plinius Secundus. […], 1st tome, London: […] Adam Islip, →OCLC, page 131:


antimonopoly

(law) Usually with respect to laws or policies: in opposition to the creation or continuance of a monopoly.


BSD

Initialism of Berkeley Software Distribution.

initialism

(copyright law) Ellipsis of BSD license.


appurtenant

From Middle English appurtenaunt, from Old French apurtenant.

(law, nominalized, informal) An appurtenance.


nolle prosequi

en-noun

nolle prosequi (plural nolle prosequis or nolle prosequies)

nolle prosequis (plural)
nolle prosequies (plural)

/ˌnəʊlɪ ˈpɹɒsɪkwaɪ/

From Latin nolle prosequi (“to not want to pursue”). Cf. prosecute.

bor

(UK law) A declaration from the attorney general ending a criminal prosecution.

(law) A proceeding or declaration by which a plaintiff or prosecutor ends a legal suit.

(-- by which a prosecutors ends --) syyttämättäjättämispäätös

(-- by which a prosecutors ends --) åtalseftergift


nolle prosequi

en-verb

nolle prosequi (third-person singular simple present nolle prosequis, present participle nolle prosequing or nolle prosequiing, simple past and past participle nolle prosequied)

nolle prosequis (present singular third-person)
nolle prosequing (participle present)
nolle prosequiing (participle present)
nolle prosequied (participle past)
nolle prosequied (past)

/ˌnəʊlɪ ˈpɹɒsɪkwaɪ/

(law, transitive, somewhat informal) To issue a nolle prosequi.


arraignment

en-noun

arraignment (countable and uncountable, plural arraignments)

This process, Mr. Rothfeld said, could be interrupted at any moment if prosecutors in Los Angeles successfully extradite him for an arraignment on the sexual assault charges there.

2020 March 11, Jan Ransom, “Harvey Weinstein’s Stunning Downfall: 23 Years in Prison”, in New York Times:

[…]— the indictment will remain sealed until his expected arraignment on Tuesday, when the charges will be formally revealed.

2023 March 30, William K. Rashbaum, “This is what will happen when Trump is arrested in the coming days.”, in The New York Times, →ISSN:

(law) The formal charging of a defendant with an offense; in many jurisdictions it includes their response in the form of a plea, typically as guilty, not guilty, or no contest.


sole proprietorship

sole proprietorship (countable and uncountable, plural sole proprietorships)

(law, business) A business that is wholly owned by a single person, who has unlimited liability.


forfeiture

forfeiture (countable and uncountable, plural forfeitures)

/ˈfɔɹfɪt͡ʃɚ/

From Middle English forfeture, from Old French forfaiture.

(law) A legal action whereby a person loses all interest in the forfeit property.


alimentation

alimentation (countable and uncountable, plural alimentations)


conciliation

conciliation (countable and uncountable, plural conciliations)

alternative dispute resolution
alternative dispute resolution

(law) A form of alternative dispute resolution, similar to but less formal than mediation, in which the parties bring their dispute to a neutral third party, who helps lower tensions, improve communications and explore possible solutions.


claimant

LL-Q1860 (eng)-عُثمان (Middle river exports)-claimant.wav

From Old French and Anglo-Norman clamant, present participle of the verb clamer and its variants, from Latin clāmō (“to cry out”), equivalent to claim + -ant.

(law) The party who initiates a lawsuit before a court.


resale

resale (countable and uncountable, plural resales)

(law) The sale by the original seller to another purchaser of goods due to non-payment by original purchaser, often with the original purchaser liable for any shortfall between the original sale price and the price realized by the original seller.


extendible

(law) Liable to be taken by a writ of extent.


conservator

From Middle English conservatour, from Anglo-Norman conservatour, from Latin cōnservātor (“one who conserves”), agent noun from cōnservō (“I preserve”).

The lords of the secret council were likewise made conservators of the peace of the two kingdoms.

1702–1704, Edward [Hyde, 1st] Earl of Clarendon, “(please specify |book=I to XVI)”, in The History of the Rebellion and Civil Wars in England, Begun in the Year 1641. […], Oxford, Oxfordshire: Printed at the Theater, published 1707, →OCLC:

The Governor [of Missouri] is […] the conservator of the peace

(law) A person appointed by a court to manage the affairs of another; similar to a guardian but with some powers of a trustee.


green wax

(law, historical, obsolete) An estreat from the Exchequer, delivered to a sheriff, sealed upon green wax, in 15th-century England.


tolling agreement

tolling agreement (plural tolling agreements)

statute of limitations
statute of limitations

(law) An agreement that has the effect of tolling or suspending the course of a fixed period of time, as a statute of limitations.


drug of choice

(law, narcotics) The particular substance, usually illicit, to which a person is addicted.


stare decisis

From the Latin stāre (“to stand; to stay, to remain”) + dēcīsīs (ablative plural of dēcīsus, from dēcīdō (“I sever, I decide”); literally "to stand by decided matters".

bor

Similarly, Walter F. Murphy, a student of judicial politics, noted that stare decisis provides the “harried judges who face difficult choices with a welcome decision-making crutch.”

