eminent domain

Translation of the Latin term dominium ēminēns “supreme ownership”.

The city council used eminent domain to make me sell my store.

(law, US, Philippines) The right of a government over the private property within its jurisdiction. Usually invoked to compel land owners to sell their property in preparation for a major construction project such as a freeway.

հանրային գերակա շահ

government's right to expropriate private land

expropriation pour cause d’utilité publique


trust deed

(law) A deed conveying property to a trustee, for some specific use.


demain

(obsolete, British, law) A demesne, especially the ancient demesne claimed by William the Conqueror.


acquis

Shortened from acquis communautaire: French acquis (“that which has been acquired or obtained”) + communautaire (“of the community”).

acquis

short for acquis communautaire — see also acquis communautaire

Despite the clarity with which this principle has been reiterated, most applicants believe that their own circumstances are unique and deserve an equality of respect, even when this might challenge a principle of at least part of the acquis. The UK, for example, believed that its wider trading links merited special consideration. The realisation that such consideration would not be forthcoming was particularly humiliating, given that the UK had been invited to participate in forming the acquis in 1955–57.

1997, Christopher Preston, “Conclusion: Can the Classical Method Survive?”, in Enlargement and Integration in the European Union, London, New York, N.Y.: Routledge, →ISBN, page 228:

[T]he process of absorption of the EU Internal Market acquis by the new EU member states (Hungary and Estonia, e.g. completed their alignment wih the Internal Market acquis within three years) is not feasible for the Moldovan economy, at least in the following three to five years.

2006 March, Oxana Gutu, “Conclusions and Recommendations”, in Moldova’s Convergence with the Acquis: A Pro-growth and Pro-integration Strategy (CEPS Working Document; no. 238), Brussels: Centre for European Policy Studies, →ISBN, page 28:

In general, the existing acquis communautaire was adhered to as closely as possible in the drafting of the PEICL [Principles of European Insurance Contract Law]. Exceptions were made where shortcomings could be identified. Therefore, a number of directives, for example the insurance acquis, have been taken into account in the PEICL.

2018, Helmut Heiss, Ulrike Mönnich, “Pre-contractual Duties in European Insurance Contract Law”, in Yong Qiang Han, Greg Pynt, editors, Carter v Boehm and Pre-contractual Duties in Insurance Law: A Global Perspective after 250 Years, Oxford: Hart Publishing, →ISBN, part IV (Pre-contractual Duties in Insurance Law: Mixed Legal System, Reinsurance and Brokers), page 386:

It is a remarkable story of how the EU has managed to create an entire acquis that ensures that the whole of Europe speaks about consumer contract using the same terminology and policy framework.

2018, Geriant Howells, Mateja Durovic, “The Rise of EU Consumer Law between Common Law and Civil Law Traditions”, in Francisco de Elizade, editor, Uniform Rules of European Contract Law?: A Critical Assessment, Oxford: Hart Publishing, →ISBN, part III (Uniform Rules to Bridge the Gap between the Common Law and the Civil Law), page 135:

acquis communautaire
acquis communautaire#English

(law) The accumulated legislation, legal acts, and court decisions which constitute the total body of European Union law.


lineup

Before viewing the lineup, each witness should be required to give to the officer in charge of the lineup a written description of the perpetrator of the crime.

1999, John N. Ferdico, Criminal Procedure for the Criminal Justice Professional, page 498:

This innocent suspect is placed in a lineup with five fillers who look similar to that innocent suspect. Given this scenario, one may ask How many people are in the lineup because they fit the description of the perpetrator?

2007, Jack R. Greene, The Encyclopedia of Police Science, Taylor & Francis, →ISBN, page 493:

Foster was placed in a three-man lineup for viewing by the only witness (the manager of the office). Foster was about 6 feet tall, whereas the other two men in the lineup were about 5 feet 6 inches tall.

2007, Thomas J. Gardner, Terry M. Anderson, Criminal Evidence: Principles and Cases, page 264:

(US, law and law enforcement) a physical or photographic queue of people allegedly involved in a crime, allowing a witness to identify them


class action

(law, chiefly US, Canada) A lawsuit brought by a single plaintiff or small group of plaintiffs as a representative of a large group of others having a common interest, with everyone in the large group eligible to receive damages if the plaintiff is successful.

複雑訴訟形態

ふくざつそしょうけいたい


judicial activism

(law, often derogatory) The act of replacing an impartial interpretation of existing law with the judge's personal feelings about what the law should be.


competent

en-adj

competent (comparative more competent, superlative most competent)

more competent (comparative)
most competent (superlative)

From Middle English competent, conpetent, from Old French competent (modern French compétent), from Latin competens, competentem, present participle of competō (“coincide, be equal to, be capable of”). Compare Dutch competent (“competent”), German kompetent (“competent”), Danish kompetent (“competent”).

For any disagreements arising from this contract, the competent court shall be the Springfield Circuit Court.

judicial authority having competent jurisdiction

(law) Having jurisdiction or authority over a particular issue or question.


commit a bill

en-verb

commit a bill (third-person singular simple present commits a bill, present participle committing a bill, simple past and past participle committed a bill)

commits a bill (present singular third-person)
committing a bill (participle present)
committed a bill (participle past)
committed a bill (past)

(law) To refer or entrust a piece of legislation to a committee (or others) to be considered and reported.


from time to time

This is another way of saying that the terms of the individual contracts are in part to be found in the agreed collective agreements as they exist from time to time […]

2015, Richard Painter, Ann Holmes, Cases and Materials on Employment Law, page 90:

(law) In whatever status exists at various times.


hearsay

en-noun

hearsay (usually uncountable, plural hearsays)

From Middle English hyere-zigginge (1340), here sey (ca. 1438), from the phrase heren seien (“to hear [people] say”). Compare equally old Middle High German hœrsagen (14th c.), whence modern Hörensagen.

(law) Evidence based on the reports of others, which is normally inadmissible because it was not made under oath, rather than on personal knowledge.

testimonium de auditu

(law) evidence based on the reports of others rather than on personal knowledge

(law) An out-of-court statement offered in court for the truth of the matter asserted, which is normally inadmissible because it is not subject to cross-examination unless the hearsay statement falls under one of a number of exceptions.

de-audituverklaring

(law) an out-of-court statement offered in court for the truth of the matter asserted


reformation

reformation (countable and uncountable, plural reformations)

/ˌɹɛfəˈmeɪʃən/

/ˌɹɛfɚˈmeɪʃən/

From Middle English reformacion, reformation, from Old French reformacion and Latin refōrmātiō, refōrmātiōnis (“reform, change”), from refōrmō (“transform, reshape”), from re- + fōrmō (“shape, form”).

der

All sorts of legal instruments may be reformed by equity, when the errors, which have been committed in the execution of them, are mutual mistakes or a mistake of one party combined with the fraud of the other. Thus, reformation has been decreed of all kinds of deeds of conveyance, including leases, mortgages, deeds of trust, marriage and family settlements. Likewise, bonds of all kinds, policies of insurance, assignments or release of mortgages, executory contracts for the sale of lands, the indorsement of a note, agreements for the establishment of a highway, military orders. So may, also, judgments and other records be corrected or be reformed.

1893, Christopher Gustavus Tiedeman, “Chapter XXIX”, in A Treatise on Equity Jurisprudence, §507 (footnotes omitted):

(law) Change or correction, by a court in equity, to a written instrument to conform to the original intention of the parties.


blood test

(law, genetics) An analysis of blood performed on two subjects to determine whether they are biologically related, such as a paternity test.


tutor

From Middle English tutour, from Old French tuteur (French tuteur), from Latin tūtor (“a watcher, protector, guardian”), from tueor (“protect”); see tuition.

(obsolete or Quebec law) One who has the charge of a child or pupil and his estate; a guardian.


encroachment

en-noun

encroachment (usually uncountable, plural encroachments)

/ɪŋˈkɹoʊt͡ʃmənt/

/ɛŋˈkɹoʊt͡ʃmənt/

(law) An unlawful diminution of the possessions of another.


in absentia

Learned borrowing from Latin in absentia (“in absence”).

lbor

The defendant was convicted in absentia after fleeing during the trial.

The first chancellor of West Germany, w:Conrad Adenauer […] continued to keep w:Hans Globke as his secretary of the chancellery despite protests. […] Even after an East German court indicted Globke in absentia in 1950, Adenauer would not budge.

2004 October 28, Leslie Feinberg, “Denazification in socialist Germany opened door to gay rights”, in Workers World:

in absentia (does not exist in the criminal procedure of the FRG, but exists in Switzerland and the Republic of Austria; for civil procedure it is not idiomatic but should be circumscribed in the FRG with “es erging ein Versäumnisurteil” etc., see de:Kontumazentscheidung)


proximate

From Late Latin proximatus, past participle of proximare (“to draw near, approach”), from Latin proximus (“nearest”), superlative of prope (“near”).

(law) Immediately preceding or following in a chain of causation.


peppercorn

Inherited from Middle English peper corn, peper-corn, pepercorn, from Old English piporcorn (“peppercorn”), corresponding to pepper + corn. Compare Dutch peperkorrel (“peppercorn”), German Pfefferkorn (“peppercorn”), Danish peberkorn (“peppercorn”), Swedish pepparkorn (“peppercorn”), Icelandic piparkorn (“peppercorn”).

inh+

peppercorn rent

A small, insignificant quantity; a whit or jot.

(law, attributive) A nominal consideration used to satisfy the requirements for the creation of a legal contract.


stipulate

en-verb

stipulate (third-person singular simple present stipulates, present participle stipulating, simple past and past participle stipulated)

stipulates (present singular third-person)
stipulating (participle present)
stipulated (participle past)
stipulated (past)

From Latin stipulātus, perfect active participle of stipulor (“I demand a guarantee”).

The defense stipulates that the witness has identified my client.

The parties stipulate that Exhibits 1 through 3 accompanied the initial Verified Complaint and Jury Demand, and that they are displayed in this text in the Exhibits section solely for clarity of the layout.

2016 January 1, Elizabeth I. Boals, Shailee D. Sharma, Stanton v. Armstrong: Case File, Aspen Publishers, →ISBN, page 4:

(US, transitive, formal, law) To acknowledge the truth of; not to challenge.

Parties stipulate to serve discovery and notice discovery depositions no later than 45 days after the opening of discovery, and to respond to discovery within 30 days and take discovery depositions no later than the closing date of discovery.

1999, Steven H. Bazerman, Jason M. Drangel, Guide to Registering Trademarks, Aspen Publishers Online, →ISBN, page 22:

(intransitive, formal, law) To mutually agree.


SB

en-noun

SB (countable and uncountable, plural SBs)

(law, politics, often followed by a number) Initialism of senate bill (“a bill proposed in or passed by a senate”). (Compare HB.)

senate bill

(law, politics) Initialism of state bill.


ERISA

w:Employee Retirement Income Security Act

(US, law) Acronym of Employee Retirement Income Security Act (of 1974)


delict

Borrowed from Latin delictum (“fault”), from neuter of delictus, past participle of delinquo (“to be lacking; to fail; to transgress”), from dē- + linquō (“to leave, quit, forsake, depart from”).

