List of Latin legal terms

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A number of Latin terms are used in legal terminology and legal maxims. This is a partial list of these terms, which are wholly or substantially drawn from Latin, or anglicized Law Latin.

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Common law

{|class="wikitable sortable" width="100%"

! Term or phrase

! Literal translation

!class="unsortable"|Definition and use

!class="unsortable"|English pron

| a fortiori

|from stronger

|An a fortiori argument is an "argument from a stronger reason", meaning that, because one fact is true, a second (related and included) fact must also be true.

| a mensa et thoro

|from table and bed

|Divorce a mensa et thoro indicates legal separation without legal divorce.

| a posteriori

|from later

|An argument derived after an event, having the knowledge about the event. Inductive reasoning from observations and experiments.

| a priori

|from earlier

|An argument derived before an event, without needing to have the knowledge about the event. Deductive reasoning from general principles.

| a quo

|from which

|Regarding a court below in an appeal, either a court of first instance or an appellate court, known as the court a quo.

| ab extra

|from outside

|Concerning a case, a person may have received some funding from a 3rd party. This funding may have been considered ab extra.

| ab initio

|from the beginning

|"Commonly used referring to the time a contract, statute, marriage, or deed become legal. e.g. The couple was covered ab initio by her health policy."

| Actus legis nemini facit injurium

|The act of law injures no one.

| Actus non facit reum, nisi mens sit rea

|No act is punishable that is not the result of a guilty mind.

|The prosecution in a criminal case must prove beyond a reasonable doubt, not only a criminal act, but also a certain level of a guilty mind (mens rea), specified in the criminal statute.

| actus reus

|guilty act

|Part of what proves criminal liability (with mens rea).

| ad coelum

|to the sky

|Abbreviated from Cuius est solum eius est usque ad coelum et ad infernos which translates to "[for] whoever owns [the] soil, [it] is his all the way [up] to Heaven and [down] to Hell." The principle that the owner of a parcel of land also owns the air above and the ground below the parcel.

| ad colligenda bona

|to collect the goods

|In cases of a disputed will, delay may endanger the assets of the deceased. Therefore, a court can give a person a writ of ad colligenda bona, which entitles them to collect and preserve the goods while their rightful owner is determined. Afterwards, that person will release the goods to the rightful owner.

| ad hoc

|for this

|Generally signifies a solution designed for a specific problem or task, non-generalizable, and not intended to be able to be adapted to other purposes.

| ad hominem

|at the person

|Attempting to make a point of logic by attacking an opponent's character rather than answering their argument.

| ad idem

|to the same thing

|In agreement.

| ad infinitum

|to infinity

|To continue forever.

| ad litem

|for the case

|Describes those designated to represent parties deemed incapable of representing themselves, such as a child or incapacitated adult.

|according to the harm

|Used in tort law. Implies that the reward or penalty ought to correspond to the damage suffered or inflicted.

| ad valorem

|according to value

| adjournment sine die

|adjournment without a day

|When an assembly adjourns without setting a date for its next meeting.

| aequalitas ante legem

|equality before the law

|All are equal before the law

| affidavit

|he has sworn

|A formal statement of fact.

| allocatur

|it is allowed

|Generally, a statement from a court that a writ is allowed (i.e. granted); most commonly, a grant of leave to appeal by the Supreme Court of Pennsylvania, in reference to which the word is used equivalently to certiorari (q.v.) elsewhere.

| alter ego

|another I

|A second identity living within a person.

| Alteri stipulari nemo potest

|No-one can alter on their own a contract

| amicus curiae

|friend of the court

|A person who offers information to a court regarding a case before it.

| animus contrahendi

|contractual intent

|Intention to contract.

| animus manendi

|intention to remain

|The subjective intent to remain indefinitely in a place so as to establish it as one's permanent residence.

|ante

|before

|“An antenuptial agreement is a contract between two people that is executed before marriage.”

|(in) arguendo

|for the sake of argument

| bona fide

|in good faith

|Implies sincere good intention regardless of outcome.

| bona vacantia

|ownerless goods

| cadit quaestio

|the question falls

|Indicates that a settlement to a dispute or issue has been reached, and the issue is now resolved.

| casus belli

|case of war

|The justification for acts of war.

| caveat

|May he beware

|When used by itself, refers to a qualification, or warning.

| caveat emptor

|Let the buyer beware

|In addition to the general warning, also refers to a legal doctrine wherein a buyer could not get relief from a seller for defects present on property which rendered it unfit for use.

| certiorari

|to be apprised

|A type of writ seeking judicial review.