2006, Saul Brenner, Harold J. Spaeth, Stare Indecisis: The Alteration of Precedent on the Supreme Court, 1946-1992, Cambridge University Press, →ISBN, page 3:

(law) The principle of following judicial precedent.


terms and conditions

According to the terms and conditions, we're allowed to make a single copy of the software for backup purposes.

Variously abbreviated as T&C, T&Cs, Ts & Cs

(law) A specification of restrictions for the use of goods or services.


nullity

en-noun

nullity (countable and uncountable, plural nullities)

From Middle French nullité, from Medieval Latin nullitas, from Latin nullus.

(law) A void act; a defective proceeding or one expressly declared by statute to be a nullity.


hornbook

(law) A legal textbook that provides a basic overview of a particular area of law.


Magna Carta

en-proper noun

Magna Carta (countable and uncountable, plural Magna Cartas or Magnae Cartae or Magnæ Cartæ)

Magna Cartas (plural)
Magnae Cartae (plural)
Magnæ Cartæ (plural)

ABA Journal
American Bar Association
National Archives Building

/ˌmæɡnə ˈkɑːtə/

/ˌmæɡnə ˈkɑːɹtə/

From Late Middle English Magna Carta, borrowed from Medieval Latin Magna Carta, from Latin magna (“great”) + carta (“charter”).

My Lord Coke ſayes, It had not its name of GREAT CHARTER, from the Greatneſs of it in Quantity; for there were ſeveral Voluminous Charters, longer than this: But it was ſo called, in reſpect of the Great Importance, and Weightyneſs of the Matter; as Charta de Foresta, is called, Magna Charta de Foresta, for the ſame Cauſe; and both of them are called, Magnæ Chartæ Libertatum Angliæ; i.e. The Great Charters of the Liberties of England; and upon great Reaſon too, Quia liberos faciunt, becauſe they make us Free.

[1680, Edward Cooke, transl., Magna Charta, Made in the Ninth Year of K. Henry the Third, and Confirmed by K. Edward the First, in the Twenty-Eighth Year of His Reign. With Some Short, but Necessary Observations From The L. Chief Just. Coke’s Comments upon It. […], London: Printed by the Assignees of Richard and Edward Atkins, Esquires, for Thomas Simmons, […], →OCLC, preface, pages ii–iii:

MAGNA CHARTA. The GREAT CHARTER, Made in the Ninth Year of King Henry the Third, and Confirmed by King Edward the Firſt in the Five and twentieth Year of his Reign.

1762, Danby Pickering, The Statutes at Large, from Magna Charta to the End of the Eleventh Parliament of Great Britain, Anno 1761. […], volume I (from Magna Charta to the 14th Year of K. Edward III. inclusive), Cambridge, Cambridgeshire: Printed by Joseph Bentham, printer to the University; for Charles Bathurst, […], →OCLC, page 1:

Magna Carta and Carta de Foresta, granted in the 9th Year of King Henry III. have, in every Collection of Statutes which contained the Statutes previous to 1 Edw. III. been printed as the first in Order. In all Editions previous to Hawkins’s, they were printed as from Charters of Inspeximus of 28 Edw. I : By Hawkins and subsequent Editors they were printed from the Charter of Inspeximus entered on the Statute Roll of 25 Edw. I : But in no Edition hitherto have they been printed immediately from any Charter of 9 Hen. III ; and it is not known that any Statute Roll of that Date ever existed. In the present Collection, these Charters are inserted according to their place in the above Series, and are printed from Charters under the Great Seal : They are also printed again amongst the Statutes 25 Edw. I. from the Entry on the Statute Roll of that Year, being the earliest Parliamentary Record upon which they have been found.

1810, Record Commission, The Statutes of the Realm. Printed by Command of His Majesty King George the Third in pursuance of an Address of the House of Commons of Great Britain. From Original Records and Manuscripts., volume 1, page xxix:

[...] there was also a Charter confirming the previous Magnae Cartae in general terms, 21 Henry III. (1236–7). [...]

