Legal Terms Starting With A
Abatement
A reduction in some amount that is owed, usually granted by the person to whom the debt is owed. - (see expanded definition at duhaime.org)
Abbacinare
A barbaric form of corporal punishment meted out in the middle ages where persons would be permanently blinded by the pressing of hot irons to the open eyes. - (see expanded definition at duhaime.org)
Abduction
To take someone away from a place without that person's consent or by fraud. - (see expanded definition at duhaime.org)
Abet
Encouraging another to commit a crime. - (see expanded definition at duhaime.org)
Ab initio
Latin: from the start. - (see expanded definition at duhaime.org)
Absolute
Final, perfected, complete and unconditional. - (see expanded definition at duhaime.org)
Absolute Privilege
An absolute defence to an otherwise defamatory statement because of the venue or context which the statement was made. - (see expanded definition at duhaime.org)
Acceleration clause
A clause in a contract that states that if a payment is missed, or some other default occurs (such as the debtor becoming insolvent), then the contract is fully due immediately. - (see expanded definition at duhaime.org)
Acceptance
One of three requisites to a valid contract under common law (the other two being an offer and consideration). - (see expanded definition at duhaime.org)
Accord and Satisfaction
A term of contract law by which one party, having complied with its obligation under a contract, accepts some type of compensation from the other party (usually money and of a lesser value) in lieu of enforcing the contract and holding the other party to their obligation. - (see expanded definition at duhaime.org)
Accretion
The imperceptible and gradual addition to land by the slow action of water. - (see expanded definition at duhaime.org)
Acquiescence
Action or inaction which binds a person legally even though it was not intended as such. - (see expanded definition at duhaime.org)
Act
A bill which has passed through the various legislative steps required for it and which has become law - (see expanded definition at duhaime.org)
Act of God
An event which is caused solely by the effect of nature or natural causes and without any interference by humans whatsoever. - (see expanded definition at duhaime.org)
Actus reus
Actus reus: the prohibited act. - (see expanded definition at duhaime.org)
Actus reus non facit reum nisi mens sit rea
Conviction of a crime requires proof of a criminal act and intent. - (see expanded definition at duhaime.org)
Ad colligendum bona
When a person dies and there is no apparent executor or administrator, a person can be appointed by Court order and for the limited and sole purpose of collecting, inventorizing and preserving the assets of the deceased until an appropriate full-fledged administrator can be found or appointed. - (see expanded definition at duhaime.org)
Ad damnum
Latin: refers to the parts or sections of a petition that speaks to the damages that were suffered and claimed by the plaintiff. The ad damnum part of a petition will usually suggest an amount in dollars that the plaintiff asks the court to award. - (see expanded definition at duhaime.org)
Addendum
An attachment to a written document. - (see expanded definition at duhaime.org)
Ademption
When property identified in a will cannot be given to the beneficiary because it no longer belonged to the deceased at the time of death. - (see expanded definition at duhaime.org)
Adhesion contract
A fine-print consumer form contract which is generally given to consumers at point-of-sale, with no opportunity for negotiation as to it's terms, and which, typically, sets out the terms and conditions of the sale, usually to the advantage of the seller. - (see expanded definition at duhaime.org)
Ad hoc
Latin: for this purpose; for a specific purpose. - (see expanded definition at duhaime.org)
Ad infinitum
Latin: forever; without limit; indefinitely. - (see expanded definition at duhaime.org)
Ad litem
Latin: for the suit - (see expanded definition at duhaime.org)
Administrative law
Administrative law is that body of law which applies for hearings before quasi-judicial or quasi-judicial organizations or administrative tribunals supplement the rules of natural justice with their own detailed rules of procedure. - (see expanded definition at duhaime.org)
Administrative tribunal
Hybrid adjudicating authorities which straddle the line between government and the courts. - (see expanded definition at duhaime.org)
Administrator
A person who administers the estate of a person deceased. - (see expanded definition at duhaime.org)
Adoption
To take as one's own. - (see expanded definition at duhaime.org)
ADR
Abbreviation for alternative dispute resolution. - (see expanded definition at duhaime.org)
Adultery
Voluntary sexual intercourse between a married person and another person who is not their married spouse. - (see expanded definition at duhaime.org)
Adverse possession
The possession of land, without legal title, for a period of time sufficient to become recognized as legal owner. - (see expanded definition at duhaime.org)
Affidavit
A statement which before being signed, the person signing takes an oath that the contents are, to the best of their knowledge, true. - (see expanded definition at duhaime.org)
Agency Law
The law of agents and their principals as between themselves and third-parties. - (see expanded definition at duhaime.org)
Agent
A person who has received the power to act on behalf of another, binding that other person as if he or she were themselves making the decisions. - (see expanded definition at duhaime.org)
