Legal Maxims

Latin maxims and legal terms with what they mean.

Ab Initio — A legal term meaning from the beginning, used to indicate that a contract, document, or act is void or has no legal effect from its inception.
Actionable per se — A wrong that is actionable in itself without the plaintiff needing to prove actual damage.
Actio personalis moritur cum persona — A personal right of action dies with the person, extinguishing the right to sue upon the death of either party.
Actori incumbit onus probandi — The burden of proving a claim lies upon the plaintiff who asserts it, and failure to discharge it results in dismissal of the suit.
Actus me invito factus non est meus actus — An act done against one's will is not deemed that person's act, negating criminal liability where the conduct is committed under compulsion or duress.
Actus non facit reum nisi mens sit rea — An act alone does not render a person criminally liable unless it is accompanied by a guilty mind, requiring both actus reus and mens rea for an offence.
Actus reus — The physical element of a crime, involving a guilty act or omission that violates the law.
Actus Reus Non Facit Reum Nisi Mens Sit Rea — An act does not make a person guilty unless the mind is also guilty; it establishes that a crime requires both a wrongful act (actus reus) and a criminal intent (mens rea).
Ad hoc — For a particular purpose, case, or situation at hand.
Alibi — A claim or piece of evidence that one was elsewhere when an act, typically a criminal one, is alleged to have taken place.
Alimony — Court-ordered financial maintenance payable by one spouse to the other after separation or divorce.
Amicus Curiae — A friend of the court; a person, usually a lawyer, who is not a party to a case but assists the court by offering information or legal expertise on the matter.
Ante Litem Motam — Before suit brought; refers to statements or actions made before a controversy or lawsuit is initiated.
Assentio mentium — The meeting of minds between contracting parties on the same subject in the same sense, which is essential for a valid contract.
Audi alteram partem — Principle of natural justice requiring that no person be condemned without being given a fair opportunity to be heard.
Bona fide — In good faith; without intention to deceive.
Bona vacantia — Goods or property that have no owner and are claimed by the state.
Boni judicis est ampliare jurisdictionem — It is the duty of a good judge to extend the scope of their jurisdiction to ensure justice is served, particularly in cases involving remedial authority.
Caveat — A formal notice filed in court by a person to ensure that no order or action is taken against them without first giving them a hearing.
Caveat actor — The doer of an act bears the risk and legal consequences of his own conduct.
Caveat emptor — Let the buyer beware
Caveat venditor — Doctrine imposing the duty on the seller to ensure the quality and fitness of goods, making the seller liable for latent defects.
Certiorari — A prerogative writ issued by a higher court to a lower court or quasi-judicial body to review the legality of its proceedings, records, and decisions, and to quash or invalidate them if found to be in error or excess of jurisdiction.
Communis hostis omnium — They are the common enemies of all mankind.
Concurrent possession — Two persons being in possession of the same thing at the same time.
Corpus — The body or principal substance of a thing, such as the body of a person, a law, or an estate, on which legal rights and duties operate.
Corpus delicti — The body or substance of the offence; the principle that the actual commission of a crime must be proved before any person can be convicted of it.
Crimen trahit personam — The crime draws the person to the jurisdiction where it was committed, so the offender may be tried at the place of the offence regardless of their residence.
Damnum sine injuria — Damage or loss suffered by a person without the violation of a legal right.
De facto — A state of affairs existing in fact, whether or not legally recognised.
De jure — A state of affairs recognised by law, regardless of actual practice on the ground.
De minimis — A legal principle that the law does not concern itself with trifling matters, so courts may decline to provide a remedy for negligible or insignificant violations.
De Minimis Non Curat Lex — The law does not concern itself with trifles, meaning courts will not entertain claims or impose liability for trivial or insignificant matters.
De novo — A fresh hearing or review of a matter from the beginning, without being bound by prior findings.
Detinue — Tort committed by wrongfully detaining another's goods and refusing to return them on lawful demand.
Dictum — A statement of law made by a judge in the course of a decision that is not essential to the final ruling and therefore not legally binding as a precedent.
Doli capax — Capable of forming the necessary criminal intent to commit a crime (legal capacity for criminal responsibility).
Doli incapax — A presumption that a child below the statutory age lacks the capacity to form criminal intent and therefore cannot be held criminally liable.
Donatio mortis causa — A conditional gift made by a donor in contemplation of imminent death, which takes effect only upon the donor's death and is revoked if the donor recovers.
Estoppel — A doctrine that bars a party from denying a fact or representation previously asserted when another has relied upon it to their detriment.
Ex gratia — A payment or concession granted as a favour, without any legal obligation or admission of liability.
Ex officio — By virtue of one's office, empowering a person to act without separate authorisation.
Ex parte — Proceedings in the absence of the other party.
Ex post facto — A law that retroactively changes the legal consequences of actions that were committed before the enactment of the law.
Factum probans — The evidentiary fact or the fact used as evidence to prove a main fact (factum probandum).
Fatum — An inevitable accident or an act of God that is beyond human foresight and control.
Fraus est celare fraudem — It is a fraud to conceal a fraud.
Functus officio — A legal term meaning that an officer or agency has accomplished the purpose of their appointment and therefore has no further authority or jurisdiction.
Furiosi absentis loco est — A madman is in the position of one who is absent (i.e., incapable of managing his own affairs or entering into legal contracts).
Furiosi nulla voluntas est — A person of unsound mind has no legal will, so cannot validly contract, make a will, or incur criminal liability requiring mens rea.