1911, Royal Commission on Coast Erosion and Afforestation, Third (and Final) Report of the Royal Commission Appointed to Inquire into and to Report on Certain Questions Affecting Coast Erosion, the Reclamation of Tidal Lands, and Afforestation in the United Kingdom (Cd. 5708), volume III, part I (Coastal Erosion), London: House of Commons?, →OCLC, page 291:

(law) A modified version of the charter of King John as granted by Henry III in 1236, confirmed as a statute by the Parliament of King Edward I in 1297, part of which remains in force in England and Wales.


persuasive precedent

en-noun

persuasive precedent (plural persuasive precedents)

(law) A precedent set in a court that has no precedence over another but whose decisions are considered to be sufficiently useful that they may be used, although they are not binding until used by a superior court.


seasonably

en-adv

seasonably (comparative more seasonably, superlative most seasonably)

more seasonably (comparative)
most seasonably (superlative)

From Middle English sesonably, equivalent to seasonable + -ly.

2005: Uniform Commercial Code § 1-204(3). The American Law Institute and the National Conference of Commissioners on Uniform State Laws.
An action is taken "seasonably" when it is taken at or within the time agreed or if no time is agreed at or within a reasonable time.

(chiefly law) Within the appropriate time period during which an action will be legally effective, as prescribed in legislation, a contract, or otherwise.


unprosecutable

Military prosecutors said al-Kahtani would be unprosecutable because of what was done to him during interrogation.

(law) Not able to be successfully prosecuted.


bill of rights

(law) A formal statement of the rights of a specified group of people.


concuss

en-verb

concuss (third-person singular simple present concusses, present participle concussing, simple past and past participle concussed)

concusses (present singular third-person)
concussing (participle present)
concussed (participle past)
concussed (past)

From Latin concussus, the perfect passive participle of concutiō (“shake violently”), from con- + quatiō (“shake, hit”).

The opposite principle , or rather the opposite practice of intrusion , is the reverse of this : it consists in concussing the Presbytery to ordain , and in concussing the people to receive.

1840, James Buchanan, The Scriptural Argument for Non-Intrusion Considered:

(law) To force to do something, or give up something, by intimidation; to coerce.


palimony

Blend of pal (“close friend”) + alimony (“maintenance”). Coined by celebrity divorce lawyer Marvin Mitchelson in 1977 in suit of his client Michelle Triola Marvin against the actor Lee Marvin.

coin

Who won, huh? Nobody. Used to be sex was the only free thing, No longer. Alimony… palimony… it's all financial. Love is an illusion.

1985, Joel Schumacher, Carl Kurlander, St. Elmo's Fire (motion picture), spoken by Kevin Dolenz (Andrew McCarthy):

Audball's latest pickup didn't seem to care where they were, or anything at all about alimony, palimony, or child support […]

2002, James A. Abrahamson, Confessions of a Diplomatic Pouch Clerk, page 192:

(law) A form of alimony paid to a former partner in a nonmarital relationship.


entrapment

en-noun

entrapment (countable and uncountable, plural entrapments)

A detective asking you to buy illegal marijuana for a dying man would be police entrapment.

That’s right, Thailand actually has a buffoonish crown prince. And I understand why the Thai people are upset, because they have a law where you can get 15 years in jail for insulting the monarchy, and yet, they have a prince who featured in, and this is true, a video of a birthday party he threw for his dog, a miniature poodle called Foo Foo, in which his topless wife served the dog birthday cake. And you’re telling me they’re not supposed to make fun of that? That’s entrapment! That’s not fair! You asked too much!

2014, Tim Carvell [et al.], “Dr. Oz and Nutritional Supplements”, in Last Week Tonight with John Oliver, season 1, episode 8, John Oliver (actor), Warner Bros. Television, via HBO:

(law) Action by law enforcement personnel to lead an otherwise innocent person to commit a crime, in order to arrest and prosecute that person for the crime.

ansan virittäminen

action by law enforcement personnel to lead an otherwise innocent person to commit a crime


jure uxoris

From Latin iūre (“by right”) uxōris (“of wife”).

Robert Bruce, whom genealogists name "Robert Bruce IV" (c 1250 - c 1304), 6th Lord of Annandale, was titled Earl of Carrick jure uxoris.


betterment

betterment (countable and uncountable, plural betterments)

(law) An improvement to a property that adds to its value.


garnishment

garnishment (countable and uncountable, plural garnishments)

(law) A judgment that a third party should pay money owing to a defendant directly to a plaintiff.

Pfändung

a judgment that a third party should pay money owing to a defendant directly to a plaintiff


registrability

(law) The property of being registrable as a trademark.


black letter

black letter (countable and uncountable, plural black letters)

[The US Supreme Court] did not raise the fundamental normative question of the patent-ability of genes. Instead, it took a black letter approach to interpreting the Patent Act, which had first been enacted in 1790, and which in its current form states that “whoever invents or discovers any new and useful process, machine, manufacture, or composition of matter, or any new and useful improvement thereof, may obtain a patent therefor, subject to the conditions and requirements of this title.”