| cessante ratione legis cessat ipsa lex

|when the reason for a law ceases, so does the law itself

|Herbert Broom′s text of 1858 on legal maxims lists the phrase under the heading ″Rules of logic″, stating: Reason is the soul of the law, and when the reason of any particular law ceases, so does the law itself. Used as a reason for acquittal in The Case of the Speluncean Explorers.

| ceteris paribus

|with other things the same

|More commonly rendered in English as "All other things being equal."

| compos mentis

|having command of mind

|Of sound mind. Also used in the negative "Non compos mentis", meaning "Not of sound mind".

| condicio sine qua non

|A condition without which it could not be

|An indispensable and essential action, condition, or ingredient.

| consensus ad idem

|agreement to the same

|Meeting of the minds, mutual assent, or concurrence of wills. Parties must be of one mind and their promises must relate to the same subject or object

| de novo

|anew

|Often used in the context of "trial de novo"a new trial ordered when the previous one failed to reach a conclusion.

| deorum injuriae diis curae

|The gods take care of injuries to the gods

|Blasphemy is a crime against God, rather than against the State.

| dictum

| (thing) said

|A statement given some weight or consideration due to the respect given the person making it.

| doli incapax

|incapable of guilt

|Presumption that young children or persons with diminished mental capacity cannot form the intent to commit a crime.

| dolus bonus

|Justinian Digest

| dolus malus

|Justinian Digest

| dolus specialis

|Specific deceit

|Heavily used in the context of genocide in international law.

| domitae naturae

|tame by nature

|Tame or domesticated animal. Also called mansuetae naturae. Opposite of ferae naturae (below)

| donatio mortis causa

|deathbed gift

|Gift causa mortis; "The donor, contemplating imminent death, declares words of present gifting and delivers the gift to the donee or someone who clearly takes possession on behalf of the donee. The gift becomes effective at death but remains revocable until that time."

| innuendo

|by nodding

|An intimation about someone or something, made indirectly or vaguely suggesting the thing being implied. Often used when the implied thing is negative or derogatory.

| inter alia

|among others

|Used to indicate an item cited has been pulled from a larger or more complete list.

| inter rusticos

|among rustics

|Refers to contract, debts, or other agreements made between parties who are not legal professionals.

| inter se

|amongst themselves

|Refers to obligations between members of the same group or party, differentiated from the whole party's obligations to another party.

| inter vivos

|between the living

|Refers to a gift or other non-sale transfer between living parties. This is in contrast to a will, where the transfer takes effect upon one party's death.

| intra

|within

| intra fauces terrae

|within the jaws of the land

|This term refers to a nation's territorial waters.

| intra legem

|within the law

|Used in various contexts to refer to the legal foundation for a thing.

| intra vires

|within the powers

|Something done which requires legal authority, and the act is performed accordingly. Cf. ultra vires.

| ipse dixit

|He himself said it.

|An assertion given undue weight solely by virtue of the person making the assertion.

| ipsissima verba

|the very words

|Referring to a document or ruling that is being quoted by another.

| ipso facto

|by the fact itself

|Used in the context that one event is a direct and immediate consequence of another. "In and of itself."

| ipso jure

|the law itself

|By operation of law.

|ius

|law

|For ius and various terms incorporating ius, see jus below and the relevant term incorporating jus

| ius civile vigilantibus scriptum est

|civil law is written for the vigilant

|Noting that private law is written for those persons who are vigilant in pursuing their interests and diligently care for their own affairs.

| jurat

|(He) swears

|Appears at the end of an affidavit, where the party making the affirmation signs the oath, and the information on whom the oath was sworn before is placed.

| juris privati

|of private right

|Not clothed with a public interest.

| jus

|law, right

|Essentially: law.

| jus accrescendi

|right of survivorship

|Right of survivorship: In property law, on the death of one joint tenant, that tenant's interest passes automatically to the surviving tenant(s) to hold jointly until the estate is held by a sole tenant. The only way to defeat the right of survivorship is to sever the joint tenancy during the lifetime of the parties, the right of survivorship takes priority over a will or interstate accession rules.

| quaeritur

|It is sought.

|The question is raised. Used to declare that a question is being asked in the following verbiage.

| quaere

|query

|Used in legal drafts to call attention to some uncertainty or inconsistency in the material being cited.

| quantum

|how much

| quantum meruit

|as much as it deserves; as much as she or he has earned like reason doth make like law.

|See the judgment of Lord Holt CJ in Ashby v White.

| ubi jus ibi remedium

|wherever a right exists there is also a remedy

|See the judgment of Lord Holt CJ in Ashby v White. Some legal scholars find it reflected in the Due Process Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution.

| ultra vires

|beyond the powers

|An act that requires legal authority to perform, but which is done without obtaining that authority.

| universitas personarum

|totality of people

|Aggregate of people, body corporate, as in a college, corporation, or state

| universitas rerum

|totality of things

|Aggregate of things.

