Legal Latin Terms and Their Applications

Latin Term Translation Application

a fortiori from stronger An a fortiori argument is an
"argument from a stronger
reason." This applies to a
situation in which if one thing is
true then it can be inferred that
a second thing is even more
certainly true. Thus, if Antonio
is too young to serve in the
army, then his younger brother
Carlo is certainly is too young
to serve in the army.
a mensa et thoro from table and bed Legal separation is a divorce a
mensa et thoro, that is, divorce
from bed-and-board. Also
called separate maintenance, a
married couple may formalize a
de facto separation while
remaining legally married.
a posteriori from later A posteriori knowledge or
justification is dependent on
experience or empirical
evidence, as with most aspects
of science and personal
knowledge.
a priori from earlier A priori knowledge or
justification is independent of
experience, as with
mathematics (4 + 3 = 7),
tautologies ("triangles have 3
sides") and deduction from
pure reason.
a quo from which A court a quo is the lower court
from which an appeal has been
taken, while a judge a quo is a
judge of a court below.
ab extra from outside Sometimes I wonder if the
judge is being controlled ab
extra.
ab initio from the beginning The contract should be
declared void ab initio.
absque hoc without this The technical words of denial
used in denying what has been
alleged. An absque hoc answer
denies an allegation of fact in
Latin Term Translation Application
an adversary's pleading or
contesting that the adversary
lacked adequate knowledge to
make such an allegation in the
first place.
actori incumbit onus probatio on the plaintiff rests the proving The burden of proof is on the
plaintiff or claimant.
actus reus guilty act The external element or
objective element of a crime as
opposed to the mental state of
the accused (mens rea or guilty
mind). Actus reus is an action
or conduct which constitutes an
element of a crime.
ad coelum to the sky The legal principle that the
owner of a parcel of land also
owns the air above (ad coelum)
and the earth below the parcel.
ad hoc for this For this object or purpose only.
An ad hoc meeting is one made
or happening only for a
particular purpose or need, who
deals with items or issues
which are not planned before
they happen.
ad litem for the case For the suit; for the purposes of
the suit. A guardian ad litem is
appointed by the court to
represent the interests of a
minor or incompetent for
purposes of the litigation.
ad quod damnum according to the harm The remedy or penalty ought to
correspond specifically and
only to the damage suffered.
adjournment sine die adjournment without a day A kind of adjournment without
the committee or assembly
without setting a date for its
next meeting.
affidavit he has stated on oath A sworn statement.
audi alteram partem let the other side be heard A fundamental principle of
justice and equity, audi alteram
partem means, listen to the
other side as well.
bona fide with good faith, opposite of An act undertaken in good faith
mala fide (with bad faith) which is a sincere intention to
be fair, candid, and honest,
Latin Term Translation Application
regardless of the outcome of
the interaction.
casus fortuitus chance occurrence, Fortuitous event.
unavoidable accident
certiorari to be apprised A writ issued by the Supreme
Court directing an inferior court,
tribunal, or other public
authority to send the record of a
proceeding for review.
compos mentis having control of one's mind Having a sound mind. Its
opposite is non compos mentis
which is literally having no
control over one's mind.
contra bonos mores against the best customs or Contra bonos mores contracts
morals or a good way of life are illegal.
contra legem against the law A contra legem decision refers
to an equitable decision of a
court that is contrary to the law
governing the controversy.
Contra legem is the opposite of
intra legem, a decision of a
court that is consistent with the
rules of law governing the
controversy.
contra proferentem against the one bringing forth Contra proferentem as used in
Contract law stipulates that an
ambiguous term in a contract
shall be interpreted against the
interests of the party that
insisted upon the term's
inclusion.
corpus delicti body of the crime Proof of corpus delicti is a
condition before a conviction
can be made.
corpus juris body of law Complete collection of laws of a
particular jurisdiction. Corpus
juris civilis refers to a complete
collection of civil laws (and also
used to refer to the Code of
Justinian), while corpus juris
gentium, literally body of the
law of nations, is the complete
collection of international law.
cui bono For whose benefit? Or to Suggests that criminal
whose advantage? perpetrators can often be found
among those who would have
Latin Term Translation Application
financially benefited from the
crime, even if the guilt is not
obvious.