2020, Katharina Pistor, “5: Enclosing Nature's Code”, in The Code of Capital […] , Princeton University Press, →ISBN:

(law) The basic standard elements for a particular field of law, which are generally known and free from doubt or dispute.


compulsory purchase

(law, UK, Ireland) The power of a state to expropriate private land within its jurisdiction for public use.

onteigening

government's right to expropriate private land

expropriation pour cause d’utilité publique


memorialize

en-verb

memorialize (third-person singular simple present memorializes, present participle memorializing, simple past and past participle memorialized)

memorializes (present singular third-person)
memorializing (participle present)
memorialized (participle past)
memorialized (past)

LL-Q1860 (eng)-Flame, not lame-memorialize.wav

(law) To create a written record of a meeting or conversation.


negotiable

en-adj

negotiable (comparative more negotiable, superlative most negotiable)

more negotiable (comparative)
most negotiable (superlative)

/nɪˈɡəʊʃəbəl/

/nɪˈɡoʊʃəbəl/

/nɪˈɡəʉʃəbəl/

(law, finance) Able to be transferred to another person, with or without endorsement, in exchange for money.

negociable

able to be transferred to another person, with or without endorsement


tortfeasance

From Anglo-Norman tortfesance, from Old French tort (“a misdeed, a wrong”) + fesance (“act, action, deed”).

The defendant's tort-feasance is now set forth with the damage, and the plaintiff says, that the defendant with an intention to injure him in the enjoyment of his commonable estate, during the time of his being so entitled to his common, wrongfully put and depastured several cattle on the waste there, in consequence of which, he has been unable to make use of his commonable profits in as ample and beneficial a manner as he otherwise might.

1824, Humphry W[illiam] Woolrych, “Of Pleading Rights of Common, etc.”, in A Treatise on the Law of Rights of Common, London: Joseph Butterworth and Son, law booksellers, 43, Fleet Street, →OCLC, page 278:

Among the various matters of which, either from ancient authors or the testimony of grammarians, we know the Thesmothetæ to have had cognizance, are the following— […] Also a great variety of civil actions; as those for the recovery of land, houses, and mesne profits: actions for debt, deposit, breach of contract, abusive language, damage or tort-feasance: […]

1856, Demosthenes, “Appendix IV. The Archons.”, in Charles Rann Kennedy, transl., The Orations of Demosthenes against Leptines, Midias, Androtion, and Aristocrates. Translated, with Notes, &c. (Bohn's Classical Library), volume III, London: Henry G[eorge] Bohn, York Street, Covent Garden, →OCLC, pages 260–261:

In the case of successful tort subrogation claims against the federal government, for example, the economic losses resulting from government tortfeasance are shifted from the industry to the government; hence, they are distributed presumably through taxation rather than spread equally among policyholders of a specific class.

1964, Ronald C. Horn, Subrogation in Insurance Theory and Practice (S. S. Huebner Foundation for Insurance Education, Studies), Homewood, Ill.: Published for the S. S. Huebner Foundation for Insurance Education, University of Pennsylvania, by R. D. Irwin, →OCLC, page 107:

The conspicuous absence of the use of the term "joint" tortfeasor can be taken to mean that the position of the Ontario Court of Appeal is that the tortfeasance that is sufficient to attract the operation of § 2(1) of the Act may be joint or concurrent (several) tortfeasance.

1980, Chitty's Law Journal, volume 28, Toronto: Jonah Publications, →ISSN, →OCLC, page 235, column 2:

To procure another's tort will render the procurer jointly liable in tort. By the doctrine of joint tortfeasance, the procurement leads the law to 'impute' the commission of the same wrongful act to two or more persons at once.

2010, Hazel Carty, “Inducing Breach of Contract”, in An Analysis of the Economic Torts, 2nd edition, Oxford: Oxford University Press, →ISBN, page 60:

(chiefly law) The condition, or an act, of doing wrong; the act of committing a tort.


Blackacre

If A. have Black Acre and C. have White Acre, and A. has a way over White Acre to Black Acre, and then purchases White Acre, the way will be extinct; and if A. afterwards enfeoff C. of White Acre without excepting the road, it is gone.

1790, Francis Buller, An Introduction to the Law Relative to Trials at Nisi Prius, page 74:

Example: Alvin holds Blackacre for investment and wishes to exchange it for like kind property to be held for investment. Becky wants Blackacre, but has only cash.

2008, Gwendolyn Griffith Lieuallen, Basic Federal Income Tax, page 209:

For example, a gift of Blackacre today, when Blackacre is worth $100,000, will freeze the value of Blackacre at $100,000 forever when determining the value of the transferor's transfer tax base, assuming Blackacre will not be brought back into the transferor's estate under I.R.C. § 2036, 2037, or 2038 because the grantor has retained some right or power over Blackacre.