(law) The branch of law dealing in delicts.


beg the question

en-verb

beg the question (third-person singular simple present begs the question, present participle begging the question, simple past and past participle begged the question)

begs the question (present singular third-person)
begging the question (participle present)
begged the question (participle past)
begged the question (past)

From Latin petitio principii, from Ancient Greek τὸ ἐν ἀρχῇ αἰτεῖσθαι (tò en arkhêi aiteîsthai, “to assume from the beginning”).

uder

τὸ ἐν ἀρχῇ αἰτεῖσθαι

The objection is that the argument begs the question, meaning that the premise, that God has all the virtues, assumes the conclusion, that God is benevolent.

1994, D. N. Walton, “Begging the question as a pragmatic fallacy.”, in Synthese, volume 100, number 1:

begging the question
begging the question

(philosophy, logic, law) To engage in the logical fallacy of begging the question (petitio principii).

olettaa johtopäätös todeksi

to engage in the logical fallacy of begging the question (petitio principii)


continuance

en-noun

continuance (countable and uncountable, plural continuances)

From Middle English continuance, contynuaunce, from Old French continuance, from continuer.

At the submission to sufficient facts in Lowell District Court, an agreement was reached between the prosecution and the defense. Despite the continuance without a finding, the defendant was required to pay court costs of $150. The continuance means that if the defendant is not arrested on the same charge within the next six months, the charge against him will be dropped.

1976 August 14, “Chelmsford Police Net Another”, in Gay Community News, volume 4, number 7, page 1:

Where the Department of Homeland Security seeks to re-serve a respondent to effect proper service of a notice to appear that was defective under the regulatory requirements for serving minors under the age of 14, a continuance should be granted for that purpose.

2016 December 16, Anne J. Greer, Matter of W-A-F-C-, Respondent, Board of Immigration Appeals, 26 I&N Dec. 880 (BIA 2016), archived from the original on 2021-06-24, page 880:

(countable, law, chiefly US) An order issued by a court granting a postponement of a legal proceeding for a set period.


protestation

protestation (countable and uncountable, plural protestations)

/ˌpɹɒtɪsˈteɪʃən/

/ˌpɹəʊtɪsˈteɪʃən/

From Old French protestacion, from Latin prōtestātiō.

(law, historical) A declaration in common-law pleading, by which the party interposes an oblique allegation or denial of some fact, protesting that it does or does not exist, and at the same time avoiding a direct affirmation or denial.


self-defense

self-defense (usually uncountable, plural self-defenses)

From self- + defense. First used by Hobbes in the 1650s.

(law) The right to protect oneself against violence by using reasonable force, which can be used as justification in several charges including murder, assault, and battery.

özünümüdafiə

law: the right to protect oneself against violence by using reasonable force


solemnity

solemnity (countable and uncountable, plural solemnities)

From solemn + -ity, from Middle English solemnity (“observance of formality and ceremony”), frequently in the phrases in solemnity, with solemnity, which from Old French solemnite, from Latin sollemnitās, from sollemnis. (Compare solemn.)

der

(law) A solemn or formal observance; proceeding according to due form; the formality which is necessary to render a thing done valid.


antitrust

The regulators used antitrust laws to block the merger, believing it would eliminate competition.

If the takeover is approved, Comcast would control 20 of the top 25 cable markets, […]. Antitrust officials will need to consider Comcast’s status as a monopsony (a buyer with disproportionate power), when it comes to negotiations with programmers, whose channels it pays to carry.

2014 March 15, “Turn it off”, in The Economist, volume 410, number 8878:

(law) Opposed to or against the establishment or existence of trusts (monopolies), usually referring to legislation.

antimonopolista

opposed to or against the establishment or existence of trusts


pro-choice

When I defend my pro-choice position in the debate over abortion in our country, I frequently refer to Romania, where pregnancy could be monitored on behalf of the state, and to China, where it could be forcibly terminated.

2003, Hillary Rodham Clinton, “Prague Summer”, in Living History, →ISBN, →OCLC, page 354:

But if past is prologue, it’s hard to predict what our prochoice Republican governor will do. […] “You’re totally prochoice and bipartisan,” Caroline says in the ad, as they sit together on a park bench surrounded by trees and grass.

2022 July 26, Shirley Leung, “Charlie Baker is ‘100% prochoice.’ He shouldn’t veto the new reproductive rights bill.”, in The Boston Globe:

(public policy, law, ethics) Supportive of a person's right to choose whether or not to have an abortion.

These cases help create and sustain an essentially pro-choice regime, at least with respect to passive euthanasia and arguably with respect to physician-assisted suicide as well.

1994, Tom Stacy, “Euthanasia and the Supreme Court's Competing Conceptions of Religious Liberty”, in Issues in Law and Medicine, volume 10, number 1, page 62:

Two other sites worthy of note are http://www.efn.org/~ergo/ (Pro-Choice) and http://www.euthanasia.com (Pro-Life).

1998, C. G. Prado, The Last Choice: Preemptive Suicide in Advanced Age, page 103:

Whether we are pro-choice on euthanasia or anti-euthanasia, we can all agree that leaving patients in pain is abhorrent, ethically, and morally reprehensible, and should be punished severely by the law.

2014, Margaret Somerville, Death Talk: The Case Against Euthanasia and Physician-Assisted Suicide, 2nd edition, McGill-Queen's University Press, →ISBN, →OCLC:

(public policy, law, ethics) Supportive of a person's right to choose whether or not to end their life by euthanasia.


reliquary

/ˈɹɛlɪkwɛɹi/

/ˈɹɛlɪkwəɹi/

Borrowed from Middle French reliquaire (modern French reliquaire), from Late Latin reliquiarium, from rēliquia (“a relic”) (English relic), noun use of reliquus (“abandoned, left behind, relict”), from relinquō (“I relinquish”), from re- (“again”) and linquō (“I leave”), from Proto-Indo-European *leikʷ-.


CBI

(law) Initialism of Confidential Business Information.


recoup

en-verb

recoup (third-person singular simple present recoups, present participle recouping, simple past and past participle recouped)

recoups (present singular third-person)
recouping (participle present)
recouped (participle past)
recouped (past)

A landlord recouped the rent of premises from damages awarded to the plaintiff for eviction.

(law) To keep back rightfully (a part), as if by cutting off, so as to diminish a sum due; to take off (a part) from damages; to deduct.


over and above

(law) more than is required e.g. by a contract.


corrections

/kəˈɹɛkʃənz/

(US, Canada, law) Relating to the punishment, treatment, or supervision of persons who have been convicted of a crime


payor

(law, healthcare, medical insurance) One who makes a payment.


replication

en-noun

replication (countable and uncountable, plural replications)

/ɹɛplɪˈkeɪʃən/

Inherited from Middle English replicacioun, replicacion, from Anglo-Norman replicacioun and Old French replicacion (“reply, answer”), from Latin replicātiō, replicātiōnem. By surface analysis, replicate + -(at)ion.

surf

(law) A response from the plaintiff to the defendant's plea.

отговор

a response from the plaintiff to the defendant's plea


LSB

Legal Services Board
w:Legal Services Board

(England and Wales, law) Initialism of Legal Services Board.


ex ante

Borrowed from Latin ex ante (“before the event”).


prescription

en-noun

prescription (countable and uncountable, plural prescriptions)

/pɹəˈskɹɪpʃən/

Borrowed from Middle French, from Old French prescripcion, from Latin praescriptio (“preface; pretext; something written ahead of time”), from prae- (“pre-, before”) + scribere (“to write”) + -tio (“-tion, forming nouns”).

taalregulering

the act or practice of laying down norms of language usage; an instance of this

A statute that cannot find justification for its prescription in one or more of these principles violates international law.

1997, Richard G. Alexander, “Iran and Libya Sanctions Act of 1996: Congress Exceeds Its Jurisdiction to Prescribe Law”, in Washington & Lee Law Review, page 1609:

(law) Synonym of enactment, the act of establishing a law, regulation, etc., particularly in writing; an instance of this.

нареждане

the act of establishing a law or regulation in writing; an instance of this

تَقَادُم

extinctive or liberative prescription — see also statute of limitations

(law) An established time period within which a right must be exercised and after which it is null and permanently unenforceable.

en:time period for easement to produce ownership

(law) An established time period after which a person who has uninterruptedly, peacefully, and publicly used another's property acquires full ownership of it.


intervention

en-noun

intervention (countable and uncountable, plural interventions)

From Middle French intervention, from Latin interventiō.
Morphologically intervene + -tion.

(US, law) A legal motion through which a person or entity who has not been named as a party to a case seeks to have the court order that they be made a party.


FMLA

(US, law) Initialism of Family and Medical Leave Act.


lapse

From Middle French laps, from Latin lāpsus, from lābī (“to slip”). Doublet of lapsus.

(law) A common-law rule that if the person to whom property is willed were to die before the testator, then the gift would be ineffective.


QDRO

domestic relations
domestic relations#English

(US, law) Acronym of qualified domestic relations order.


EDRO

(US, law) Acronym of eligible domestic relations order.


abigeus

In the Civil Law, he was accounted an Abigeus who carried off one Horse or one Ox, or four Swine or ten Sheep; if he took a smaller Number of Swine or Sheep, he was reckoned a Fur rather than an Abigeus.

1730, Institutions of the Criminal Law of Scotland, page 127:

The stealing of a single horse or ox might make a man an abigeus, but it seems that the crime could not be committed on less than four pigs or ten sheep.

1883, A history of the criminal law of England - Volume 1, page 27:

It is obvious why the thief of only one domestic animal was not treated so severely as an abigeus. The reason for the severe punishment of rustlers, abigei, was the need of a stronger protection for agricultural interest, particularly in countries where these offenses were more frequent.

1943, Seminar: Annual Extraordinary Number of The Jurist:

(law, UK, obsolete) A thief who steals livestock in large quantities.


competency

competency (countable and uncountable, plural competencies)

(law) Meeting specified qualifications to perform.

kompetence

law: meeting specified qualifications to perform


exhibit

en-verb

exhibit (third-person singular simple present exhibits, present participle exhibiting, simple past and past participle exhibited)

exhibits (present singular third-person)
exhibiting (participle present)
exhibited (participle past)
exhibited (past)

From Latin exhibitus, perfect passive participle of exhibeō (“I hold forth, present, show, display”), from ex (“out of, from”) + habeō (“I have, hold”); see habit.

I now exhibit this bloody hammer.

(transitive, law) To submit (a physical object) to a court as evidence.


exhibit

Exhibit A is this photograph of the corpse.

(law) An article formally introduced as evidence in a court.


EPO

en-noun

EPO (countable and uncountable, plural EPOs)

protective order
protective order#English

(law) Initialism of emergency protective order.


tutrix

(Quebec law) A female tutor (person other than a parent having charge of a child or other person requiring protection).


dishonour

dishonour (countable and uncountable, plural dishonours)

From Old French deshonor, equivalent to dis- + honour.

negotiable instrument
negotiable instrument

(law) Failure or refusal of the drawee or intended acceptor of a negotiable instrument, such as a bill of exchange or note, to accept it or, if it is accepted, to pay and retire it.


expectancy

expectancy (countable and uncountable, plural expectancies)

(law) Future interest as to possession or enjoyment

expectative

(law) future interest as to possession or enjoyment


probable cause

probable cause (countable and uncountable, plural probable causes)

(US, law, uncountable) Reasonable grounds for making an arrest or conducting a personal or property search.