de facto in fact Refers to something that is true
in practice, though not ordained
by law. When ordained by law,
practice becomes de jure,
literally from law.
de lege ferenda (or lex future law Suggests what the law should
ferenda) be or a proposed law, as
opposed to de lege lata (or lex
lata) which is the law as it is, or
the current law.
de novo afresh or anew A trial de novo is a new trial
due to grave failure of the
former trial.
dictum (something) said Often used in the context of
obiter dictum, literally
"something said in passing"
which is an opinion made in a
judicial decision but one that is
not necessary to the case
resolution. An obiter dictum
cannot become precedent and
is not binding though it may be
persuasive.
donatio mortis causa A future gift made in A will and testament. The
contemplation of approaching effectivity of the gift is
expectation of the donor's conditional upon the donor's
imminent death. death. The term is contrasted
with donatio inter vivos which is
a gift delivered in the donor's
lifetime.
duces tecum bring with you A subpoena duces tecum is a
court summons ordering the
recipient to appear before the
court and bring with him or her
documents or tangible evidence
for use at a trial. Also called
"subpoena for production of
evidence," a duces tecum
subpoena is contrasted with the
subpoena ad testificandum, a
writ which summons a witness
to testify orally.
ejusdem generis of the same kind Under the ejusdem generis
Latin Term Translation Application
rule, when a law that forbids
someone to carry "pistols,
revolvers, or other dangerous
weapons," the term "dangerous
weapons" may be construed to
comprehend only dangerous
weapons of a similar kind
enumerated such as other
types of firearms such as
handguns.
erga omnes towards all An erga omnes obligation is
one that is owed towards all.
Examples are peremptory
norms (also called jus cogens,
literally "compelling law") in
international law, such as the
prohibition against genocide,
maritime piracy, slavery and
torture which states are
mandated to observe towards
all, whether towards their own
citizens or aliens. Erga omnes
norms are obligatory from
which no derogation, i.e., full or
partial suppression of the norm,
is allowed.
et al. and others Abbreviation of et ("and") and
alii ("others").
etc. and the rest Abbreviation of et cetera,
meaning "and the rest," "and
other similar things," or "and so
forth."
ex aequo et bono according to the right and good The term refers to the power of
judges or arbitrators to
dispense with consideration of
the law and consider solely
what they consider to be fair
and equitable in the case at
hand.
ex cathedra from the chair With the authority derived from
one's office or position. The use
of chair here refers to authority
or position, e.g., The Pope
speaking ex cathedra.
ex facie on the face of it If a contract is patently and
blatantly illegal it can be
Latin Term Translation Application
considered void ex facie
without further arguments.
ex officio by virtue of office or position The President of France is, ex
officio, also prince of the
diarchy (with two heads of
state) called Andorra.
ex parte from or for one party A legal proceeding brought by
one person in the absence of
and without representation or
notification of other parties.
ex post facto from a thing done afterward An ex post facto law makes a
past act illegal that was not
illegal when it was done.
expressio unius est exclusio the express mention of one When items are listed, anything
alterius thing excludes all others not explicitly stated is assumed
to be not included. Sometimes,
however, a list in a statute is
illustrative, not exclusionary.
This is usually indicated by a
word such as "includes" or
"such as."
ex turpi causa non oritur from a dishonorable cause an The ex turpi causa or illegality
actio action does not arise defense means a plaintiff will
be unable to pursue legal
remedy if it arises in connection
with his own illegal act.
Particularly relevant in contract
and torts law, the illegality
defense may be invoked by a
defendant who though he broke
a contract, or was negligent,
nevertheless the plaintiff will not
be allowed to sue successfully
by reason of the illegality of his
acts.
exempli gratia for the sake of example This means "for example" and
is usually abbreviated as e.g.
fiat justitia ruat caelum let justice be done though the This is a legal maxim that
heavens fall justice must be done regardless
of the result. The maxim was
used in the landmark English
case of Somerset v. Stewart
where the King's Bench in 1772
held that slavery was unlawful
and unsupported by the
common law in England and
Latin Term Translation Application
Wales.