2010, Louis A. Mezzullo, An Estate Planner's Guide to Family Business Entities, page 123:

(law) A placeholder name of a fictitious or hypothetical estate in land commonly used to discuss the rights of various parties to a piece of real property.


re-surveillance

(law) A follow-up sub rosa investigation after an unsuccessful or unfruitful covert investigation.


no-fault

(law, of vehicle insurance) In which a claimant is compensated for actual economic loss without blame being assigned to a particular party.

(law, of a divorce or an eviction) In which neither party is assigned blame.


stop up

en-verb

stop up (third-person singular simple present stops up, present participle stopping up, simple past and past participle stopped up)

stops up (present singular third-person)
stopping up (participle present)
stopped up (participle past)
stopped up (past)

stop down

antonym(s) of “increase the aperture of a photographic lens”

(UK, law) To permanently close or block (a road or path); to legally extinguish a right of way.


subtenant

subtenant (third-person singular simple present subtenants, present participle subtenanting, simple past and past participle subtenanted)

subtenants (present singular third-person)
subtenanting (participle present)
subtenanted (participle past)
subtenanted (past)

(property law, informal) Synonym of sublet.


unorganized

en-adj

unorganized (comparative more unorganized, superlative most unorganized)

more unorganized (comparative)
most unorganized (superlative)

Citizens liable for military service but not organized on a military basis

disorganized

a negative term indicating inadequate organization

Palmyra Atoll is an unorganized territory.

Not organized: not having been organized.

(US, law) (of a territory) Lacking a normal system of government.


sublease

(property law) A lease sublet by a tenant or lessee to a subtenant.


sublease

en-verb

sublease (third-person singular simple present subleases, present participle subleasing, simple past and past participle subleased)

subleases (present singular third-person)
subleasing (participle present)
subleased (participle past)
subleased (past)

These had been sub-leased from EMR (and previously East Midlands Trains) for more than a year to cover for Mk 4s undergoing planned maintenance.

2019 November 20, “Fleet News”, in Rail, page 31:


crime against humanity

en-noun

crime against humanity (plural crimes against humanity)

Be faithful to your friend that doth entrust you; remembring that perfidiousness or falseness to a friend, is a crime against humanity, and all society.

1629, Richard Baxter, Christian Directory, IV.25:

Courage remained a virtue. And that exploitation of courage, if I may be allowed to say a thing so obvious, was the essential tragedy of the War, which, as everyone now agrees, was a crime against humanity.

1929, Siegfried Sassoon, Memoirs of a Fox-Hunting Man:

A Spanish judge has charged five suspected former leaders of the armed Basque separatist movement ETA with crimes against humanity for attacks carried out by the group after 2004 which killed 12 people.

(now chiefly law) A very destructive and immoral act; later specifically, something causing widespread human misery or loss of life; an atrocity.

جَرِيمَة ضِدَّ الْإِنْسَانِيَّةَ

a large-scale persecution of, or atrocity against, a body of people


unititular

(law) Owned by a single person or company.


usufructuary

/ˌjuːz(j)ʊˈfɹʌkt͡ʃʊˌəɹi/

From Late Latin ūsūfructuārius, from ūsūfructus (“a usufruct”) + -ārius (suffix forming a noun denoting an agent of use from another noun); compare French usufructuaire, Italian usufruttuario, Portuguese usufructuario.

By this longobard Law the Tenant had only a uſufructuary poſſeſſion of the Fee, the Lord reſerving the propriety or Dominum directum to himself.

1657, [Matthew Hale], “The Preface”, in A Treatise of the Just Interest of the Kings of England, in Their Free Disposing Power, and the Validity of Their Grants Made to Any of Their Subjects. And the History of Acts of Resumption, and How They have been Gain’d. Written at the Request of a Person of Honour, in the Year 1657, by a Person Learn’d in the Laws, Suppos’d My Lord Chief Justice Hales. To which is Added, a Prefatory Discourse, in Answer to a Discourse on Grants and Resumptions, and another of the Exorbitant Grants of W[illiam] III, London: Printed for Thomas Osborne in Gray's-Inn near the Walks, published 1703, →OCLC, page xvi:

[T]he French are not ſo ſcruplous; but in the abſoluteſt Monarchy of Europe, plainly declare that their King hath but a uſufructuary right to his Kingdom, and the Territories belonging thereunto, or that he can any way charge them with his debts, or alienate, or diſpoſe of them; without the conſent of the States of France, […]

1681, “a Lover of Truth and of his Country” [pseudonym; James Tyrrell], “chapter IV”, in Patriarcha non Monarcha. The Patriarch Unmonarch’d: Being Observations on a Late Treatise and Divers Other Miscellanies, Published under the Name of Sir Robert Filmer Baronet. In which the Falseness of those Opinions that would Make Monarchy Jure Divino are Laid Open; and the True Principles of Government and Property (especially in Our Kingdom) Asserted, London: Printed for Richard Janeway, in Queens-head-Alley in Pater-Noster-Row, →OCLC, page 122:

While water itself is personal property, a water right is a real property interest, a so-called usufructurary right, a right to use water from a specific source for a specific use.