相當理由

reasonable grounds for making an arrest or conducting a personal or property search


de minimis

From Latin, de + minimis, ablative of minimus (“smallest, least”); shortened form of the legal maxim de minimis non curat lex (“the law does not concern itself with trifling matters”).

The behaviour of the accused was technically assault, but the judge found it de minimis and entered an acquittal.

(law) Beneath the notice of the law; so minor as not to warrant a penalty or remedy.


uncopyrightable

[…] The four criteria that Congress, courts, and theorists have traditionally employed to distinguish the copyrightable from the uncopyrightable are: […]

1984, MJ Touponse, “Application of Copyright Law to Computer Operating System Programs: Apple Computer, Inc. v. Franklin”, in Connecticut Law Review, page 665:

[…] Keeton, however, resolved that it was the idea/expression dichotomy that forms the boundary line between the copyrightable and the uncopyrightable, […]

1994, R VerSteeg, “Jurimetric Copyright: Future Shock for the Visual Arts”, in Cardozo Arts & Entertainment Law Journal, page 125:

[…] to examine those director contributions that help create that overall feel and apply Judge Hand's abstractions test to filter out the uncopyrightable from the copyrightable […]

2001, R Amanda, “Elvis Karaoke Shakespeare and the Search for a Copyrightable Stage Directions”, in Arizona Law Review, page 677:

(copyright law) Ineligible for copyright.


fructus

(law, historical) In Ancient Roman law, any product originating either from a natural source (such as fruits grown or animals bred) or from legal transactions (e.g. interest on a loan).


wrongful dismissal

wrongful dismissal (countable and uncountable, plural wrongful dismissals)

(law) The termination of an employee's employment in a way that breaches the employment contract or statutory law.


teste

So called from Latin teste, ablative of testis (“a witness”), because this was formerly the initial word in the clause.


crimen

crimen (countable and uncountable, plural crimina)

Unadapted borrowing from Latin crīmen (“verdict; adultery; crime”). Doublet of crime.

ubor

1884, The Irish Ecclesiastical Record, 3rd Series, Volume V, page 416,
Such presumptions are common in connection with crimen and affinity.

2006, Fellowship of Catholic Scholars Quarterly, Volumes 29-30, Fellowship of Catholic Scholars, page 7,
Third, some might think that Michael avoids the impediment of crimen because a civil court approved his petition to deprive Terri of nutrition and hydration.

Coordinate term: conjugicide

(law, ecclesiastical law) An impediment to marriage in the canon law of the Roman Catholic Church that nullifies or prevents the marriage of two people who had: (1) committed adultery and subsequently married, and consummated that marriage, while the wronged spouse was still alive, (2) committed adultery and promised to marry after the death of the spouse, (3) committed adultery, after which one of the two had murdered the spouse in order that they become free to marry, or (4) without committing adultery, cooperated to murder a spouse in order that they become free to marry.


scienter

From Latin scienter (“knowingly”), from sciō (“know”).


scienter

(law) knowledge of one's own illegal acts; intent


fallo

en-noun

fallo (usually uncountable, plural fallos)

(Philippines, law) The dispositive portion of a court's ruling, coming at the end of the ruling.


esquire

From Middle English esquier, from Old French escuyer, escuier, properly, a shield-bearer (compare modern French écuyer (“shield-bearer, armor-bearer, squire of a knight, esquire, equerry, rider, horseman”)), from Late Latin scūtārius (“shieldmaker, shield-bearer”), from Latin scūtum (“shield”); probably akin to English hide (“to cover”). The term squire is the result of apheresis. Compare equerry, escutcheon.


lagan

Per Littré, from Old French lagan, from Medieval Latin laga maris (“law of the sea”), from Old Norse lǫg (“law”) and Latin maris (“of the sea”)

The country folk, who were prowling about the shore after the waifs of the storm, deserted jetsom and lagend, and crowded to meet the richer prize.

1866, Charles Kingsley, chapter 6, in Hereward the Wake, London: Nelson, page 129:

"Lagan" was a word already in use, recorded as early as 1200, from a Scandinavian word family for things that lie deep. It is recorded again in 1531 to signify cargo that has sunk and lies on the bottom of the ocean, but might yet be reclaimed.

2015, Anne Harris, "Oceanic Valuation", in Oceanic New York, Punctum Books, page 163:

Lagan are those things that are intentionally jettisoned, as well, but which sink below the surface, possibly marked by a buoy or a line.

2022, Lara Messersmith-Glavin, Spirit Things, London: University Press of Colorado, pages 101-112:

(law) Goods or materials found or left on the sea floor, attached to a floating marker that indicates ownership.


curtilage

/ˈkɜːtɪlɪd͡ʒ/

/ˈkɝtəlɪd͡ʒ/

Inherited from Middle English curtylage and Anglo-Norman, from Old French cortillage, curtillage, from cortil (“court, courtyard”), from Latin cortis (“court”); see court. Compare courtledge.

The scope of the curtilage is determined by considering the proximity to the home, whether it is fenced or otherwise enclosed, the nature of the use of the area, and the efforts the resident takes to screen the area from public view.

2007, Ken Wallentine, Street Legal: A Guide to Pre-trial Criminal Procedure for Police, Prosecutors, and Defenders:

High winds are not in themselves a controllable risk. But fallen trees certainly are, given the control the railway has over its own curtilage.

2022 March 9, Industry Insider, “A damaging trend”, in RAIL, number 952, page 68:

(law) The area immediately surrounding a house, especially dooryard areas and sometimes including closely associated buildings and structures.

宅地

the area immediately surrounding a house


crossbill

he not having the money ready[…] filed a bill for a specific performance, evidently to gain time. The vendors filed a crossbill; and afterwards the purchaser became a bankrupt

1836, Edward Burtenshaw Sugden, A Practical Treatise of the Law of Vendors and Purchasers of Estates:

(law) A bill brought by a defendant, in an equity or chancery suit, against the plaintiff, respecting the matter in question in that suit.


prima facie

en-adv

prima facie (comparative more prima facie, superlative most prima facie)

more prima facie (comparative)
most prima facie (superlative)

/ˈpɹiːmə ˈfæɪsiː/

/ˈpɹɑɪmə ˈfæɪsiː/

From Latin prīmā (“first”) faciē (“shape, figure”), literally “at the first appearance.”

[…] the nicest young man that ever was, — daintily gloved, patently booted, oilily curled, snowily wristbanded, with a lovely cambric (prima facie) handkerchief bound about his hyacinthine locks and polished hat.

1871, Gail Hamilton, Gala-days, page 191:

Prima facie this may not read like a true story.

1916 April 8, The National Provisioner, volume 54, number 15, page 36, column 2:

(law) At first sight; on the face of it.


prima facie

/ˈpɹiːmə ˈfæɪsiː/

/ˈpɹɑɪmə ˈfæɪsiː/

(law) Apparently correct; not needing proof unless evidence to the contrary is shown.


debarment

en-noun

debarment (countable and uncountable, plural debarments)

(US, law) In the United States Food and Drugs Act, a penalty imposed on persons or companies that commit crimes in connection with applications for approval of drugs, in which such persons are barred from submitting or assisting in the submission of such an application.


lawman

From Middle English laweman, laȝaman (as a man's name, Laȝamon, Layamon), from Old English lahmann, borrowed from Old Norse lǫgmaðr. In present use as a law-enforcement officer, law + -man.

(law, historical) A lawspeaker: a declarer of the law.

(law, historical) One of 12 magistrates in certain Danish boroughs of England empowered with soc and sac over their own households.

(law, Orkney and Shetland) The presiding justice of the supreme court.


pleading

pleading (countable and uncountable, plural pleadings)

(law) A document filed in a lawsuit, particularly a document initiating litigation or responding to the initiation of litigation.


debar

en-verb

debar (third-person singular simple present debars, present participle debarring, simple past and past participle debarred)

debars (present singular third-person)
debarring (participle present)
debarred (participle past)
debarred (past)

(US, law, transitive) To prohibit (a person or company that has been convicted of criminal acts in connection with a government program) from future participation in that program.


survivorship

en-noun

survivorship (usually uncountable, plural survivorships)

(law) A right whereby a person becomes entitled to property by reason of his having survived another person who had an interest in it. It is one of the elements of a joint tenancy.


avoision

"Avoision" is how I referred to the panoply of questionable conduct about whose status as either avoidance or evasion we couldn't make up our minds.

1996, Leo Katz, Ill-Gotten Gains, University of Chicago Press, page 52:

"Seldon (1979) coined the term 'Avoision' to indicate 'the blurring between tax avoidance and evasion that arises from the looser connection between the legal and the moral'"

2008, Alan Lewis, editor, The Cambridge Handbook of Psychology and Economic Behaviour, Cambridge University Press, page 306:

(taxation, law) Nonpayment of tax that cannot clearly be seen as either tax avoidance, which is legal, or tax evasion, which is illegal.


garnishee

(law) The person whose money is garnished.


garnishee

en-verb

garnishee (third-person singular simple present garnishees, present participle garnisheeing, simple past and past participle garnisheed)

garnishees (present singular third-person)
garnisheeing (participle present)
garnisheed (participle past)
garnisheed (past)

Her bank account was garnisheed to pay an outstanding tax debt.

(transitive, law) To have (money) set aside by court order (particularly for the payment of alleged debts); to garnish.


modality

en-noun

modality (countable and uncountable, plural modalities)

(law) The quality of being limited by a condition.


prosecution

prosecution (countable and uncountable, plural prosecutions)

Equivalent to prosecute + -ion, from Middle French prosecution, from Late Latin prōsecutio, from Latin prōsequor (“follow, pursue”), from pro- (“onward”) + sequor (“follow”) (English sequel). Compare persecution, and see more at prosecute.

Such a scandal as the prosecution of a brother for forgery—with a verdict of guilty—is a most truly horrible, deplorable, fatal thing. It takes the respectability out of a family perhaps at a critical moment, when the family is just assuming the robes of respectability: […] it is a black spot which all the soaps ever advertised could never wash off.

1892, Walter Besant, “Prologue: Who is Edmund Gray?”, in The Ivory Gate […], New York, N.Y.: Harper & Brothers, […], →OCLC:

The justices declared that the statute does not establish a age of consent, and declared that in future prosecutions of persons charged with "indecent assault and battery" the state will have to prove that the alleged victim did not consent to the act.

1983 December 10, Larry Goldsmith, “Massachusetts Court Rules on Age of Consent”, in Gay Community News, volume 11, number 21, page 1:

(law) The institution of legal proceedings (particularly criminal) against a person.

مُقَاضَاة

the institution of legal proceedings against a person

criminal prosecution; criminal prosecution

Strafverfolgung f strafrechtliche Verfolgung

абвінава́чванне

the prosecuting party of the institution of legal proceedings

The prosecution case was that the men forced the sisters to strip, threw their clothes over the bridge, then raped them and participated in forcing them to jump into the river to their deaths. As he walked off the bridge, Clemons was alleged to have said: "We threw them off. Let's go."

