E-Commerce: The buying and sellling of goods and services on the internet. | Legal Definition of E-Commerce
Earth Movement: Phenomena related to forces operating within the earth itself, and not to the merely superficial effects of external forces, such as erosion by run-off rainwater. | Legal Definition of Earth Movement
Easement: A legal right to the access over or use of another's land or waterway. | Legal Definition of Easement
Eavesdroppers: Those convicted of the obsolete offence of intentional, covert and direct listening-in to another's conversations, and the subsequent use of the contents thereof to disturb the peace. | Legal Definition of Eavesdroppers
Ecclesiastical Law: Church law. | Legal Definition of Ecclesiastical Law
Economic Activity: The production, distribution, and consumption of commodities. | Legal Definition of Economic Activity
Education: Imparting of knowledge; academic instruction and professional training. | Legal Definition of Education
Eggshell Skull Doctrine: A tort-feasor or a wrongdoer takes his victim as he finds him. | Legal Definition of Eggshell Skull Doctrine
Eighth Amendment: US constitutional amendment that prohibits "excessive bail (or) fines (and) cruel and unusual punishment...." | Legal Definition of Eighth Amendment
Ejusdem or Eiusdem Generis: Of the same kind or nature. | Legal Definition of Ejusdem or Eiusdem Generis
Electronic Monitoring: Electronic or telecommunications systems used to track and supervise the locations of individuals. | Legal Definition of Electronic Monitoring
Emancipation: The act of freeing a person who was under the legal authority of another (such as a child before the age of majority) from that control (such as child reaching the age of majority). | Legal Definition of Emancipation
Embargo: This is an act of international military aggression where an order is made prohibiting ships or goods from leaving a certain port, city or territory and may be enforced by military threat of destroying any vehicle that attempts to break it or by trade penalties. | Legal Definition of Embargo
Embezzle: The illegal transfer of money or property that, although possessed legally by the embezzler, is covertly and fraudulently converted to the embezzler's own property. | Legal Definition of Embezzle
Embracery: Improper influence on a juror. | Legal Definition of Embracery
Eminent Domain: USA: The legal power to expropriate private land for the sake of public necessity. | Legal Definition of Eminent Domain
Emolument: Wages, benefits or other benefit received as compensation for holding some office or employment. | Legal Definition of Emolument
Empanel: Also, "impanel"; the official call to duty of a jury, usually as called by the clerk of the Court in which the jury is to act, and just before the jurors are sworn in. | Legal Definition of Empanel
Emphyteusis: Civil law: a long-term lease of land or buildings; 99 years or such similar long term, or even in perpetuity. | Legal Definition of Emphyteusis
Employee: A person who has agreed by contract to perform specified services for another, the employer, in exchange for money. | Legal Definition of Employee
Employee Choice Doctrine: The forfeiture of a departing employee's right to judicial review of a restrictive covenant if that employee agreed voluntarily to receive post-employment benefits as consideration for the covenant. | Legal Definition of Employee Choice Doctrine
Employer: A person who is contractually bound to a worker - the employee - to give that worker money as a salary or wages, in exchange for ongoing work and for which the employer directs the work and exercises fundamental control over the work. | Legal Definition of Employer
Employment: A contract in which one person, the employee, agrees to perform work for another, the employer. | Legal Definition of Employment
Employment at Will: An employment contract during which the employer may terminate the employment at any time subject only to the reason not being contrary to public policy. | Legal Definition of Employment at Will
Employment Standards: Entirely a creation of statute; minimum employee rights extended for work within the jurisdiction served by the relevant statute. | Legal Definition of Employment Standards
Emptio or Emtio: Latin for 'purchase' or referring to the contract in which something is bought. | Legal Definition of Emptio or Emtio
En banc: (French) As a full bench. | Legal Definition of En banc