| uno flatu

|in one breath

|Used to criticize inconsistencies in speech or testimony, as in: one says one thing, and in the same breath, says another contradictory thing.

| uti possidetis

|as you possess

|Ancient concept regarding conflicts, wherein all property possessed by the parties at the conclusion of the conflict shall remain owned by those parties unless treaties to the contrary are enacted.

| uxor

|wife

|Used in documents in place of the wife's name. Usually abbreviated et ux.

| vel non

|or not

|Used when considering whether some event or situation is either present or it is not.

| veto

|forbid

|The power of an executive to prevent an action, especially the enactment of legislation.

| vice versa

|the other way around

|Something that is the same either way.

| vide

|see

|Used in citations to refer the reader to another location.

| videlicet

|contraction of videre licet, meaning "it is permitted to see"

|Used in documents to mean "namely" or "that is". Usually abbreviated viz.

| viz.

|abbreviation of videlicet

|Namely.

| vigilantibus non dormientibus iura subveniunt

|The laws benefit those who are vigilant rather than those who sleep.

Civil law

{|class="wikitable sortable" width="100%"

! Term or phrase

! Literal translation

!class="unsortable"|Definition and use

!class="unsortable"|English pron

| accessio

|something added

|Accession, i.e. mode of acquisition by creation in which labor and other goods are added to property in such a manner that the identity of the original property is not lost (vs. commixtio, specificatio)

| accidentalia negotii

|business incidentals

|Ancillary terms and conditions; express contractual terms that are purely voluntary, optional, and not necessitated by the contract's subject matter. Also called incidentalia (Roman-Dutch law). One of three types of contractual terms, the others being essentialia negotii 'core terms' and naturalia negotii 'implied terms'.

| actus iuridicus

|legal act

|1. In French-law-based systems, refers only to those sources of subjective law that are human-made and voluntary (vs. factum iuridicum); 2. In German-law-based systems, encompasses all sources of subjective law, be they human-made or not, voluntary or not. See also negotium iuridicum.

| ad quantitatem

|by the quantity

|itemized, e.g. sale ad quantitatem = item sale (e.g. 100 carp, 10,000 lbs. of sugar, 10 casks of corn) (vs. per aversionem)

| aditio hereditatis

|hereditary approach

|Entering into the inheritance, i.e. vesting of the inheritance in an heir or will beneficiary. See delatio hereditatis.

| aliquid novi

|something new

|The new element or aspect of a novation (vs. idem debitum). Also known as novum.

| casum sentit dominus

|accident is felt by the owner

|The owner who has to assume the risk of accidental harm to him or accidental loss to his property.

| casus fortuitus

|fortuitous event

| Force majeure arising from a human-made inevitable accident (e.g. riots, strikes, civil war); ex: When H.M.S. Bounty was destroyed by Hurricane Sandy, October 29, 2012, casus fortuitus would describe the H.M.S. Bounty being at the wrong place when Hurricane Sandy came up the coast.HMS Bounty Sinks Compare vis maior (see below).

| cautio de restituendo

|guarantee to reinstate

|Security or guarantee that heirs must provide in a case where an absent person's estate is divided among them (insurance law)

| cessio

|yielding

|Assignment, that is, the transfer of rights or benefits.

Parties:

cedens 'cedent' (= assignor)
cessionarius 'cessionary, cessionee' (= assignee)
debitor cessus 'third-party obligor'

Types:

cessio in anticipando - assignment of future right or benefit
cessio in securitatem debiti - assignment of a principal debt (right of action) as security for the due performance of another debt (the secured debt)

| collatio bonorum

|bringing together of goods

|Hotchpot. Also called collatio inter liberos (Scots law).

| commixtio

|commingling

|Confusion, i.e. acquisition by creation in which fungible solid or liquid goods (and no labor) of different owners intermingle in such a way that the mixture creates a new thing and can no longer be separately identified, it is owned by the owners in co-ownership (vs. accessio, specificatio)

| commodatum

|accommodation

|Loan for use, i.e. bailment of movable property that is not perishable or consumable to be returned without payment. Parties:

commodans 'lender'
commodatarius 'borrower'

| communio bonorum

|community of goods

|The aggregate of marital property (or marital estate) under a community property matrimonial regime.

| compensatio

|balancing of accounts

|Set-off. Type: compensatio lucri cum damno - set-off of profit and loss

| compensatio morae

|balance of delay

|Delay in payment or performance on the part of both the debtor and the creditor.

| confusio

|melting together

|Merger of counterparty rights in the same person (e.g. debtor-creditor, buyer-seller, landlord-tenant, etc.), thereby extinguishing an obligation or right. Adverb: confusione.