2012 August 21, Ed Pilkington, “Death penalty on trial: should Reggie Clemons live or die?”, in The Guardian:

(law) In many countries, a legal body and institution, usually part of the state apparatus, empowered to perform prosecution. Prosecutor's Office. See Prosecutor.


SR

SR (countable and uncountable, plural SRs)

(law, politics) Initialism of state resolution.

(law, politics) Initialism of senate resolution.


privileged

en-adj

privileged (comparative more privileged, superlative most privileged)

more privileged (comparative)
most privileged (superlative)

(law) Not subject to legal discovery due to a protected status.


retention

en-noun

retention (countable and uncountable, plural retentions)

From Middle English retencioun, borrowed from Latin retentiō, retentiōnis, from retentus, the perfect passive participle of retineō (“retain”) (from re- (“back, again”) + teneō (“hold, keep”)).

The right of retention, which bears a near resemblance to compensation, is chiefly competent where the mutual debts, not being liquid, cannot be the ground of compensation

1754, John Erskine of Carnock, (Please provide the book title or journal name):

(law) The right to withhold a debt, or of retaining property until a debt due to the person claiming the right is duly paid; a lien.

pidätysoikeus

right to retain property until a debt is paid


assignment

assignment (countable and uncountable, plural assignments)

assignment (computer science)
homework assignment
sex assignment

From Middle English assignement, from Old French assignement. By surface analysis, assign + -ment.

The assignment of the lease has not been finalised yet.

(law) A transfer of a right or benefit from one person to another.

Once you receive the assignment in the post, be sure to sign it and send it back as soon as possible.

(law) A document that effects this transfer.


inhibition

inhibition (countable and uncountable, plural inhibitions)

/ɪnhɪˈbɪʃən/

From Middle English inhibicioun, inhibicione from Old French inibicion, from Latin inhibitio.
Morphologically inhibit + -ion.

(law) A writ from a higher court to an inferior judge to stay proceedings.


positivism

positivism (countable and uncountable, plural positivisms)

Borrowed from French positivisme, from positif (“positive”). Equivalent to positive + -ism.

(law) A school of thought in jurisprudence in which the law is seen as separated from moral values; i.e. the law is posited by lawmakers (humans).


Chewbacca defense

Chewbacca defense (plural Chewbacca defenses)

Chewbacca (a character from the 1977 film Star Wars) + defense; coined in "Chef Aid", a 1998 episode of South Park.

But at this point John Taylor, at least — and I believe he's not alone — has gone full Chewbacca defense.

2013 July 12, Paul Krugman, “The Monetary Debate: Enter Chewbacca”, The Conscience of a Liberal, in The New York Times:

(law, humorous) Any legal strategy or propaganda strategy that seeks to overwhelm its audience with nonsensical arguments, as a way of confusing the audience and drowning out legitimate opposing arguments.

Chef Aid
Chewbacca
Chewbacca defense
South Park


tithing

From Middle English tithyng, from Old English tēoþung or tēoðung, from tēoða (“a tithe”) + -ing (suffix forming patronymics and diminutives) and tēoðian (“to tithe”) + -ung (suffix forming verbal nouns). Equivalent to tithe + -ing.

(historical, law) A body of households (originally a tenth of a hundred or ten households) bound by frankpledge to collective responsibility and punishment for each other's behavior.

(historical, law) A part of the hundred as a rural division of territory.

tithingman

oath-bound division of the hundred, leader

decenary

oath-bound division of the hundred, member


visitation

visitation (countable and uncountable, plural visitations)

/ˌvɪzɪˈteɪʃən/

From Anglo-Norman visitacioun, from Old French visitacion, from Latin vīsitātiō.

(law) The right of a separated or divorced parent to visit a child; access.


foreclosure

foreclosure (countable and uncountable, plural foreclosures)

From foreclose by analogy with closure, equivalent to fore- + closure.

(law) The proceeding, by a creditor, to regain property or other collateral following a default on mortgage payments.


verbal assault

If a pupil enrolled in grade six or above committed a verbal assault at school against school personnel, described above, and the assault were reported to the school board by the victim, the school board or its designee would be required, after affording the required due process, to suspend the pupil from the school district for 10 days. […]

1998, Michigan Senate Fiscal Agency, S.B. 313 (S-1), First Analysis: Student Expulsion for Assault, page 2:

The only evidence of a verbal assault is the one Mr. Comstock and Mr. Solomon made on me. They made their threatening and intimidating statement to me after I complied with directions Judge Jeff B. Clark gave during the September 17,2007 hearing.

2008, Victoria Laney, testimony to the Florida House Committee on Condominiums & Homeowners Association Governance http://www.myfloridahouse.gov/sections/Documents/loaddoc.aspx?PublicationType=Committees&CommitteeId=2436&Session=2008&DocumentType=Action%20Packets&FileName=Condo_%20Action_02_16_08%20%28OCR%29%20%20%20.pdf

Any student in grades six or above who commits a verbal assault against any school employee, volunteer, or contractor will be suspended or expelled. […]

2009, Laingsburg Elementary School, Student Handbook 2009-2010, page 14:

(US, law) Oral or written speech that creates, or is intended to create, a fear of physical harm.

口頭攻擊

oral or written speech that creates a fear of physical harm


finding

From Middle English fyndyng, Old English findincge; equivalent to find + -ing.

(law) A formal conclusion by a judge, jury or regulatory agency on issues of fact.


recovery

recovery (countable and uncountable, plural recoveries)

From Middle English recoveree, from Old French recovree, from recovrer (“recover”).

(law) A verdict giving somebody the right to recover debts or costs.


contemn

en-verb

contemn (third-person singular simple present contemns, present participle contemning, simple past and past participle contemned)

contemns (present singular third-person)
contemning (participle present)
contemned (participle past)
contemned (past)

From Middle English contempnen, from Old French contemner, from Latin contemnere (“to scorn”). See also contempt.

(law) To commit an offence of contempt, such as contempt of court; to unlawfully flout (e.g. a ruling).


court of last resort

en-noun

court of last resort (plural courts of last resort)

(law) The final court of appeal in a jurisdiction; a supreme court.


civil procedure

(law) A body of rules that regulate the administration of civil trials and appeals.


sidebar

(US, law) A short conference, between a judge and the attorneys of a case, held outside the hearing of the jury and the spectators at the court.

(US, law) The place in the courtroom where such a conference happens.


folio

From Middle English folio (“leaf of a book”), borrowed from Medieval Latin foliō, Late Latin foliō, Latin foliō, the ablative singular form of Late Latin folium (“leaf or sheet of paper”), Latin folium (“leaf of a plant”), ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *bʰleh₃- (“bloom, flower”). Doublet of foil and folium, and distantly related to phyllo and phyllon.
Senses 1, 2, 3.1, 5, and 6 relating to a leaf or page are derived from Medieval Latin foliō in references; sense 5 (“page in an account book”) may be derived from Italian foglio (“rectangular sheet of paper”), from Latin folium. Senses 3.2 and 3.3 relating to a paper size are from Italian in foglio or its etymon Latin in foliō.

der

[page 172] When actions are brought in the Courts of King's Bench or Common Pleas, founded upon original writs issuing out of the Courts of Chancery (which writs, as stated in the Report of the 9th of April 1816, it is the duty of the Cursitors to make out) it has been the practice in certain cases for the Filacers of the Courts of King's Bench and Common Pleas respectively, to receive from the Suitors the King's fines (if any) and also the fees payable to the Cursitors in respect of such original writs, and afterwards to account to the Cursitors for the fines and fees so received. […] [page 176] The Cursitors have claimed before us a right to compute the skin in all cases, at twenty folios, each folio containing seventy-two words; and to charge 1 s. 4 d. for every folio, instead of the fees now taken per folio or per skin, where the writ in charged in that manner. In support of this claim they have contended, that twenty folios of seventy-two words each, were established by the Order of 1743, as the length of a skin; […] The writ [of Transgress' super Casum], exclusive of the part containing the matter of the declaration, contains less than two folios of seventy-two words each; common counts are stated to contain usually, from two to three folios; special counts are usually longer, and sometimes of a much greater length.

1817 December 20, House of Commons of the United Kingdom, “Second Report of the Commissioners for Examining into the Duties, Salaries and Emoluments, of the Officers, Clerks and Ministers, of the Several Courts of Justice, in England, Wales, and Berwick-upon-Tweed;—as to the Court of Chancery”, in Reports from Committees: Fever; Ireland; Courts of Justice: Session 27 January – 10 June, 1818, volume VII, [London]: [s.n.], published 6 April 1818, →OCLC, pages 172 and 176:

If the office copy of a Will or any part of a Will or other document is required to be made fac-simile, and such Will or part of a Will or other document is two folios of ninety words in length or under, in addition to the fee for the copy … … … … [£]0 1[s.] 0[d.] / If exceeding two folios of ninety words, for every additional folio or part of a folio … … [£]0 0[s.] 6[d.]

1862, George Henry Cooper (reporter), Alexander Staveley Hill (reporter), “Fees to be Taken in the Principal Registry of the Court of Probate in Non-contentious Business”, in The Law Journal Reports for the Year 1862: Cases in the Court of Probate, in the Court for Divorce and Matrimonial Causes, and in the High Court of Admiralty (New Series; XXXI), volume XL, part IV, London: Printed by James Holmes, 4, Took's Court, Chancery Lane; published by Edward Bret Ince, 5, Quality Court, Chancery Lane, →OCLC, page 64:

(law, dated) A leaf containing a certain number of words; hence, a certain number of words in a piece of writing, as in England, in law proceedings 72, and in chancery, 90; in New York, 100 words.

arkki

leaf containing a certain number of words; certain number of words in a piece of writing


perempt

en-verb

perempt (third-person singular simple present perempts, present participle perempting, simple past and past participle perempted)

perempts (present singular third-person)
perempting (participle present)
perempted (participle past)
perempted (past)

Borrowed from Latin peremptum, past participle of perimere.


novation

en-noun

novation (countable and uncountable, plural novations)

Borrowed from Latin novātiō (“a renewing, rennovation”), from novō, from novus (“new”). Compare novel, novelty.

bor

1998, London Clearing House, submission to the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission http://www.cftc.gov/opa/press98/opa4163-98-att.htm
Netting by novation will occur immediately upon registration of the transaction in the SCM's name.

A similar novation of infrastructure ownership was seen as a logical development for the operation of Merseyrail services. But this has remained with Network Rail, […].

2024 September 18, 'Industry Insider', “GBR starts to take form”, in RAIL, number 1018, page 84:

(law) Replacement of a contract with one or more new contracts, in particular in financial markets the replacement of a contract between a particular buyer and seller with contracts between the clearing house and each party.

An example of a novation is where an original debt which was payable in two instalments is novated to become payable in five installments.

(law) A new contract between the original contracting parties whereby the first obligation is extinguished and a new obligation is substituted.


passing

en-noun

passing (countable and uncountable, plural passings)


Anton Piller order

Anton Piller order (plural Anton Piller orders)

Named after the 1976 British case of Anton Piller KG v Manufacturing Processes Limited, a leading case on the issuance of such orders (Anton Piller KG, the plaintiff and party requesting the order, was a German manufacturing firm).