2001, The Journal of the Kansas Bar Association, volume 70, [Topeka, Kan.]: Kansas Bar Association, →ISSN, →OCLC, page 27, column 1:


usufructuary

/ˌjuːz(j)ʊˈfɹʌkt͡ʃʊˌəɹi/

It was queſtioned, whether Seius had ſtill the right as uſufructuary of the Profits; in regard Titius had only the property given unto him, without the fruits, and profits, belonging to Seius during his life, Julianus answered that Seius having drown'd his right as uſufructuary to the profits, in purchaſing the property, by conſolidating the ſeverall intereſts, The rights which were before diſtinguiſhed, being made one, Titius ſhall have the ſole, and full right in the Land, and Seius by his own act looſe the right of all profits, as uſufructuary to the ſame.

1652, [Richard Zouch], “Of Profits, and Property Consolidated”, in Cases and Qvestions of Right and Judicature, Resolved in the Civil-Law, part I, Oxford: Printed by Leon. Lichfield, printer to the University, for Tho[mas] Robinson, →OCLC, title II (Of Title to Goods or Lands, and of Common Right or Property), section II (Of Speciall Right or Commodity), pages 36–37:

[T]hat great Aſſembly des notables called by K. Francis the Firſt, to give their Judgment of the Articles of Peace lately made with the Emperour Charles V. at Madrid, their ſenſe was, that Burgundy which by thoſe Articles was to be delivered up, was an inſeparable Member of the Crown, of which he was but the uſufructuary, and ſo he could not diſpoſe of the one any more than of the other; […]

1681, “a Lover of Truth and of his Country” [pseudonym; James Tyrrell], chapter IV, in Patriarcha non Monarcha. The Patriarch Unmonarch’d: Being Observations on a Late Treatise and Divers Other Miscellanies, Published under the Name of Sir Robert Filmer Baronet. In which the Falseness of those Opinions that would Make Monarchy Jure Divino are Laid Open; and the True Principles of Government and Property (especially in Our Kingdom) Asserted, London: Printed for Richard Janeway, in Queens-head-Alley in Pater-Noster-Row, →OCLC, pages 122–123:

(law) A person who holds property, or the use of assets, by usufruct; a fructuary.

usufructuari

a person who holds property, or the use of assets, by usufruct


copyhold

copyhold (countable and uncountable, plural copyholds)

"[…] this quiz with all the strange old terms in it, curtilage and messuage and socage and fee simple and fee tail and feoffee and copyhold and customary freehold and mortmain and devises and lex loci rei sitae."

(property law, historical) A former form of tenure in which the title deeds were a copy of the manorial roll.


lord of the manor

lord of the manor (plural lords of the manor or lords of the manors)

lords of the manor (plural)
lords of the manors (plural)

(law, historical) The feudal lord of a manor estate.


kashrut

Borrowed from Hebrew כַּשְׁרוּת (kashrut).

bor+

(Jewish law) The Jewish dietary laws, stating which foods are fit to eat.


indenture

From Anglo-Norman endenture, from Old French endenteure, from endenter (“to dent”). The name of the contract derives from the irregular dent-shaped cut (indentation) used to prove the authenticity of the two parts, similar to a chirograph.

And so the schoolmistress reconciled the recommendation to her conscience, and the indentures were cancelled, and the apprentice was free.

1847 January – 1848 July, William Makepeace Thackeray, chapter II, in Vanity Fair […], London: Bradbury and Evans […], published 1848, →OCLC:

(law) A contract which binds a person to work for another, under specified conditions, for a specified time (often as an apprentice).

(law) A contract relating to lending (typically for issuing a bond), a real estate transaction, or a bankruptcy that imposes additional conditions on one or both parties.

Walking the street very hungry, and not knowing what to do with himself, a crimp's bill was put into his hand, offering immediate entertainment and encouragement to such as would bind themselves to serve in America. He went directly, sign'd the indentures, was put into the ship, and came over, never writing a line to acquaint his friends what was become of him.

1771–1790, Benjamin Franklin, “The Autobiography [Part 1]”, in John Bigelow, editor, Autobiography of Benjamin Franklin. […], Philadelphia, Pa.: J[oshua] B[allinger] Lippincott & Co., published 1868, →OCLC, page 159:

It was the critical moment of Oliver’s fate. If the inkstand had been where the old gentleman thought it was, he would have dipped his pen into it, and signed the indentures, and Oliver would have been straightway hurried off.