| conjunctissimus

|the most joined

|Next-of-kin. Plural conjunctissimi.

| contra bonos mores

|against good morals

|Contracts so made are generally illegal and unenforceable.

| culpa

|guilt

|Unintentional negligence (in tort). Degrees:

culpa lata - gross negligence
culpa levis - ordinary negligence
culpa levissima - slight negligence

| cum beneficio inventarii

|under benefit of inventory

|As in an heir cum beneficio inventarii, who accepts his/her share in a deceased's estate after having had an appraisal and estate inventory drawn up, thereby separating their share from the whole and limiting their liability.

| cum onere

|with burdens

|(Louisiana law) as encumbered, i.e. alienated with the encumbrances running with the land.

| cura

|guardianship

|Curatorship, i.e. legal guardianship under which the ward is totally and permanently incapable. Compare tutela. Parties are:

curandus - ward
curator - guardian (see below)

| curator

|guardian

|Guardian under a curatorship (cura). Types are:

curator ad litem - guardian ad litem
curator bonis - guardian of the property
curator personae - guardian of the person

| damnum emergens

|emergent loss

|Loss actually incurred because of a contractual breach

| damnum et interesse

|damage and interests

|Tortious damages, damages in tort

| data certa

|certain date

|Fixed effective date of a contract, i.e. one that cannot be ante- or post-dated

| datio in solutum

|giving in payment

|Species of accord and satisfaction by transfer or assignment of property in lieu of money; kind of in-kind payment, as opposed to a money payment

| de cujus

|(s)he for whom...

|The deceased, decedent. Short for de cujus successione agitur.

| delatio hereditatis

|hereditary transferral

|Falling open of succession. See aditio hereditatis.

| domicilium citandi et executandi

|domicile for summoning and carrying out

|Address for service or notices (e.g. for contractual purposes).

| dominium plurium in solidum

|plural, joint and several ownership

|Joint tenancy.

| dominium pro parte pro indiviso

|unpartitioned and undivided ownership

|Tenancy in common. The types are:

communio pro indiviso (aka communio pro partibus indivisis) - unilaterally partitionable
communio incidens - arising by operation of law, e.g. indivision (succession), party walls, common areas of a condominium
communio voluntaria - arising by agreement, e.g. marital estate (community property), company/partnership property
communio pro diviso - all parties must agree to partition

| dominus litis

|master of the case

|Litigant, the client in a lawsuit, as opposed to the lawyer.

| error in iudicando

|error in judgment (in court)

|Error of fact and reasoning (vs. error in procedendo)

| error in procedendo

|procedural error (in court)

|Error on a point of law or procedure (vs. error in iudicando)

| essentialia negotii

|business essentials

|Express or implied contractual terms that are required either by law or by the contract's subject matter. One of three types of contractual terms, the others being accidentialia negotii and naturalia negotii.

| ex intervalo temporis

|Not all at once, in parts (vs. uno contextu).

| ex propriis sensibus

|with one's own senses

|Used for firsthand testimony, e.g. testimony ex propriis sensibus (vs. per relationem).

| factum iuridicum

|legal fact

|In French-law-based systems, refers to those sources of subjective law that are either not human-made or human-made but involuntary (vs. actus iuridicus).

| falsus procurator

|fake agent

|Agent de son tort, officious agent

| fideicommissum

|entrusting to (a person's) good faith.

|Testamentary trust; a form of substitution (called 'fideicommissary substitution') in which a will beneficiary is instructed in the will to transfer the testamentary gift in whole or part to a third party. A fideicommissum is created either expressly in a will or impliedly through a si sine liberis decesserit clause or through a prohibition against alienation in the will.

Parties:

fideicommittens 'grantor' (= testator)
fiduciarius 'fiduciary' (= trustee)
fideicommissarius 'fideicommissary' (= beneficiary)

Types:

fideicommissum simplex - one 'gift-over' to single beneficiary
fideicommissum multiplex - multiple gift-overs to a succession of beneficiaries
fideicommissum residui - fiduciary can alienate 3/4 of assets

| fideiussio

|Suretyship.

| fructus industriales

|industrial fruits

|Emblements; in property law, a co-owner profiting from her or his fructus industriales is solely responsible for any losses that my occur. and Pope Pius X's Quae rei, 1908.

| ebdomadarius

|Person in a cathedral who supervises regular performance of religious services and assigns duties of choir members

| eleemosynae

|Possessions of the church

| embryo formatus

|Human embryo "organized into human shape and endowed with a soul"

| embryo informatus

|Human embryo before endowment with a soul

| episcoporum ecidicus

|church lawyer

| episcopus puerorum

|"bishop of the boys"; a layperson who on some feastdays braided his hair, dressed as a bishop and acted in a "ludicrous" manner

</references>

References

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