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- A legal doctrine whereby those who take too long
to assert a legal right, lose their entitlement
to compensation. When you claim that a person's
legal suit against you is not valid because of
this, you would call it "estoppel by
laches".
- A land or building owner who has leased
the land, the building or a part of the land or
building, to another person.
- An old English criminal and common law offence
covering the unlawful or fraudulent removal of
another's property without the owner's consent.
The offence of theft now covers most cases of
larceny. But larceny is wider than theft as it
includes the taking of property of another person
by whatever means (by theft, overtly , by fraud,
by trickery, etc.) if an intent exists to convert
that property to one's own use against the wishes
of the owner.
- All the rules of conduct that have been approved
by the government and which are in force over a
certain territory and which must be obeyed by all
persons on that territory (eg. the
"laws" of Australia). Violation of
these rules could lead to government action such
as imprisonment or fine, or private action such
as a legal judgement against the offender
obtained by the person injured by the action
prohibited by law. Synonymous to act or statute although in
common usage, "law" refers not only to
legislation or statutes but also to the body of
unwritten law in those states which recognize common law.
- A person that has been trained in the law and
that has been certified to give legal advice or
to represent others in litigation.
Also known as a "barrister & solictor" or
an attorney.
- A question which suggests an answer; usually
answerable by "yes" or "no".
For example: "Did you see David at 3
p.m.?" These are forbidden to ensure that
the witness is not coached by their lawyer
through his or her testimony. The proper form
would be: "At what time did you see
David?" Leading questions are only
acceptable in cross-examination
or where a witness
is declared hostile.
- A special kind of contract
between a property owner and a person wanting
temporary enjoyment and use of the property, in
exchange for rent
paid to the property owner. Where the property is
land, a building, or parts of either, the
property owner is called a landlord and the
person that contracts to receive the temporary
enjoyment and use is called a tenant.
- Real property held
under a lease.
- A child custody
decision which entails the right to make, or
participate in, the significant decisions
affecting a child's health and welfare (compare
with physical
custody and joint
custody).
- Written and approved laws. Also known as "statutes" or
"acts." In
constitutional law, one would talk of the
"power to legislate" or the
"legislative arm of government"
referring to the power of political bodies (eg:
house of assembly, Congress, Parliament) to write
the laws of the land.
- Any legal obligation, either due now or at some
time in the future. It could be a debt or a
promise to do something. To say a person is
"liable" for a debt or wrongful act is
to indicate that they are the person responsible
for paying the debt or compensating the wrongful
act.
- Defamation by
writing such as in a newspaper or a letter.
- A form of construction
which allows a judge to consider other factors
when deciding the meaning of a phrase or
document. For example, faced with an ambiguous
article in a statute,
a liberal construction would allow a judge to
consider the purpose and object of a statute
before deciding what the article actually means.
- A special permission to do something on, or with,
somebody else's property which, were it not for
the license, could be legally prevented or give
rise to legal action in tort
or trespass. A
common example is allowing a person to walk
across your lawn which, if it were not for the
license, would constitute trespass. Licenses
are revocable at will (unless supported by a
contract) and, as such, differs from an easement (the
latter conveying a legal interest in the land).
Licenses which are not based on a contract and
which are fully revocable are called
"simple" or "bare" licenses.
A common example is the shopping mall to which
access by the public is on the basis of an
implied license.
- A property right which remains attached to an
object that has been sold, but not totally paid
for, until complete payment has been made. It may
involve possession of the object until the debt
is paid or it may be registered against the
object (especially if the object is real estate).
Ultimately, a lien can be enforced by a court
sale of the property to which it attached and
then the debt is paid off from the proceeds of
the sale.
- A right to use and to enjoy land and/or
structures on land only for the life of the life tenant. The estate
reverts back to the grantor (or to some other
person), at the death of the person to whom it is
given. A property right to last only for the life
of the life tenant is
called the estate "pur sa vie." If it
is for the duration of the life of a third party,
it is called an estate "pur autre vie".
The rights of the life
tenant are restricted to conduct which does
not permanently change the land or structures
upon it.
- The beneficiary of a life
estate.
- A unique colleague in a partnership
relationship who has agreed to be liable only to
the extent of his (or her) investment. Limited
partners, though, have no right to manage the partnership.
Limited partners are usually just investors or
promoters who seek the tax benefits of a
partnership
- Adjacent, bordering or contiguous.
- A person who is a direct descendant such
as a child to his or her natural parent.
- The selling of all the assets of a debtor and the use
of the cash proceeds of the sale to pay off creditors.
- Latin: a dispute or matter which is the subject
of ongoing or pending litigation.
Politicians will sometimes refuse to discuss a
matter or an issue which is "lis
pendens" because they do not want their
comments to be perceived as an attempt to
influence a court of law.
- A form of construction
which does not allow evidence extrapolated beyond
the actual words of a phrase or document but,
rather, takes a phrase or document at face value,
giving effect only to the actual words used. Also
known as "strict" or "strict and
literal" construction.
Contrasts with liberal
construction (which allows for the input from
other factors such as the purpose of the document
being interpreted).
- A dispute is in "litigation" ( or being
"litigated") when it has become the
subject of a formal court action or law suit.
- Delivery. An archaic legal word from the feudal system
referring to the actual legal transmission of
possession of an object to another. For example,
a knight would obtain an estate in land as tenure in exchange
for serving in the king's army for 40 days a
year. The king would give exclusive possession of
the land, (i.e. "livery") to the
knight. A writ of livery also developed which
allowed persons to sue for possession of land
under the feudal
system. Livery (or "delivery") of
the land was important in completing legal
possession or, as it was known in the feudal
system, seisin.
- A document that sets out guidelines for dealing
with life-sustaining medical procedures in the
eventuality of the signatory's sudden
debilitation. Living wills would, for example,
inform medical staff not to provide extraordinary
life-preserving procedures on their bodies if
they are incapable of expressing themselves and
suffering from an incurable and terminal
condition.
- The Latin abbreviations for the three classes of
law degrees: the regular bachelor degree in law
(LL.B.), the masters degree in law (LL.M.) and
the doctorate in law (LL.D.). These are basic
prerequisites to admission to the practice of law
in many states.
- Latin for "the place." For example,
lawyers talk of the "locus delicti" as
the pace where a criminal offense was commited or
"loco parentis" to refer to a person
who stands in the place of a parent such as a
step-parent in a common law relationship.
- Each court is bound to a territorial jurisdiction
and does not normally have jurisdiction over
persons that reside outside of that jurisdiction.
For example, a court in Scotland would not
normally have jurisdiction over a resident of
Ireland. Long-arm statutes are a tool which gives
a court jurisdiction over a person even though
the person no longer resides in the territory
limits of the court. For example, UIFSA allows a court
to have jurisdiction over a non-resident support
payor.
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