(law) A court order allowing a plaintiff to go to someone's premises and seize documents (entry must be with that person's permission, but if refused would be a contempt of court). Used in extreme cases when a prospective defendant might destroy documents, especially computer files, if they knew a court case was coming.


precarious

en-adj

precarious (comparative more precarious, superlative most precarious)

more precarious (comparative)
most precarious (superlative)

From Latin precārius (“begged for, obtained by entreaty”), from prex, precis (“prayer”). Compare French précaire, Portuguese precário, and Spanish and Italian precario.

uder

/pɹɪˈkɛə.ɹɪ.əs/

(law) Depending on the intention of another.

widerruflich

(law) depending on the intention of another


clemency

en-noun

clemency (countable and uncountable, plural clemencies)

смекчаване

moderation of the severity of a punishment

Judicial intervention might, for example, be warranted in the face of a scheme whereby a state official flipped a coin to determine whether to grant clemency, or in a case where the State arbitrarily denied a prisoner any access to its clemency process.

2000, Sandra Day O'Connor, Supreme Court of the United States, edited by Frank D. Wagner, Ohio Adult Parole Authority v. Woodard, 523 U.S. 272 (1998) (United States Reports; 523) (judicial opinion), Washington: United States Government Printing Office, →ISBN, Opinion of O'Connor, J., page 289:

(law) A pardon, commutation, or similar reduction, removal, or postponement of legal penalties by an executive officer of a state.

rangaistuksen lievennys

legal: pardon, commutation or similar reduction, removal, or postponement of legal penalties


no liability

It was originally estimated that the mill of the Kingsgate Molybdenite No Liability, Kingsgate, NSW, would have been completed by the end of March,[…].

1918, Australian Mining, volume 11, page 210:

The use of no-liability companies is restricted to companies whose sole objective is mining, as designated by the Corporations Law. However, it is not necessary for a mining company to be a no-liability company.

1993, Doing business in Australia, Price: Waterhouse & Co, Part 66, page 65:

A company may be registered as a no liability company only if:
(a) the company has a share capital; and
(b) the company′s constitution states that its sole objects are mining purposes; and
(c) the company has no contractual right under its constitution to recover calls made on its shares from a shareholder who fails to pay them.

2011, Australian Corporations & Securities Legislation 2011: Corporations Act 2001, page 183:

(Australia, business, law) A form of limited liability that may be used by mining companies, under which the shareholders may pay a company debt by surrendering shares in lieu of money.


sumptuary

en-adj

sumptuary (comparative more sumptuary, superlative most sumptuary)

more sumptuary (comparative)
most sumptuary (superlative)

/-t͡ʃəˌwɛɹi/

From Latin sūmptuārius (“of or relating to expenditure, sumptuary; person in charge of household expenses”) + English -ary (suffix meaning ‘of or pertaining to’ forming adjectives). Sūmptuārius is derived from sūmptus (“charge, cost, expense”) + -ārius (suffix forming adjectives); and sūmptus from sūmō (“to catch, seize, take; to acquire, get, obtain; to apply, employ, use; to consume, spend”) (from sub- (prefix meaning ‘below, beneath, under’) + emō (“to acquire, procure; to buy, purchase”) (from Proto-Indo-European *h₁em- (“to distribute; to take”))) + -tus (suffix forming action nouns from verbs).
cognates
* Middle French sumptuaire (modern French somptuaire)
* Italian sontuario
* Portuguese suntuário
* Spanish suntuario

der

Some vvill vvonder, that Empſon and Dudley (the Royal Promoters then in prime) did not catch him [Nicholas Vaux, 1st Baron Vaux of Harrowden] by the Collar, or pick an hole in his Govvn, upon the breach of ſome ruſty ſumptuary Statute; the rather, becauſe lately the Earl of Oxford vvas heavily fined for ſupernumerous attendance.

a. 1662 (date written), Thomas Fuller, “Northampton-shire”, in The History of the Worthies of England, London: […] J[ohn] G[rismond,] W[illiam] L[eybourne] and W[illiam] G[odbid], published 1662, →OCLC, page 298:

When Sunday came, it was indeed a day of finery, which all my ſumptuary edicts could not reſtrain. How well ſo ever I fancied my lectures againſt pride had conquered the vanity of my daughters; yet I ſtill found them ſecretly attached to all their former finery: […]

1766, [Oliver Goldsmith], “A Proof that Even the Humblest Fortune may Grant Happiness and Delight, which Depend Not on Circumstance, but Constitution”, in The Vicar of Wakefield: […], volume I, Salisbury, Wiltshire: […] B. Collins, for F[rancis] Newbery, […], →OCLC, page 37:

Out upon the folly of modern liberty, which has abolished sumptuary laws, and left us to all the horrors of our own inventions! Liberty of conscience is bad enough—the liberty of the press is still worse—but worst of all is liberty of taste in dress to common people.

1831, L[etitia] E[lizabeth] L[andon], chapter XIV, in Romance and Reality. […], volume I, London: Henry Colburn and Richard Bentley, […], →OCLC, page 123:

Apparently, Henry VII visited the city [Bristol] in 1487, "taking care to entail a sumptuary fine on the citizens because their wives dressed too gaudily".

2023 January 11, Stephen Roberts, “Bradshaw's Britain: castles and cathedrals”, in RAIL, number 974, page 55:

Chiefly in sumptuary law: of a law, regulation, etc.: intended to limit or restrain the expenditure of citizens in apparel, food, furniture, etc., or to forbid the use of certain articles (especially luxurious ones), to regulate the prices of commodities and the wages of labour, or to reinforce morals or social hierarchies.

sumptuari

(by extension) Of or relating to sumptuary laws or regulations.

sumptuari

of or relating to sumptuary laws or regulations


hit and run

en-noun

hit and run (countable and uncountable, plural hit and runs)

LL-Q1860 (eng)-Flame, not lame-hit and run.wav

But why don't you grab your old lady by the feet / And just lay her out in the darkest street / And by morning, she's just another hit and run

1978, Lou Reed (lyrics and music), “Street Hassle”, in Street Hassle:

(law) The crime of causing a traffic collision, and leaving without acknowledging responsibility.

肇事逃逸

the crime of causing an accident and leaving

bégstvo vodítelja s mésta doróžnovo proisšéstvija

бе́гство води́теля с ме́ста доро́жного происше́ствия


bucket shop

(law) A legal services firm selling heavily discounted legal services and documents made in large volume from boilerplate text and clauses, sometimes as a white labelled loss leader.


corporate veil

(law) The principle of a corporation being a separate legal person from its members (ie. shareholders).


inducement

inducement (countable and uncountable, plural inducements)

(law) An introductory statement of facts or background information.


limited partnership

limited partnership (plural limited partnerships)

(law) A form of partnership including limited partners whose potential liability is limited to their investment.


supplies

(chiefly law) Financial resources supplied, often for a particular purpose.


mopery

From mope + -ery, from mope (“to wander aimlessly”).

(law, US) An imaginary or trivial legal offense.


low bono

(US, law) Of legal work: offered at a discounted rate, especially to underrepresented communities.


intendment

intendment (countable and uncountable, plural intendments)

(law) the sense in which the legal system interprets something, especially the intention of legislation

понима́ние

зако́на (zakóna)


third party

(law) Someone only incidentally or tangentially connected to an incident or dispute; someone other than the principals; a bystander or independent witness.


summons

→ Bengali: সমন (śomon)

→ Cebuano: sumon

→ Malay: saman

→ English: saman

→ English: summon

From Middle English somouns (“order or command to do something”), borrowed from Old French sumunce (modern French semonce), from Vulgar Latin *summonsa, a noun use of the feminine past participle of summoneō, summonēre (“to summon”).

inh

(law) A notice summoning someone to appear in court, as a defendant, juror or witness.


intromission

en-noun

intromission (countable and uncountable, plural intromissions)

From Latin intro-, "into", + mission', "sending", from Latin missio, from perfect passive participle missus, "sent", from verb mittere, "send", + noun of action -io. Commonly used to refer to the instant at which sexual intercourse begins, when the penis first slides into (enters) the vagina.

(law, Scotland) An intermeddling with the affairs of another, either on legal grounds or without authority.


domicile

From Middle English domicelle, domicylie, from Middle French domicile and directly from Latin domicilium.

the status of marriage has been indelibly fixed by the English celebration; and by this decision, her domicile, as a married woman, has been held to be that of her husband

1838, Reports of Cases Decided in the Supreme Courts of Scotland:

(law) A residence at a particular place accompanied with an intention to remain there for an unlimited time; a residence accepted as a final abode.


seduction

seduction (countable and uncountable, plural seductions)

Borrowed from Middle French séduction, from Latin seductio, from sēdūcō.

(dated, law, in English common law) The felony of, as a man, inducing a previously chaste unmarried female to engage in sexual intercourse on a promise of marriage.


reasons

The appellants sought at the hearing of the appeal, for the first time, to file the reasons of the Federal High Court of Nigeria for dismissing the respondent's motion to strike. Although the reasons were released February 2, 2015 and the motion before Perell J. was heard March 2, 2015, the reasons were not before the motion judge.

2015 November 17, Jean L. MacFarland, “James Bay Resources Limited v. Mak Mera Nigeria Limited, 2015 ONCA 781”, in CanLII, retrieved 2024-06-05:

(law, plural only) A written judgment or ruling by a judge or similar decision maker.


untried

(law) Not put on trial; not taken before a legal court.


whitelist

(law, computing) A list or collection of people or entities that are known, trusted, or explicitly permitted.


jurisconsult

/ˌd͡ʒʊəɹɪskənˈsʌlt/

/ˌd͡ʒʊəɹɪsˈkɒnsʌlt/

From Latin iūris consultus (“one skilled in the law”).

bor

The Court shall be composed of a body of independent judges, elected regardless of their nationality from among persons of high moral character, who possess the qualifications required in their respective countries for appointment to the highest judicial offices, or are jurisconsults of recognized competence in international law.

1945, United Nations, Statute of International Court of Justice:


short title

Foreign Interference (Countermeasures) Act 2021

The short title of this Act is the Companies Act 2006.

