Legal Maxims

Latin maxims and legal terms with what they mean.

Furiosis nulla voluntas est — A person of unsound mind has no legal will and cannot give valid consent to a legal transaction or be held liable for a criminal act due to the absence of intent.
Furiosus furore suo punitur — An insane person is sufficiently punished by his own madness and therefore cannot be subjected to ordinary criminal punishment.
Habeas Corpus — A constitutional writ ordering the authority detaining a person to produce them before the court to test the legality of their detention.
Ignorantia facti excusat, ignorantia juris non excusat — Ignorance of fact may excuse liability, but ignorance of law is no defence to a criminal or civil charge.
Ignorantia juris non excusat — Ignorance of the law is no excuse; a person cannot escape liability merely because they were unaware of the legal provision they violated.
Injuria sine damno — Violation of a legal right without actual loss, which is still actionable in tort.
In lieu of — A substitution clause indicating that one thing is given or accepted in place of another in legal performance or remedy.
Innuendo — A statement defamatory by implication, where words appear innocent on their face but carry a hidden defamatory meaning understood by those aware of the context.
In personam — A proceeding in which relief is sought against a specific person.
In promptu — Ready at hand; immediately available for use without preparation.
In status quo — A judicial direction preserving the existing state of affairs unchanged until the matter is finally adjudicated.
Inter alia — Among other things.
Interest Reipublicae Ut Sit Finis Litium — A legal maxim declaring that it is in the public interest that litigation must come to an end, underpinning doctrines of res judicata and finality of judgments.
Inter vivos — Between living people (especially referring to a transfer of property or gift made during one's lifetime, as opposed to a legacy or inheritance).
Ipso facto — By the very fact itself; a legal consequence that follows automatically from an act without need of further proof or judicial declaration.
Jurisprudence — The science or philosophy that systematically studies the nature, sources, and principles of law.
Jus — Law or right.
Jus civile — The body of law applicable only to citizens of a particular state, governing their private rights and obligations.
Jus cogens or ius cogens — Compelling law; refers to peremptory norms of general international law from which no derogation is permitted.
Jus Gentium — The body of law common to all nations, governing relations between peoples and forming the historical basis of international law.
Jus in personam — A right against a specific individual, enforceable only against that person, as opposed to a right against the world at large.
Jus in rem — A right exercisable against the whole world or against a specific property, rather than against a specific person.
Jus naturale — Natural law; a body of unwritten universal principles derived from reason and human nature that is treated as binding above positive law.
Jus Necessitatis — The right by which a person, under compulsion of necessity, may do an act otherwise unlawful without incurring legal punishment.
Jus non scriptum — Unwritten law derived from long-established custom and usage, binding by community acceptance rather than legislative enactment.
Jus Sanguinis — A principle of nationality law by which citizenship is acquired through descent from a parent who is a citizen, regardless of place of birth.
Jus scriptum — Written law enacted by a competent legislative authority and recorded in statutory form.
Jus soli — Principle that citizenship is acquired by birth within a state's territory.
Justitia nemini neganda est — Justice is to be denied to nobody.
lex injusta est non lex — An unjust law is not a law
Lex non a rege est violanda — The law must not be violated even by the sovereign, affirming that the ruler is bound by the law.
Locus standi — The legal right or standing of a party to bring an action to, or be heard by, a court.
Mala fide — In bad faith; with the intention to deceive.
Malum in se or Mala in se — Acts that are considered inherently wrong, immoral, or evil by their very nature, regardless of whether a law explicitly prohibits them (e.g., murder, rape, theft).
Malum prohibitum — Crimes that are considered illegal solely because they are prohibited by statute, rather than being inherently immoral or evil by nature (e.g., traffic violations).
Mandamus — We command. A judicial writ issued by a higher court to compel a lower court, government official, or public body to perform a mandatory public duty.
Mens rea — The guilty mental state or criminal intent required, alongside the prohibited act, to establish criminal liability for an offence.
Misnomer — The use of a wrong or inaccurate name or term to describe a person or entity in a legal document or proceeding.
Modus operandi — A distinctive method or pattern of conduct used by an offender, admissible to prove identity or system in criminal cases.
Modus Vivendi — An arrangement or agreement, often temporary, that allows conflicting parties to coexist peacefully until a permanent settlement can be reached.
Mutatis Mutandis — With the necessary changes having been made.
Nemo bis punitur pro eodem delicto — Nobody can be twice punished for the same offence.
Nemo debet bis vexari pro una et eadem causa — No person shall be tried or punished twice for the same offence, embodying the double jeopardy rule.
Nemo debet esse judex in propria causa — Nobody can be the judge in his own case.
Nemo moriturus praesumitur mentire — No one about to die is presumed to lie; the legal basis for admitting dying declarations as substantive evidence without cross-examination.
Nemo potest esse tenens et dominus — No person can simultaneously be the landlord and the tenant of the same property, as the two estates merge and extinguish the lease.
Nolle prosequi — A formal declaration by a prosecutor or plaintiff to discontinue proceedings, terminating the action without a judgment on the merits.
Non Sequitur — An inference or conclusion that does not logically follow from the preceding premises, rendering the argument invalid.
Novation — The act of replacing an existing contract or obligation with a new one by mutual agreement, thereby discharging the original liability.
Nullum crimen sine lege, nulla poena sine lege — No act is a crime and no punishment may be imposed unless prescribed by a law in force at the time of the act.