forum non conveniens forum not agreeing A legal doctrine whereby courts
may refuse to take jurisdiction
over matters where there is a
more appropriate forum
available to the parties. The
doctrine is often used to
oppose forum shopping, or the
practice of picking a court
merely to gain an advantage in
the proceeding.
fumus boni iuris smoke of a good right Having a sufficient legal basis
to bring legal action.
functus officio having performed one's office May refer to an officer, agency,
law, or document whose
mandate has expired either
because of the arrival of an
expiry date or because it has
accomplished the purpose for
which it was created.
generalia specialibus non the general does not detract "Now if anything be certain it is
derogant from the specific this, that where there are
general words in a later act
capable of reasonable and
sensible application without
extending them to subjects
specially dealt with by earlier
legislation, you are not to hold
that earlier legislation indirectly
repealed, altered, or derogated
from merely by force of such
general words, without any
evidence of a particular
intention to do so." - The Vera
Cruz, (1884) 10 App. Cas. 59
gravamen to weigh down The basis of a legal action or
element of a lawsuit.
habeas corpus you may have the body A court order to a detaining
party (e.g., a prison custodian)
demanding that a prisoner be
taken before the court, and for
the court to determine whether
the custodian has lawful
authority to detain the prisoner.
hostis humani generis enemy of the human race Originally, used in admiralty law
to refer to pirates and slave
Latin Term Translation Application
traders, the enemy of mankind
doctrine has since included
torturers. For instance, hostis
humani generis has been used
by the International Criminal
Tribunal for the former
Yugoslavia in the conviction of
a torturer in Prosecutor v.
Furundzija.
i.e. that is i.e. or id est, meaning "that is"
clarifies something that may not
have been clear.
ibid. in the same place Short for ibidem, the term is
used to provide a footnote
citation for a source that was
cited in the preceding footnote.
idem per idem upon the same matter or When the meaning of a statute
subject cannot be determined or is
ambiguous, it may be known in
light of other statutes on the
same subject matter.
imprimatur let it be printed An authorization allowing the
printing of a book. Broadly, any
mark of approval or
endorsement.
in absentia in absence Legal proceedings in the
absence of the accused or
party.
in articulo mortis at the point of death Under the law on evidence, the
dying declaration is testimony
that would normally be barred
as hearsay but may
nevertheless be admitted as
evidence by the courts because
it constituted the last words of a
dying person. The rationale is
that someone who is in articulo
mortis is prone to tell the truth
having less incentive to
fabricate testimony.
in camera in the chamber Refers to legal proceedings
which are conducted in
chambers or are closed to
public. In camera is the
opposite of in curia which are
proceedings done in open
Latin Term Translation Application
court.
in curia in open court Refers to court proceedings to
which the public has a right to
be admitted.
in esse in existence A term used to describe
anything that exists, such as
existing crops and contrasts
with in posse, meaning
potential or not yet existing.
in flagrante delicto in blazing or burning offence When someone is caught in the
act of committing the crime he
or she is caught in flagrante
delicto. Synonyms are caught
red-handed (with hands still red
in blood), or caught with one's
pants down (caught in the
sexual act).
in forma pauperis in the character or manner of a In forma pauperis (IFP) or to be
pauper a pauper litigant is a status
given to someone who is
without the funds to pursue the
usual costs of a lawsuit or a
criminal defense. Of course one
need not be a literal beggar to
avail of the benefits, but just
poor who could not afford legal
costs. The status is usually
granted by a judge without a
hearing, and entitles the litigant
to a waiver of the usual legal
costs.
in futuro in the future Debts in futuro are those which
become due and payable in the
future.
in loco parentis in the place of a parent Refers to the legal
responsibility of a person or
organization to take on some of
the functions and
responsibilities of a parent. For
instance, schools may act in
loco parentis, that is, in the best
interests of the students as they
see fit.
in pari delicto in equal offense A legal term used to indicate
that two persons or entities are
equally at fault in a crime or
Latin Term Translation Application
tort.
in pari materia of the same matter; on the Where a law is ambiguous,
same subject similar laws applying on the
same matter or subject may be
used to interpret the vague one.
in personam in person When a proceeding is in
personam, it is directed to a
particular person only. It affects
a specific person only and
potentially imposes a personal
liability. This is often contrasted
with proceedings in rem.