2006, Parliament of the United Kingdom, Companies Act 2006, section 1298:

(law, Commonwealth, US, Philippines) A title given to an act (or other piece of legislation) to facilitate citation; generally used as the common name for that legislation.


suspended

Caused to stop for a while; interrupted or delayed.


perpetuate

en-verb

perpetuate (third-person singular simple present perpetuates, present participle perpetuating, simple past and past participle perpetuated)

perpetuates (present singular third-person)
perpetuating (participle present)
perpetuated (participle past)
perpetuated (past)
perpetuate (infinitive)

/pəˈpɛt͡ʃʊeɪt/

/pɚˈpɛt͡ʃəˌweɪt/

From Late Middle English perpetuate (adjective only), borrowed from Latin perpetuātus (“perpetuated”) + English -ate (suffix meaning ‘characterized by [the specified thing]’ forming adjectives, and ‘to act in [the specified manner]’ forming verbs). Perpetuātus is the perfect passive participle of perpetuō (“to cause to continue uninterruptedly, to proceed with continually, to make perpetual, perpetuate”), from perpetuus (“everlasting, perpetual”) (from per- (prefix meaning ‘very’) + petō (“to ask, request; to look for; to make for (somewhere)”) (ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *peth₂- (“to spread out; to fly”)) + -uus (suffix forming adjectives)) + -ō (suffix forming regular first-conjugation verbs).
cognates
* Catalan perpetuar
* Italian perpetuare
* Old French perpetué (adjective) (Middle French perpetué (adjective)); Middle French perpétuer (verb) (modern French perpétuer (verb))
* Old Occitan perpetuar
* Portuguese perpetuar
* Spanish perpetuar

säilyttää

If vvitneſſes to a diſputable fact are old and infirm, it is very uſual to file a bill to perpetuate the teſtimony of thoſe vvitneſſes, although no ſuit is depending; for, it may be, a man's antagoniſt only vvaits for the death of ſome of them to begin his ſuit. This is moſt frequent vvhen lands are deviſed by vvill avvay from the heir at lavv; and the deviſee, in order to perpetuate the teſtimony of the vvitneſſes to ſuch vvill, exhibits a bill in chancery againſt the heir, […]

1768, William Blackstone, “Of Proceedings in the Courts of Equity”, in Commentaries on the Laws of England, book III (Of Private Wrongs), Oxford, Oxfordshire: […] Clarendon Press, →OCLC, page 450:

It appears to me that this bill makes out no case for perpetuating testimony. Although it was true that the validity of the will could not, by reason of the lease, be immediately tried with the devises in trust, yet it may be immediately tried by an action for rent against the tenant. Testimony can be perpetuated only where by no means the Plaintiff can presently assert his title to the property.

1822 December 17, John Leach, Vice-Chancellor, “Dew v. Clarke”, in The English Reports, volume LVII (Vice-Chancellor’s Court, volume II), Edinburgh: William Green & Sons; London: Stevens & Sons, published October 1905, →OCLC, page 46:

(transitive) To make (something) perpetual; to make (something) continue for an indefinite time; also, to preserve (something) from extinction or oblivion.

(law) To record (the testimony of a witness) which may be lost before a matter comes to trial.


deposition

en-noun

deposition (countable and uncountable, plural depositions)

From Middle English deposicion, from Old French deposicion (French déposition), from Latin depositio.

calcium pyrophosphate dihydrate deposition disease

(law) The process of taking sworn testimony out of court; the testimony so taken.


blacklist

The software included a lengthy blacklist of disreputable websites to block.

(law, computing) A list or set of people or entities to be shunned or banned, disallowed or blocked.


negotiorum gestio

Borrowed from Latin negotiōrum gestiō (literally “management of business”).

bor

MT ARGUN; SHERIFF OF CAPE TOWN AND ANOTHER v MT ARGUN, HER OWNERS AND ALL PERSONS INTERESTED IN HER AND ANOTHER 2000 (4) SA 857 (C) @ 685.
The gestor is only entitled to reimbursement of expenses and not to remuneration, the underlying principle being that negotiorum gestio arises from an act of generosity and friendship and is not aimed at allowing the gestor to make a profit out of his administration.

(law) A situation in which a gestor acts on behalf of a principal for the benefit of that principal, but without the consent of that principal


vacatur

Latin third person singular present indicative passive of vacare (“it is made null and void”).

(law) An announcement in court that something is cancelled or set aside; an annulment.


lex lata

Borrowed from Latin lēx lāta (“the law borne”) (see below).

1997, Lyal S Sunga, The Emerging System of International Criminal Law http://books.google.com/books?ie=UTF-8&hl=en&vid=ISBN9041104720&id=Dbb8eQH-vbQC&pg=PA127&lpg=PA127&sig=3A8fBOXMx7bQAO7AWXOIUA6Lzyw
At that point, little purpose would be served in maintaining categories fashioned so closely to the lex lata that the Code would crystallize traditional technical distinctions.

2000, Nikolaos K. Tsagourias, The Jurisprudence of International Law http://books.google.com/books?ie=UTF-8&hl=en&vid=ISBN0719054656&id=V_YiUMuaIQwC&pg=PA30&lpg=PA30&sig=Gpm22qlBVtypDtVqQreLbz6pDrw
This also betrays an interest in transforming world order by approximating lex lata with lex ferenda.

Lex ferenda serves as a label for something which has at least conceptual existence, as a contrast or opposite to lex lata, the law that exists and obliges the subjects of law to adopt, or to refrain from, certain defined courses of conduct in certain defined circumstances.

2002, Netherlands Yearbook of International Law, 2001 http://books.google.com/books?ie=UTF-8&hl=en&vid=ISBN9067041556&id=7tV2LgZzjn8C&lpg=PA5&pg=PA4&sig=tqI91yfti-e5shuss0twPraRca8


enfranchise

en-verb

enfranchise (third-person singular simple present enfranchises, present participle enfranchising, simple past and past participle enfranchised)

enfranchises (present singular third-person)
enfranchising (participle present)
enfranchised (participle past)
enfranchised (past)

From Old French enfranchir (“to set free, enfranchise”), from en- (“in”) + franchir (“to set free”), equivalent to en- + franchise.

uder

(property law, England and Wales, historical) to convert a copyhold estate into a freehold estate


SPC

en-noun

SPC (countable and uncountable, plural SPCs)

(patent law) Initialism of supplementary protection certificate.


force majeure

force majeure (usually uncountable, plural forces majeures)

/ˌfɔːs mæˈʒɜː/

/ˌfoɹs mɑˈʒɜɹ/

PIE word
 *méǵh₂s
Borrowed from French force majeure (“exceptionally strong or superior force; (law) unavoidable circumstance that prevents someone from fulfilling a legal obligation”), from force (“force”) (ultimately from Latin fortis (“powerful, strong”) and Proto-Indo-European *bʰerǵʰ- (“to ascend, rise up; to be elevated, up high”) or *dʰerǵʰ- (“robust, strong”)) + majeure (the feminine singular of majeur (“of great importance, major”), ultimately from Latin māior (“greater; large”), from Proto-Indo-European *méǵh₂s (“big; great”)).

der

Brazil's largest trader of sugar and ethanol declared force majeure to some third party exporters of sugar with contracts to ship through its Santos Port terminal that burned down on Friday, sources in the sugar trade said.

2013 October 22, “Brazil’s Copersucar Declares Force Majeure to 3rd Party Sugar Shippers”, in Reuters, archived from the original on 2023-11-17:

18. GNM [Guardian News & Media Limited] shall not be liable for any failure to comply with its obligations where the failure is caused by something outside its reasonable control. Such circumstances shall include, but not be limited to, weather conditions, fire, flood, hurricane, strike, industrial dispute, war, hostilities, political unrest, riots, civil commotion, inevitable accidents, supervening legislation or any other circumstances amounting to force majeure.

2013 November 3, “Observer Magazine Competition: Win a Moncrief bag and Ipad case! [terms and conditions]”, in The Observer, London, archived from the original on 2021-11-23:

Dated 14 July, the letter from the Russian state gas monopoly said it was declaring force majeure on supplies, starting from 14 June. Known as an "act of God" clause, a force majeure clause is standard in business contracts and spells out extreme circumstances that excuse a party from their legal obligations.

2022 July 18, Reuters, “Russia’s Gazprom tells European buyers it cannot guarantee gas supplies”, in Katharine Viner, editor, The Guardian, London: Guardian News & Media, →ISSN, →OCLC, archived from the original on 2022-09-19:

(law) An unavoidable circumstance, especially one that prevents someone from fulfilling a legal (usually contractual) obligation.


cloud on title

"Although the laws of a State cannot affect the equity jurisdiction of the Circuit Courts, when the former afford rules as to what shall be deemed clouds on title, the Circuit Courts of equity, in the exercise of an ancient chancery jurisdiction, may remove such clouds."

1856, “Bayerque v. Cohen et al.”, in Reports of Cases Argued and Determined in the Circuit Court of the United States for the Districts of California, page 113:

"A cloud on title is an instrument which may be used vexatiously or injuriously against the owner of land, or which may cast suspicion on the validity of his title so as to render his land unsaleable at its full value."

1914, Eugene Allen Gilmore, William Charles Wermuth, Modern American Law, page 88:

"Clouds on title are usually revealed by a title search and may be removed from the record by a quitclaim deed or a quiet title proceeding initiated by the property owner."

2000, John W. Reilly, The Language of Real Estate, page 71:

(property law) An encumbrance or claim on a title (ownership) to real property sufficient to interfere with title transfer until the problem has been resolved.


adulterer

Coordinate term: fornicator

en:one who commits adultery
en:unfaithful spouse

(law, strictly) A spouse who has sex with a non-spouse.

One who commits adultery.
A spouse who has sex with a non-spouse.


requisition

en-noun

requisition (countable and uncountable, plural requisitions)

/ˌɹɛkwɪˈzɪʃən/

From Middle English requisicion, from Old French requisicion, from Medieval Latin requisitio. By surface analysis, requisite + -ion or require + -ition in parallel to acquisition.

a requisition used upon an infeftment of annualrent

1828, John Erskine, An Institute of the Law of Scotland:

(law) A notarial demand for repayment of a debt.


reversioner

(law) A person who possesses the reversion to an estate or office.


annulment

annulment (countable and uncountable, plural annulments)

Recorded since the 15th century (sense destruction); from Middle English anullement, partly from annullen (from Middle French annuller, from Latin annūllāre, from ad (“to”) + nūllus (“not any, nothing”) + verbal ending -āre) + -ment (“means to”) (from Latin -mentum) and partly from Middle French annullement. By surface analysis, annul + -ment.

(law) An invalidation of something, especially a legal contract.

(law) A legal (notably judicial) declaration that a marriage is invalid; the procedure leading to it.

анулиране

invalidation; declaration of something as being invalid


reversion

reversion (countable and uncountable, plural reversions)

/ɹɪˈvɜːʒ(ə)n̩/

/ɹɪˈvɜːʃ(ə)n̩/

Borrowed into late Middle English from Old French reversion (modern réversion), from Latin reversio, from revertō. By surface analysis, revert + -sion.

Why nothing capital of my master's wardrobe has drop'd lately—but I could give you a mortgage on some of his winter Cloaths with equity of redemption before November or—you shall have the reversion—of the French velvet, or a post obit on the Blue and Silver—

1777, Richard Brinsley Sheridan, The School for Scandal, III.ii:

Each day too slew it’s^([sic]) thousands six or seven,
Till at the crowning carnage—Waterloo—
They threw their pens down in divine disgust,
The page was so besmeared with blood and dust. […]
(Here, Sathan’s sole good work deserves insertion—
’Tis, that he has both Generals in reversion).

1822, Lord Byron, The Vision of Judgement, stanza 6:

By the spring of 1972, however, Peking’s general anti-Japanese offensive was fading away in any case, and in mid-May the reversion of Okinawa to Japanese jurisdiction brought the Self-Defense Forces into the vicinity of the Tiao Yü T’ai (or Senkaku). Peking accordingly dropped the issue as suddenly as it had taken it up.

1975, Harold C. Hinton, “Japan: Power and Problems”, in Three and A Half Powers: The New Balance in Asia, Indiana University Press, →ISBN, →LCCN, →OCLC, page 223:

(property law) The return of an estate to the donor or grantor after expiry of the grant.

(property law) An estate which has been returned in this manner.