1837 March, Boz [pseudonym; Charles Dickens], “Relates How Oliver Twist Was Very Near Getting a Place, Which Would Not Have Been a Sinecure”, in Oliver Twist; or, The Parish Boy’s Progress. […], volume I, London: Richard Bentley, […], published 1838, →OCLC, page 46:

For the next two years, Ann's position in the family grew to be more and more that of a daughter. If it had not been for the indentures lying serenely in that tall wooden desk, she would almost have forgotten, herself, that she was a bound girl.

1886, Mary E. Wilkins, The Adventures of Ann:

(law, often in the plural) A document, written as duplicates separated by indentations, specifying either of the above contracts.


indenture

en-verb

indenture (third-person singular simple present indentures, present participle indenturing, simple past and past participle indentured)

indentures (present singular third-person)
indenturing (participle present)
indentured (participle past)
indentured (past)

(law) To bind a person under such a contract.


final account

(law) The statement submitted at the close of the matter.


industrial tribunal

en-noun

industrial tribunal (plural industrial tribunals)

(law, India, dated in England and Wales) A tribunal with jurisdiction to hear labour disputes.


in camera

Borrowed from Latin in camerā (“in the chamber”).

The trial was held in camera because the accused was a minor.

Ma'am, I must protest most strongly your decision to conduct this inquest in camera.

2011, M. R. Hall, The Disappeared: A Jenny Cooper Mystery, →ISBN, page 309:

Any transcription of the proceedings at the in camera hearing, as well as any physical evidence presented at the hearing, shall be ordered sealed by the court, and only a court may have access to its contents.

2014, John Snape, California Evidence Code 2014, →ISBN, page 43:

An inquest in camera and they would all be vindicated.

2018, Kate Atkinson, Transcription, →ISBN, page 293:

(law) Without the presence of the public or the media (in court)

i gcúirt iata

without the presence of the public or the media


enactment

enactment (countable and uncountable, plural enactments)

The enactment of this law will be a great step backward for our country.

The act of enacting, or the state of being enacted.

(law) The act of making (a bill) into law.

The enactments passed by the council that year included sweeping reforms.

(law) A piece of legislation that has been properly authorized by a legislative body.

göstəriş

a piece of legislation that has been properly authorized by a legislative body


connivance

connivance (countable and uncountable, plural connivances)

From early 18th c., replaced earlier form connivence (late 16th c.), from Latin connīventia, from connīvēns (“winking”).

The Abbot’s house, which formed the third side of the square, was, though injured, still inhabited, and afforded refuge to the few brethren who yet, rather by connivance than by actual authority, were permitted to remain at Kennaquhair.

1820, [Walter Scott], chapter XIII, in The Abbot. […], volume I, Edinburgh: […] [James Ballantyne & Co.] for Longman, Hurst, Rees, Orme, and Brown, […]; and for Archibald Constable and Company, and John Ballantyne, […], →OCLC, page 271:

(law) The process of conniving or conspiring.

թողտվություն

(law) the process of conniving or conspiring


a non domino

From Latin, literally "from the non-owner".

(law) Describing a disposition of property granted by a party who has no title to it.


legal duty

I've done my legal duty.

(law, idiomatic) A duty prescribed by the law, to act or forbear from acting.


primary offense

primary offense (plural primary offenses)

(law) The most serious offence of a group of offenses that a person committed at the same time, or is charged with committing at the same time.

(US, law) An offence of such seriousness that a police officer may arrest the person involved, or impose an instant fine.


anticonstitutionally

en-adv

anticonstitutionally (comparative more anticonstitutionally, superlative most anticonstitutionally)

more anticonstitutionally (comparative)
most anticonstitutionally (superlative)


hedonic damages

(law) Damages awarded to the plaintiff, in a personal injury case, for the loss of joy of living.


fruit machine

From fruit + machine.
* (slot machine): From originating with machines with fruit pictures
* (criminology): From being a machine used to identify fruits (“homosexuals”)
* (food): From being a machine containing fruits

(Canada, criminology, slang) A device developed to identify homosexual people by measuring their physical responses to different kinds of pornography.


remainderman

(law) A person entitled to receive a remainder interest in any property.

(law) A person entitled to the assets of a trust at the end of some specified period or after some event. For instance a man's will might put his assets into a trust with the income to go to his wife until she dies (being a life interest), at which time the capital (remainder interest) goes to their children. The children are remaindermen.


preliminary injunction

en-noun

preliminary injunction (plural preliminary injunctions)

(law) A court order prohibiting a party to litigation from carrying on a course of action until a trial has determined whether the course of action is proper.


direct examination

direct examination (countable and uncountable, plural direct examinations)

(law) In a legal trial, the questioning of a witness by the attorney for the party who has called the witness to testify.


hostile witness

hostile witness (plural hostile witnesses)

(law) A witness who intentionally gives unfavorable evidence against the party that called him or her as its witness.