in re in the matter (of) Used in the title of a legal
proceeding to indicate that the
proceeding is in rem or quasi in
rem and not in personam.
in rem the thing When a court assumes an in
rem jurisdiction, the property or
status is the primary object of
the action, rather than personal
liabilities not necessarily
associated with the property.
in terrorem in order to frighten A legal threat, usually one
given in hope of compelling
someone to act without
resorting to a lawsuit. For
example, lawyers routinely
send in terrorem letters, which
threaten litigation should their
written request to pay their
clients' loan or to have the
recipient stop violating their
clients' trademark rights be not
complied with. In terrorem
clauses (also called "no-contest
clauses") are also used in wills
to keep beneficiaries from
contesting the will by
disinheriting them or reducing
their share to a minimal amount
should they do so.
in toto in all Entirely, totally, completely.
infra below This means see below -
referring to parts of a text.
inter alia among other things He is suing his manager for,
inter alia, breach of contract.
Latin Term Translation Application
This means the suit refers not
only to contractual breach but
other violations.
inter arma enim silent leges in times of war, the law falls The phrase, attributed to
silent Cicero, is often used to justify
suppression of liberty and rule
of law in times of war or
widespread lawlessness.
inter rusticos among the illiterate or Refers to legal documents
unlearned which were prepared by
nonlawyers. Thus, deeds made
inter rusticos, being prepared
by nonprofessionals, are
interpreted according to equity
rather than strict legal
construction.
inter se between themselves or among The phrase refers to rights or
themselves duties between two or more
parties as distinguished from
their rights or duties to other
people. For example, the
contract binds both managers
and supervisors and between
supervisors inter se.
inter vivos between the living Refers to gifts which are
effective during the donor's
lifetime.
intra vires within the powers Legal act. Its opposite is ultra
vires which means outside the
powers, hence done without
legal authority.
ipse dixit he himself said it Coined by Cicero, the phrase is
a kind of fallacy called
argument from authority
wherein the truth of an
assertion is assumed if it
comes from a recognized
authority or organization. An
example is the unquestioning
reliance on the authority of
ancient Greek philosophers or
of Ivy League universities.
ipso facto by the fact itself A blind person, ipso facto, is
not entitled to a driver's license.
ipso jure by operation of law For example, a partnership is
ipso jure dissolved if one
Latin Term Translation Application
partner attempts to sell his or
her interest in the partnership.
iudex non calculat The judge does not calculate. Figuratively, a judge is not
persuaded by the number of
witnesses or arguments but
rather by the strength of the
testimonies and cogency of the
arguments.
jurat (he) swears A statement at the end of an
affidavit indicating when,
where, and before whom it was
sworn.
jus law, right Jus, or ius, may be understood
in terms of posited rules
(positive or objective law), i.e.,
jus est norma agendi, "law is a
rule of conduct," or as a set of
possibilities to act (subjective
law), i.e., jus est facultas
agendi, or "law is a license to
act."
jus sanguinis right of blood A legal principle wherein
citizenship is not determined by
the place of birth but by blood,
that is, by the citizenship of one
or both parents.
jus soli right of soil A legal principle wherein
citizenship is determined by the
place or country of birth.
leges posteriores priores later laws repeal those before This is otherwise known as the
contrarias abrogant enacted to the contrary Last in Time Rule: When two
laws are in conflict, the one
enacted last prevails.
lex loci law of the place Usually used in contract law,
lex loci determines which
state's laws govern the
contract.
lis pendens suit pending A written notice, usually filed in
the Office of the Register of
Deeds, that a court case has
been filed concerning the real
estate. The case may involve
title or interest in the property.
Lis pendens should be
distinguished from pendente lite
which means while the litigation
Latin Term Translation Application
is pending. The former is a
notice, while the latter are
interlocutory court orders used
to provide relief until a final
judgment is rendered. For
example, support pendente lite
is a court-ordered support
pending final determination of
the case.
locus place Locus delicti means the place
of the crime.
malum in se wrong in itself An act considered universally
wrong or evil in itself because it
violates the natural and moral
principles of a civilized society.