(property law) The right of succeeding to an estate, or to another possession.


idem sonans

Borrowed from Latin idem sonāns (“sounding the same”).

bor+

(law, of a name) Incorrectly spelled, but sufficiently correct to identify someone.


infangthief

/ˈɪnfæŋθiːf/

From Middle English infangthef, from Old English infangeneþēof (“infangthief”), from in- + fangen (“seized, taken”) + þēof (“thief”). See also infang.

inh

The wrought-iron gates (infangthief and outfangthief in heavy balls on the gate-posts) were open for their hard-breathing entry.

1964, Anthony Burgess, The Eve of St Venus:

in flagrante delicto
in flagrante delicto

(historical, law) A privilege of some feudal lords permitting them to execute summary judgment upon thieves captured within their estates, sometimes restricted to the lord's tenants or men and sometimes limited to those caught in flagrante delicto.


presents

Know all men by these presents...

NOW, THEREFORE, I, Gerald R. Ford, President of the United States, pursuant to the pardon power conferred upon me by Article II, Section 2, of the Constitution, have granted and by these presents do grant a full, free, and absolute pardon unto Richard Nixon for all offenses against the United States which he, Richard Nixon, has committed or may have committed or taken part in during the period from July^([sic – meaning January]) 20, 1969 through August 9, 1974.

1974 September 8, Gerald R. Ford, 00:24 from the start, in Proclamation 4311, archived from the original on 2017-05-18, page 2:

(law) The document in which the word presents appears.


disabled

en-adj

disabled (comparative more disabled, superlative most disabled)

more disabled (comparative)
most disabled (superlative)


messuage

From Late Middle English mesuage, messuage (“dwelling house, residence; farmstead; household”), from Anglo-Norman mesuage, messuage (“residence; holding”), probably from Late Latin mesuagium, messuagium, probably ultimately from Latin mānsiō (“abode, dwelling, habitation, home”) or its etymon mānsus (“having remained or stayed”), the perfect passive participle of maneō (“to abide; to remain, stay”), from Proto-Indo-European *men- (“to remain, stay”).
cognates
* Late Latin mansuagium
* Old French masuage (“property rented on an annual basis”)

cog

Dying intestate, Juan was sole heir / To a chancery suit, and messuages, and lands, / Which, with a long minority and care, / Promised to turn out well in proper hands: […]

1819 July 15, [Lord Byron], Don Juan, London: […] Thomas Davison, […], →OCLC, canto I, stanza XXXVII, page 21:

And be it further ordained and enacted by the Authority aforesaid, That the Right and Title of the said Ecclesiastics of the Seminary of Saint Sulpice of Montreal, in and to all and singular the said Fiefs and Seigniories of the Island of Montreal, of the Lake of the Two Mountains, and of Saint Sulpice, and their several Dependencies, and in and to all Seigniorial and Feudal Rights, Privileges, Dues, and Duties arising out of and from the same, and in and to all and every the Domains, Lands, Reservations, Buildings, Messuages, Tenements, and Hereditaments within the said several Fiefs and Seigniories now held and possessed by them as Proprietors thereof, […] shall be and they are hereby confirmed and declared good, valid, and effectual in the Law; […]

1840 June 8, C[harles] Poulett Thomson, “An Ordinance to Incorporate the Ecclesiastics of the Seminary of Saint Sulpice of Montreal; […] [No. 164 of 1840]”, in Copy of Ordinances Passed by the Governor and Special Council of Lower Canada, in the Third and Fourth Years of the Reign of Her Majesty Queen Victoria (Accounts and Papers, Parliament of the United Kingdom, House of Commons; 1841, session 1), volume XV, published 3 February 1841, →OCLC, pages 151–152:

She went—and in one month / They wedded her to sixty thousand pounds, / To lands in Kent and messuages in York, / And slight Sir Robert with his watery smile / And educated whisker.

1842, Alfred Tennyson, “[English Idyls and Other Poems. (Published 1842.)] Edwin Morris; or, The Lake”, in Poems, 8th edition, London: Edward Moxon, […], published 1853, →OCLC, page 235:

Matthias turned his lonely house into a mart where furniture, plate and titledeeds to fields and messuages could be brought, evaluated, and transferred to the hands of the primal twelve as administrators.

1985 September 1, Anthony Burgess, chapter 1, in The Kingdom of the Wicked, London: Allison & Busby, published 2009, →ISBN, page 74:

(chiefly law) Originally, a plot of land as the site for a dwelling house and its appurtenant interests; now, a dwelling house or residential building together with its outbuildings and assigned land.


time and a half

(law, business, human resources) A rate of pay 50% greater than normal, commonly used for overtime work.


tales

From Latin plural of talis (“such (persons)”).

(law) A person available to fill vacancies in a jury.

(law) A book or register of people available to fill jury vacancies.

(law) A writ to summon people to court to fill vacancies in a jury.


levant

(law) Rising or having risen from rest; said of cattle.


sublet

en-verb

sublet (third-person singular simple present sublets, present participle subletting, simple past and past participle sublet)

sublets (present singular third-person)
subletting (participle present)
sublet (participle past)
sublet (past)

(transitive, property law) To grant a sublease out of property held under a lease.


sublet

(property law, real estate, informal) Synonym of sublease.


herbage

en-noun

herbage (usually uncountable, plural herbages)

From Middle English herbage, from Old French erbage, from Early Medieval Latin herbāticum, from Latin herba (“grass”). By surface analysis, herb + -age.

(law) The natural pasture of a land, considered as distinct from the land itself; hence, right of pasture (on another man's land).


dark figure

In exploring the dark figure of crime, the primary question is not how much of it becomes revealed but rather what will be the selective properties of any particular innovation for its illumination.

1977, US Congressional House Committee on the Judiciary, Subcommittee on Crime, Suspension of the National Crime Survey, page 15:

The dark figure concerning these criminal offences, is very high and the attitude towards reporting such cases is not constant.

1992, Hisao Katoh, Louise I. Shelley, Hisao Katō, Hans-Günther Heiland, Crime and Control in Comparative Perspectives, Walter de Gruyter, page 49:

By definition, they ignore the unreported “dark figure” of crime. We turn now to a second source of official crime data.

2000, Piers Beirne, James W. Messerschmidt, Criminology:

Arguing that the dark figure is larger, perhaps very large (“The cases we know about are just the tip of the iceberg!”), makes any estimate seem possible, even reasonable.

2012, Joel Best, Damned Lies and Statistics […] , University of California Press, →ISBN, page 37:

(criminology, statistics) The estimated number of unreported criminal cases.


time immemorial

time immemorial (usually uncountable, plural times immemorial)

(UK law, uncountable) Time before 6 July 1189.


cognovit

(law) An instrument in writing whereby a defendant in an action acknowledges a plaintiff's demand to be just.


title deed

(law) A deed or similar document by which the title to property is conveyed between parties.

нотариален акт

deed by which the title to property is conveyed


outfangthief

From out- + fang + thief, formed—probably in Middle English [Term?]—after the model of infangthief, with the only Old English [Term?] attestation a spurious charter forged in the 1st half of the 12th century.

A grant of outfangthief imports the trial of those of his fee taken for felony in another precinct.

1822, John Comyns, Anthony Hammond, A Digest of the Laws of England, Butterworth & Son, page 328:

The addition of outfangandthef is much less usual [than infangthief]; it seems to have meant the right to try a man of the barony taken stealing outside the barony, if necessary repledging him to the barony court.

1990, David Maxwell Walker, A Legal History of Scotland, volume II, page 640:

(historical, law, properly, rare) A privilege of some feudal lords permitting them to execute summary judgment upon thieves (particularly their own tenants) captured outside their estates and to keep any chattels forfeited upon conviction.

But feudalism also contained another principle, and that was, that within his own territory each lord was absolute; his suzerain could not interfere with his jurisdiction; infangthief and outfangthief implied a very perfect and intelligible power of hanging and imprisoning as he pleased.

1845, John Henry Newman, Lives of the English Saints, ST Freemantle, p. 19

(historical, law, generally, rare) A privilege of some feudal lords permitting them to execute summary judgment upon all thieves captured within their estates, regardless of their origin.

(historical, law, rare, countable) A thief so captured and tried.


enfeoffment

enfeoffment (countable and uncountable, plural enfeoffments)

(law, common law) The act or process of transferring possession and ownership of an estate in land.

infeudació

act or process of transferring possession of land

(law, common law) The property or estate so transferred.

(law, common law) The instrument or deed by which one obtains such property or estate.


respite

respite (countable and uncountable, plural respites)

From Anglo-Norman and Old French respit (“rest”), from Latin respectus. Doublet of respect.

Thenne spake sir gawayn and sayd my lord Arthur I wold counceylle yow not to be ouer hasty but that ye wold putte it in respyte this Iugement of my lady the quene for many causes.
"Then spake Sir Gawaine, and said: My lord Arthur, I would counsel you not to be over-hasty, but that ye would put it in respite, this judgment of my lady the queen, for many causes."

1485, Thomas Malory, Le Morte Darthur Book XX, Chapter vii, leaf 404v:

The PACC Act [Post-Appeal Applications in Capital Cases Act] also amends the CPC [Criminal Procedure Code] to provide that a capital sentence may be carried out unless:[…]The President has ordered a respite.

2024 June 24, “Operationalisation of the Post-Appeal Applications in Capital Cases Act 2022”, in Ministry of Law (Singapore):

(law) A reprieve, especially from a sentence of death.

отсрочка

(law) reprieve, especially from a sentence of death

(law) The delay of appearance at court granted to a jury beyond the proper term.

Aussetzung des Verfahrens

(law) delay of appearance at court granted to a jury beyond the proper term


corruption of blood

The Congreſs shall have Power to declare the Punishment of Treason, but no Attainder of Treason shall work Corruption of Blood, or
Forfeiture except during the Life of the Person attainted.

1787 September 17, Constitutional Convention, Constitution of the United States, Philadelphia, →OCLC, page 3:

(historical, law) The doctrine in English common law that someone attainted of felony or treason has corrupt blood and so cannot inherit property and has no legal heirs.


abstract of title

abstract of title (countable and uncountable, plural abstracts of title)

(law, real estate) An epitome of the evidences of ownership; the condensed history of title to a particular parcel of real estate, with encumbrances.


in re

From Latin, literally meaning "in the matter [of]".

Various groups throughout the country are thinking in terms of having a counter-demonstration in re the Fundamentalists' March to Return Morality to America.

1979 December 29, Vern Hall-Smith, “Fundamentalists March”, in Gay Community News, volume 7, number 23, page 5:

(chiefly law) In the matter of; with regard to.


remise

From Anglo-Norman remis, Middle French remis, past participle of remettre (“to remit”); Middle French remise (noun), from feminine past participle of remettre (“to remit”).

(obsolete, law) A return or surrender of a claim, property etc.


livery

livery (countable and uncountable, plural liveries)

From Middle English livery, liveree, from Anglo-Norman liveree, from Old French livree. Compare modern French livrée.

(law) The delivery of property from one owner to the next.

(law) The writ by which property is obtained.


reprise

From Middle English reprise (noun) and reprisen (verb), from Old French reprise, from reprendre. In some senses borrowed anew from Modern French reprise.