En Ventre Sa Mere: French: A fetus recognized as a child then alive for the purposes of wills and estates. | Legal Definition of En Ventre Sa Mere
Enactment: A statute or regulation pursuant thereto. | Legal Definition of Enactment
Endorsement: Something written on the back of a document. An alternate spelling, in some English jurisdictions, is 'indorsement'. | Legal Definition of Endorsement
Endowment: The devotion of property to a specific and particular trust. | Legal Definition of Endowment
Enduring or Continuing Power of Attorney: A power of attorney that continues even if and after a donor becomes incapacitated. | Legal Definition of Enduring or Continuing Power of Attorney
Englishry: The proving to the authorities that a killed person was English. | Legal Definition of Englishry
Engrossing: The buying of products in bulk and the individual re-sale at profit. | Legal Definition of Engrossing
Enoch Arden Law: A statute that confers validity on a second marriage of a missing person's spouse after a specified absence. | Legal Definition of Enoch Arden Law
Enticement: An old common law action against any person who caused a husband to lose the love, services or society of his wife. | Legal Definition of Enticement
Entrapment: The inducement, by law enforcement officers or their agents, of another person to commit a crime for the purposes of bringing charges for the commission of that artificially-provoked crime. | Legal Definition of Entrapment
Entrust: To give over the care of something to another. | Legal Definition of Entrust
Equitable Estoppel: A bar to a party from asserting a legal claim or defense that is contrary or inconsistent with his or her prior action of conduct. | Legal Definition of Equitable Estoppel
Equitable Fraud: Conduct which, having regard to some special relationship between the two parties concerned, is an unconscionable thing for the one to do towards the other. | Legal Definition of Equitable Fraud
Equity: A branch of English law which developed hundreds of years ago when litigants would go to the King and complain of harsh or inflexible rules of common law which prevented "justice" from prevailing. | Legal Definition of Equity
Equity Delights to do Justice, and not by Halves: A maxim of equity that once invoked successfully, equity will, fully and with finality, resolve the dispute between the parties. | Legal Definition of Equity Delights to do Justice, and not by Halves
Erga Omnes: Latin: towards everyone. | Legal Definition of Erga Omnes
Error In Objecto: A mistake by a perpetrator as to the identity of the victim; an error as to the object of his act. | Legal Definition of Error In Objecto
Escheat: Where property is surrendered to the government upon the death of the owner, because there is nobody to inherit the property. | Legal Definition of Escheat
Escrow: When the performance of something is outstanding and a third party holds onto money or a written document (such as shares or a deed) until a certain condition is met between the two contracting parties. | Legal Definition of Escrow
Espionage: The practice of playing the spy, or of employing spies. | Legal Definition of Espionage
Esquire: A mostly informal title associated with those who practice law. | Legal Definition of Esquire
Essoin: A valid excuse for not appearing in Court when summoned. | Legal Definition of Essoin
Estate: A person's property; often used to refer to the net worth of a deceased individual. | Legal Definition of Estate
Estate Freeze: A deferment of property transfer at the time of death to avoid, reduce or transfer tax liability. | Legal Definition of Estate Freeze
Estate Law: That part of the law which regulates wills, trusts, probate and other subjects related to the management of another's property. | Legal Definition of Estate Law
Estoppel: A rule of law that when person A, by act or words, gives person B reason to believe a certain set of facts upon which person B takes action, person A cannot later, to his (or her) benefit, deny those facts or say that his (or her) earlier act was improper. | Legal Definition of Estoppel
Estover: Limited rights granted to a tenant of land to certain product of the land, mostly wood. | Legal Definition of Estover
Et Impotentia Excusat Legem: The law excuses someone from doing the impossible. | Legal Definition of Et Impotentia Excusat Legem
Et. al.: Latin: and others. | Legal Definition of Et. al.