敵對證人

person called to testify by a party to whom that witness is opposed


literal rule

(law) The method of strictly interpreting a statute according to the meaning, established by convention, of the words used therein.


assault and battery

(law, idiomatic) The combination of two violent crimes: assault (the threat of violence) and battery (physical violence). This legal distinction exists only in jurisdictions that distinguish assault as threatened violence rather than actual violence.


purposive approach

(law) doctrine of interpreting an enactment according to the spirit of the law and in the context of its drafting


bright-line rule

bright-line rule (plural bright-line rules)

(law) A clearly defined rule or standard, composed of objective factors, which leaves little or no room for varying interpretation.


de die in diem

The workers are paid de die in diem.

She received her salary de die in diem.


et uxor

From Latin et (and) and uxor (his wife).

I confirmed at Whitegate church about 300 persons, and returned to Vale Royal, where dined with me Sir Thomas Grosvenor et uxor, and Mrs. Rigby, Sir Philip Egerton, uxor et filius, Mr. Leftwich Oldfeild, Mr. Dean, Mr. Woods, vicar of Over, Mr. Marbury, rector of Davenham, Mr. Hanmore, Mr. Oakes, curate of Astbury, Mr. Oakes, Mr. Colley; and at supper Captain Birch and Captain Mainwaring more.

post 1687, The Diary of Dr. Thomas Cartwright, Bishop of Chester; commencing at the time of his Elevation to that See, August M.DC.LXXXVI.; and terminating with the Visitation of St. Mary Magdalene College, Oxford, October M.DC.LXXXVII. Now first printed from the original MS. in the Possession of the Rev. Joseph Hunter, F.S.A., London, 1843, page 28

… Keyes plaintant, Hill et uxor, defendants. Anno 22 Eliz.

1616, Reports, or Causes in Chancery, collected by Sir George Cary, one of the Masters of the Chancery, Anno 1601. Out of the Labours of Mr. William Lambert. Reprinted from the Edition of 1820, London, 1872, page 129

Coordinate term: et conjunx

(law) "And the wife" or "and his wife"; often used in the context of a legal document to include a man's wife in whichever obligation, ownership, etc. the document indicates.


dirty money

Corruption is a force multiplier for the West's enemies, and yet the West continues to accept dirty money into its economies by the billion.

2018, Oliver Bullough, chapter 1, in Moneyland, Profile Books, →ISBN, page 15:

Taken together, the articles exposed a dark truth: “Dirty money” — terrorist financing, drug cartel funds, fortunes embezzled from developing nations, the profits from organized crime — flows so freely through the world’s most powerful financial institutions that it has become inextricable from the so-called legitimate economy.

2021 June 10, Mark Schoofs, “She Exposed the Truth About ‘Dirty Money’: It’s Everywhere”, in The New York Times:

(idiomatic, business, law) Money that is illegally gained, illegally transferred or illegally utilized, especially money gained through forgery, bribery, prostitution, money laundering, or theft.


defensor

(law) a defender or advocate in court; a guardian or protector


accessory after the fact

accessory after the fact (plural accessories after the fact)

[…] some of that atrocious wickedness in Jones, […] might perhaps be derived from the encouragement he had received from this fellow, who […] had been what the law calls an accessary^([sic]) after the fact […]

1749, Henry Fielding, chapter II, in The History of Tom Jones, a Foundling, volume (please specify |volume=I to VI), London: A[ndrew] Millar, […], →OCLC, book III:

(law) An individual who assists someone who has committed a crime so as to protect them from legal prosecution.

postkomplico

person who assists someone who has committed a crime


retorsion

retorsion (countable and uncountable, plural retorsions)

(law) An act of retaliation taken by one nation against another as a reprisal.


restorative justice

(law) Any of several forms of justice that attempt to repair the harm done to the victim, sometimes by having the offender make restitution.


misfeasance

misfeasance (countable and uncountable, plural misfeasances)

(law) An actual or alleged wrong that arises from an action; often, the wrongful use of legal authority.


jurispendence

1776, Edward Gibbon, Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire


copyright infringement

copyright infringement (countable and uncountable, plural copyright infringements)

(copyright law) The unauthorized use of copyrighted material in a manner that violates one of the copyright owner's exclusive rights, such as the right to reproduce or perform the copyrighted work, or to make derivative works that build upon it.


rapporteur

/ˌɹæ.pɔːˈtɜː/

/ˌɹæ.pɔɹˈtɜɹ/

(law, politics) A person appointed by a deliberative body to investigate an issue or a situation, and report back to that body.

докладчик

a person appointed by a deliberative body to investigate an issue or a situation, and report back to that body


municipal corporation

municipal corporation (plural municipal corporations)

(law): A municipality; a governing body within a larger state formed by the enactment of a governing document.


municipal incorporation

municipal incorporation (countable and uncountable, plural municipal incorporations)

(law) The creation of a municipality by the enactment of a governing document.