(law, in the plural) Deductions and duties paid yearly out of a manor and lands, as rent charge, pensions, annuities, etc.; also spelled reprizes.


escheatment

(law) The process of transferring unclaimed or abandoned property to a state authority, especially when a person dies intestate.


foreman

→ Gulf Arabic: فورمن (fōrman)

From Middle English foremon, forman; equivalent to fore- + man. Compare West Frisian foarman, Dutch voorman, German Vormann, Danish formand, Swedish förman, Icelandic formaður.

(law) The member of a jury who presides over it and speaks on its behalf.


rule on

en-verb

rule on (third-person singular simple present rules on, present participle ruling on, simple past and past participle ruled on)

rules on (present singular third-person)
ruling on (participle present)
ruled on (participle past)
ruled on (past)

The judge hasn't ruled on the case yet.

(law, transitive) To make a decision in an official capacity regarding some matter.


solicitation

en-noun

solicitation (countable and uncountable, plural solicitations)

/səˌlɪsɪˈteɪʃən/

From Middle French sollicitation, from Latin sollicitātiō.

(US, law) an inchoate offense that consists of a person offering money or inducing another to commit a crime with the specific intent that the person solicited commit the crime


lis pendens

From Latin lis (“dispute”) + pendens (“pending”).

(law) A notice of pending litigation against a property.


conveyance

conveyance (countable and uncountable, plural conveyances)

(law) An instrument transferring title of an object from one person or group of persons to another.


conveyance

en-verb

conveyance (third-person singular simple present conveyances, present participle conveyancing, simple past and past participle conveyanced)

conveyances (present singular third-person)
conveyancing (participle present)
conveyanced (participle past)
conveyanced (past)

(law, transitive) To transfer (the title) of an object from one person or group of persons to another.


irritant

From French irritant, equivalent to irritate + -ant.

The states elected Harry, Duke of Anjou, for their king, with this clause irritant; that, if he did violate any part of his oath, the people should owe him no allegiance.

1603, Hayward, An Answer to the first part of a certaine conference concerning succession:

(law, Scotland) Rendering null and void; conditionally invalidating.


disapply

disapply (third-person singular simple present disapplies, present participle disapplying, simple past and past participle disapplied)

disapplies (present singular third-person)
disapplying (participle present)
disapplied (participle past)
disapplied (past)

If we were to accept Amendment No. 144D, the effect of that would be to disapply the definition from properties that are not yet on the market.

2004 October 19, House of Lords Hansard for 19 Oct 2004, pt 5:

Article 4 does not require Italy to disapply its domestic legislation governing the sale of insect repellent products on the ground that, in another Member State, Germany in this instance, their marketing is not subject to any authorisation or registration.

2004 February 12, Opinion of Advocate General Ruiz-Jarabo, Court of Justice of the European Communities, in Case C-443/02, point 54:

The hard-right New Conservatives grouping demanded that Sunak’s new legislation “must disapply the Human Rights Act”, while the former home secretary Suella Braverman, who was sacked by Sunak last week, said the new bill must exclude all avenues of legal challenge.

2023 November 19, Rajeev Syal, “Sunak could block Human Rights Act to force through Rwanda asylum plan”, in The Guardian, →ISSN:

(transitive, law) To decline to apply a rule or law that previously applied


mutuum

From Middle English [Term?], from Latin mūtuum (“loan”), neuter substantive of mūtuus (“borrowed, lent”).

(Roman law, civil law) A loan of a fungible thing to be restored by a similar thing of the same kind, quantity, and quality.


renunciation

en-noun

renunciation (countable and uncountable, plural renunciations)

From Latin renūntiātiō. Compare renounce.

(law) The act by which a person abandons a right acquired, but without transferring it to another.

verzaking

the act by which a person abandons a right acquired, but without transferring it to another


immunity

immunity (countable and uncountable, plural immunities)

From Middle English immunite, from Old French immunité, from Latin immūnitās, in the legal sense; for the medical use see immunization.

Feudal privileges often included tax and other immunities.

(uncountable) The state of being insusceptible to something; notably:

(law) An exemption from specified duties, such as payments or services.

The prosecutor offered the lieutenant immunity for all the crimes he would testify having known to be planned by the elusive drug baron.


constructive

en-adj

constructive (comparative more constructive, superlative most constructive)

more constructive (comparative)
most constructive (superlative)

destructive

antonym(s) of “relating to or causing construction”

destructive

antonym(s) of “carefully considered and meant to be helpful”

From Middle French constructif.
Morphologically construct + -ive.

(law) Imputed by law; created to give legal effect to something for equitable reasons, as with constructive notice or a constructive trust.


chapeau

Borrowed from Middle French chappeau. The interjection is after Modern French chapeau in similar use, originally short for chapeau bas.

(law) The text at the start of a numbered section of a legal document that appears directly beside the section number, ahead of any numbered subsections.


commentator

From Middle English commentator, from Latin commentātor.

It would be well into the fourteenth century before the commentators came into their own.

2009, Randall Lesaffer, European Legal History: A Cultural and Political Perspective, →ISBN, page 257:

(historical, law) A medieval legal scholar who authored prose commentaries on civil law; (specifically) a member of a comparatively innovative 14th-century school of jurisprudence, typically distinguished from the earlier glossators.


culpa

Every actual delict presupposes a dolus or culpa, with the concomitant consciousness and prepense

1849, James G. Butler, A Summary of the Roman Civil Law:

(law) Negligence or fault, as distinguishable from dolus (deceit, fraud), which implies intent, culpa being imputable to defect of intellect, dolus to defect of heart.


community owned

For over seventy years, community owned rural telephony networks have flourished in the USA and about 1,000 exist today.

(law) of assets or organisations: owned and controlled through some representative mechanism that allows a community to influence their operation or use and to enjoy the benefits arising.


appellant

From Anglo-Norman, from Old French apelant.

appellant jurisdiction.

1827, Henry Hallam, The Constitutional History of England from the Accession of Henry VII. to the Death of George II. […], volume (please specify |volume=I or II), London: John Murray, […], →OCLC:

(law) of or relating to appeals; appellate


appellant

The appellant made her submissions to the court.

(law) a litigant or party that is making an appeal in court


praecipe

From Middle English presepe, from Latin praecipe, imperative of praecipere (“to give rules or precepts”). See precept.

(law) A writ demanding action, or requiring a reason for neglecting it.

(law) A request to a court to issue process.


sentential

(linguistics, law, philosophy) Relating to a sentence.


prosecutor

1590s, from Medieval Latin prosecutor, from prōsequor (English prosecute). By surface analysis, prosecute + -or.

prokuror

a person instituting criminal prosecution

Annie Jay was the Wisconsin government prosecutor in the trial of a man for forging his client's signature.

The evidence disclosed that the three prisoners were in a public-house together with the prosecutor, Abraham Rhodes, and that in concert with the other two prisoners, the prisoner John Dewhirst placed a pencase on the table in the room where they were assembled, and left the room to get writing-paper.

1861, Edward William Cox, Reports of Cases in Criminal Law:

It sat by mutely while Jack Abramoff, the superlobbyist, spun schemes that eroded public trust, until prosecutors had to move in.

2008 February 22, “Now a Reminder From Mr. Cunningham”, in New York Times:

prosecuting attorney
prosecuting attorney

The prosecutor got the witness to admit he was lying.

(law) a person, as a complainant, victim, or chief witness, who institutes prosecution in a criminal proceeding.


envoy

From French envoyé (“envoy, messenger”), from envoyer (“send”).

(law) A diplomatic agent of the second rank, next in status after an ambassador.


immaterial

immaterial (comparative more immaterial, superlative most immaterial)

more immaterial (comparative)
most immaterial (superlative)

/ˌɪ.məˈtɪə.ɹɪ.əl/

The adjective is derived from Late Middle English immaterial, inmateriall (“incorporeal; spiritual”), from Middle French immateriel (“not material”) (modern French immatériel), and from its etymon Medieval Latin immāteriālis (“not material”), from Latin im- (a variant of in- (prefix meaning ‘not’)) + māteriālis (“made of matter, material”) (from māteria (“matter, substance, material”) (possibly from Proto-Indo-European *dem- (“to arrange, put together; to build (up)”)) + -ālis (suffix forming adjectives of relationship)). The English word is analysable as im- + material.
The noun is derived from the adjective.

der

Objection, your Honour! The defendant’s criminal record is immaterial to this case.

He was perpetually at her side, trying, apparently, to preserve the thread of a disconnected talk, the fate of which was, to judge by her face, profoundly immaterial to the young lady.

1875 January–December, Henry James, Jr., “Christina”, in Roderick Hudson, Boston, Mass.: James R[ipley] Osgood and Company, late Ticknor & Fields, and Fields, Osgood, & Co., published 1876, →OCLC, page 178:

(chiefly law) Especially of evidence; chiefly followed by to: not associated in any way that is important or useful to the context being discussed; irrelevant.


executrix

en-noun

executrix (plural executrices or executrixes)

executrices (plural)
executrixes (plural)

From Middle English executrice, executrix, from Anglo-Norman and Medieval Latin; equivalent to execute + -trix.

‘That would be difficult, you know, Chettam, as she is an executrix, and she likes to go into these things—property, land, that kind of thing.’

1871–1872, George Eliot [pseudonym; Mary Ann Evans], chapter 49, in Middlemarch […], volume III, Edinburgh, London: William Blackwood and Sons, →OCLC, book V, page 100:

His widow, Painter Georgia O'Keeffe, has carried on his educational work as executrix of his will by dividing Stieglitz' brilliant art collection and his own even more brilliant photographs among six widely spaced institutions […].

1949 November 14, “Art: Many Ways”, in Time, archived from the original on 2016-03-07:

One summer afternoon Mrs Oedipa Maas came home from a Tupperware party whose hostess had put perhaps too much kirsch in the fondue to find that she, Oedipa, had been named executor, or she supposed executrix, of the estate of one Pierce Inverarity […].

1966 March, Thomas Pynchon, The Crying of Lot 49, Philadelphia, Pa.; New York, N.Y.: J[oshua] B[allinger] Lippincott Company, →OCLC, page 1:

James A. H. Murray
w:James Murray (lexicographer)

Oxford English Dictionary
w:Oxford English Dictionary

Clarendon Press
w:Oxford University Press

(chiefly law, dated) A female executor; a woman appointed to execute a will.


rack rent

rack rent (countable and uncountable, plural rack rents)

(law, formal) The full rental value of a property, including both land and improvements, if it were subject to an immediate open market rent review.


IND

(law) Initialism of Investigational New Drug application.


common law

(law) Law developed by judges, courts, and agency adjudicatory tribunals, through their decisions and opinions (also called case law) (as opposed to statutes promulgated by legislatures, and regulations promulgated by the executive branch).

(law) Legal system mainly in England and its former colonies with a heavy emphasis on judge-made law, doctrines deduced by casuistry rather than from general principles, and law distributed among judicial decisions rather than codified statutes (as opposed to civil law).

common law

legal system of England and its former colonies

(law, historical) Body of law and procedure administered in certain courts (known as law courts) in England and its former colonies characterized by a rigid system of writs, with a limited set of remedies (as opposed to equity or admiralty).

(law, Scots law, Roman-Dutch law) Law of general application throughout a country, province, or state as opposed to law having only a special or local application

Scots law; Roman-Dutch law; Scots law; Roman-Dutch law