Eugenic: A measure taken to avoid or prevent the birth of a defective child. | Legal Definition of Eugenic
Euthanasia: The putting to death, by painless method, of a terminally-ill or severely debilitated person. | Legal Definition of Euthanasia
Eviction: Some permanent act by landlord, or by person or thing under his control, which deprives a tenant of enjoyment of the rented premises. | Legal Definition of Eviction
Evidence: Proof of fact(s) presented at a judicial hearing such as a trial. | Legal Definition of Evidence
Ex Aequo Et Bono: Latin: in justice and fairness. | Legal Definition of Ex Aequo Et Bono
Ex Debito Justitiae: Latin: as of right. | Legal Definition of Ex Debito Justitiae
Ex Facie Contempt: Contempt committed outside the court. | Legal Definition of Ex Facie Contempt
Ex Juris: Latin: outside of the jurisdiction. | Legal Definition of Ex Juris
Ex officio: Latin: by virtue of office. | Legal Definition of Ex officio
Ex Parte: Latin: outside the awareness of a party. | Legal Definition of Ex Parte
Ex Patriate: A person who has abandoned his or her country of origin and citizenship and has become a subject or citizen of another country. | Legal Definition of Ex Patriate
Ex Post Facto: Latin: after the fact. | Legal Definition of Ex Post Facto
Ex Rel: Latin: on the relation of, or the information of. | Legal Definition of Ex Rel
Ex Turpi Causa Non Oritur Actio: Latin: Of an illegal cause there can be no lawsuit. | Legal Definition of Ex Turpi Causa Non Oritur Actio
Ex-nuptial Child: A child born outside of marriage. | Legal Definition of Ex-nuptial Child
Examination for Discovery: A recorded oral examination of the other side to litigation before trial and under oath, but not before a judge, with a view to obtaining admissions or discovering facts. | Legal Definition of Examination for Discovery
Examination In Chief: The questioning of your own witness under oath. | Legal Definition of Examination In Chief
Examination on Affidavit: An examination under oath of the deponent of an affidavit. | Legal Definition of Examination on Affidavit
Exceptio Non Adimpleti Contractus: Latin: exception of a non-performed contract. | Legal Definition of Exceptio Non Adimpleti Contractus
Exchequer: A court of law designed to determine claims by the Crown. | Legal Definition of Exchequer
Excommunication: The exclusion of a specified individual from a particular church. | Legal Definition of Excommunication
Exculpate: That which excuses from fault; justifies a wrong action. | Legal Definition of Exculpate
Excusable Homicide: The accidental or self-defence killing of another person. | Legal Definition of Excusable Homicide
Executive Branch: The executive branch is the administrative arm of government (and thus also called the 'administration' or the 'administrative branch of government'); the one with the most employees as it operates, implements and enforces all the laws created by the legislative branch, and as interpreted, from time to time, by the judiciary. | Legal Definition of Executive Branch
Executor: A person specifically appointed by a testator to administer the will ensuring that final wishes are respected (i.e. that the will is properly "executed"). | Legal Definition of Executor
Executor De Son Tort: A person who meddles with the estate of a deceased person. | Legal Definition of Executor De Son Tort
Executor's Year: The year from date of death generally granted to the executor to collect and disburse the testator's assets. | Legal Definition of Executor's Year
Exhibit: A document or object shown to the court as evidence in a trial. | Legal Definition of Exhibit
Exhumation: The removal of human remains from a grave or vault for the purpose of examination. | Legal Definition of Exhumation
Exigent Circumstances: An unusual and time-sensitive circumstance that justifies conduct that might not be permissible or lawful in other circumstances. | Legal Definition of Exigent Circumstances
Existing Aboriginal and Treaty Rights: Canada: those aboriginal and treaty rights as they existed on April 17, 1982. | Legal Definition of Existing Aboriginal and Treaty Rights
Existing Indian Family: American aboriginal (Indian) law: an exemption of an otherwise Indian child from statutory entitlements, where that child shows no link to an existing Indian band or family. | Legal Definition of Existing Indian Family
Expatriation: The voluntary renunciation or abandonment of citizenship. | Legal Definition of Expatriation
Expert Witness: A witness with a defined area of expertise and on that basis and strictly within that area, is allowed to give opinion evidence to the Court (or jury, as the case may be). | Legal Definition of Expert Witness
Express Trust: A trust which is clearly created by the settlor, usually in the form of a document (eg. a will), although they can be oral. | Legal Definition of Express Trust
Expressio Unius Est Exclusio Alterius: Latin: the expression of one thing is the exclusion of the other. | Legal Definition of Expressio Unius Est Exclusio Alterius
Expressive Association: A group that engages in some form of public or private expression. | Legal Definition of Expressive Association
Expropriation: The forced purchase of land by a public authority from a private owner. | Legal Definition of Expropriation
Expunge: To physically erase; to white or strike out. | Legal Definition of Expunge
Extinguishment: The termination of legal rights. | Legal Definition of Extinguishment
Extortion: Forcing a person to give up property in a thing through the use of violence, fear or under pretense of authority. | Legal Definition of Extortion
Extradition: The arrest and delivery of a fugitive wanted for a crime committed in another country, usually under the terms of a extradition treaty. | Legal Definition of Extradition
Extradition Crime: Conduct which is a crime in both the state seeking extradition and the state extraditing. | Legal Definition of Extradition Crime
Extraordinary Resolution: A vote on a resolution presented to a corporate body which has obtained the assent of a number of the members present greater than a majority. | Legal Definition of Extraordinary Resolution