Rape, murder, and theft are
examples of malum in se
crimes.
malum prohibitum wrong due to being prohibited Are acts considered wrong by
virtue of being prohibited by
law. Crimes under Special
Penal Laws are often, but not
always, considered as mala
prohibita (plural of malum
prohibitum). For instance, acts
penalized under the Bouncing
Checks law are mala prohibita.
The commission of a malum
prohibitum act requires no proof
of criminal intent in order to get
a conviction. As long as the act
is committed, then the same is
considered punishable as a
crime under the law.
mandamus we command A judicial writ commanding a
person to perform a public or
statutory duty.
noscitur a sociis a word is known by the When a term is ambiguous, its
company it keeps meaning may be determined by
reference to the rest of the
statute.
pro se on one's own behalf A pro se litigant refers to a
person who represents his or
her own case in court without
the aid of a lawyer or other
representatives.
Latin Term Translation Application
quasi in rem as if against a thing A legal action based on
property rights of a person
absent from the jurisdiction. For
example, the state can assert
power over an individual simply
based on the fact that he has
property such as land, shares
of stock or bank account. A
quasi in rem action is
commonly used when
jurisdiction over the defendant
cannot be obtained due to his
absence. Any judgment will
affect only the property seized
considering an in personam
jurisdiction could not be
obtained.
reddendo singula singulis referring each to each "When a will says 'I devise and
bequeath all my real and
personal property to A,' the
principle of reddendo singula
singulis would apply as if it read
'I devise all my real property,
and bequeath all my personal
property, to A,' since the word
'devise' is appropriate only to
real property and the term
'bequeath' is appropriate only to
personal property."
res ipsa loquitur the thing speaks for itself When there is no proof of what
caused the harm, the law
presumes that the injury itself is
sufficient proof of gross
negligence. For example,
extraction of the wrong tooth or
leaving instruments inside the
body after surgery.
res judicata a matter judged Refers to matters which have
been finally adjudicated, hence
no further appeals or legal
actions may be made by the
parties.
respondeat superior let the master answer Also called the master-servant
rule, respondeat superior is a
legal principle that a party is
responsible for the acts of his
Latin Term Translation Application
agents.
sine die without day When a committee adjourns
sine die it adjourns without
appointing a day on which to
meet or assemble again.
sine qua non without which, nothing A sine qua non is a condition
without which something could
not be. It is thus something
absolutely indispensable or
essential. A good character is a
sine qua non for true beauty.
stare decisis to stand by something that has Stare decisis is a doctrine
been decided wherein a judge is obligated to
stand by or adhere to a prior
precedent. The doctrine
operates both horizontally and
vertically. Horizontal stare
decisis refers to a court
adhering to its own precedent.
A court engages in vertical
stare decisis when it applies
precedent from a higher court.
Stare decisis is meant to
discourage litigating on
established precedents which
will then reduce costs.
status quo ante bellum the state of affairs that existed The state of affairs as it existed
before before. This refers to the
situation before something
happened. Status quo ante
bellum, for example, is the
situation as it existed before the
war.
sub judice under a judge Something that is under judicial
consideration and therefore
prohibited from public
discussion elsewhere.
subpoena under penalty A subpoena ad testificandum
compels a person to testify in a
legal matter.
sui generis of his/her/its own kind Unique, a class by itself.
sui juris of his/her own right Possessing full rights and
having the full capacity to
manage his affairs.
supersedeas you shall desist A writ or court order from a
higher court commanding a
Latin Term Translation Application
lower court to suspend a
particular proceeding.
supra above Used in academic or legal
writing to refer to something
mentioned or cited earlier.
vice versa the positions being reversed The other way around.
viz. abbreviation of videlicet Viz. is used in documents to
meaning "it is permitted to see" mean "namely or that is."
volenti non fit injuria to a willing person, injury is not This is a defense in tort. It
done means when someone
engages in some activity with
full knowledge and awareness
of the risks inherent in the
activity, then he cannot later
complain of, or seek
compensation for an injury
suffered during the activity. This
may be invoked as a defense
against tort actions as a result
of an injury in sports.
vigilantibus non equity aids the vigilant, not the The equitable defense of
dormientibus aequitas sleeping laches or estoppel by delay
subvenit which the defendant may
invoke against the plaintiff who
slept on his rights and who has
approached the court after an
unusually long delay.