Aggravated damages
Damages awarded by a court to reflect the exceptional harm done to a plaintiff of a tort action. - (see expanded definition at duhaime.org)
Alimony
An amount given to one spouse to another while they are separated. - (see expanded definition at duhaime.org)
Alliance
A military treaty between two or more states, providing for a mutually-planned offensive, or for assistance in the case of attack on any member. - (see expanded definition at duhaime.org)
Alienate
To sell or give completely and without reserve; to transfer title to somebody else. - (see expanded definition at duhaime.org)
Allodial
A kind of land ownership that is unfetterred, outright and absolute. - (see expanded definition at duhaime.org)
Allonge
A piece of paper which has been attached to a contract, a check or any promissory note, on which to add signatures because there is not enough room on the main document. - (see expanded definition at duhaime.org)
Alternative dispute resolution
Also known as 'ADR'; methods by which legal conflicts and disputes are resolved privately and other than through litigation in the public courts, usually through one of two forms: mediation or arbitration. - (see expanded definition at duhaime.org)
Amalgamation
The merging of two things together to form one such as the amalgamation of different companies to form a single company. - (see expanded definition at duhaime.org)
Ambassador
A citizen that has been officially asked by their country to live in another country in order to legally represent it. - (see expanded definition at duhaime.org)
Ambulatory
something which is not cast in stone; which can be changed or revoked, such as a will. - (see expanded definition at duhaime.org)
Amend
To change, to revise, usually to the wording of a written document such as legislation. - (see expanded definition at duhaime.org)
Amicus curiae
Latin: friend of the court. - (see expanded definition at duhaime.org)
Anarchy
Absence of law. - (see expanded definition at duhaime.org)
And/Or
And/or means any combination of two options; one, the other (either), or both. - (see expanded definition at duhaime.org)
Animus contrahendi
Latin: an intention to contract. - (see expanded definition at duhaime.org)
Annulment
To make void; to cancel an event or judicial proceeding both retroactively and for the future. - (see expanded definition at duhaime.org)
Antedate
To date back; retroactively. To date a document to a time before it was written. - (see expanded definition at duhaime.org)
Antenuptial
An event or document which pre-dates a marriage. - (see expanded definition at duhaime.org)
Anti-trust
(USA) 'Anti-trust' legislation is designed to prevent businesses from price-setting or other secret collaboration which circumvents the natural forces of a free market economy and gives those engaging in the anti-trust conduct, a covert competitive edge. - (see expanded definition at duhaime.org)
Appeal
To ask a more senior court or person to review a decision of a subordinate court or person. - (see expanded definition at duhaime.org)
Appearance
The act of showing up in court as either plaintiff, defendant, accused or any other party to a civil or criminal suit. - (see expanded definition at duhaime.org)
Apportionment
The division and distribution of something into proportionate parts; to each according to their share. - (see expanded definition at duhaime.org)
Appurtenance
Something that, although detached, stands as part of another thing. - (see expanded definition at duhaime.org)
Arbitration
An agreement to submit a dispute for a hearing and binding decision by a third-party, an arbitrator(s), who is neither a judge or a Court - (see expanded definition at duhaime.org)
Arraignment
In USA criminal law, the formal appearance of an accused person to hear, and to receive a copy of, the charge against him or her, in the presence of a judge, and to then enter a plea of guilty or not guilty. - (see expanded definition at duhaime.org)
Arrears
A debt that is not paid on the due date adds up and accumulates as 'arrears'. - (see expanded definition at duhaime.org)
Arson
Some countries define 'arson' as the intentional setting of a fire to a building in which people live; others include as 'arson' the intentionally setting of a fire to any building. - (see expanded definition at duhaime.org)
Assault
The touching of another person with an intent to harm, without that person's consent. - (see expanded definition at duhaime.org)
Assign
To give, to transfer responsibility, to another. - (see expanded definition at duhaime.org)
Assumpsit
Medieval era action for breach of contract. - (see expanded definition at duhaime.org)
Attorn or Attornment
To consent, implicitly or explicitly, to a transfer of a right. - (see expanded definition at duhaime.org)
Attorney
An alternate word for lawyers or barrister and solicitor, used mostly in the USA. - (see expanded definition at duhaime.org)
Audi alteram partem
Latin; literally 'hear the other side'. - (see expanded definition at duhaime.org)
Autrefois acquit
French word now part of English criminal law terminology. - (see expanded definition at duhaime.org)
A vinculo matrimonii
Latin: of marriage. - (see expanded definition at duhaime.org)
Avulsion
Land accretion that occurs by the erosion or addition of one’s land by the sudden and unexpected change in a river stream such as a flash flood. - (see expanded definition at duhaime.org)
Avunculus
Latin: a mother's brother. 'Avuncular' refers to an uncle. - (see expanded definition at duhaime.org)
Print