Greenwich Mean Time (GMT) is the mean solar time at the Royal Observatory in Greenwich, London, counted from midnight. At different times in the past, it has been calculated in different ways, including being calculated from noon; as a consequence, it cannot be used to specify a particular time unless a context is given. The term 'GMT' is also used as one of the names for the time zone UTC+00:00 and, in UK law, is the basis for civil time in the United Kingdom.
A plaintiff is the party who initiates a lawsuit before a court. By doing so, the plaintiff seeks a legal remedy. If this search is successful, the court will issue judgment in favor of the plaintiff and make the appropriate court order. "Plaintiff" is the term used in civil cases in most English-speaking jurisdictions, the notable exceptions being England and Wales, where a plaintiff has, since the introduction of the Civil Procedure Rules in 1999, been known as a "claimant" and Scotland, where the party has always been known as the "pursuer". In criminal cases, the prosecutor brings the case against the defendant, but the key complaining party is often called the "complainant".
The term narcotic originally referred medically to any psychoactive compound with numbing or paralyzing properties. In the United States, it has since become associated with opiates and opioids, commonly morphine and heroin, as well as derivatives of many of the compounds found within raw opium latex. The primary three are morphine, codeine, and thebaine.
A jurist is a person with expert knowledge of law; someone who analyses and comments on law. This person is usually a specialist legal scholar, mostly with a formal qualification in law and often a legal practitioner. In the United Kingdom the term "jurist" is mostly used for legal academics, while in the United States the term may also be applied to a judge. With reference to Roman law, a "jurist" is a jurisconsult (iurisconsultus).
A trade name, trading name, or business name is a pseudonym used by companies that do not operate under their registered company name. The term for this type of alternative name is a "fictitious" business name. Registering the fictitious name with a relevant government body is often required.
The doctrine of privity of contract is a common law principle which provides that a contract cannot confer rights or impose obligations upon anyone who is not a party to that contract. It is related to, but distinct from, the doctrine of consideration, according to which a promise is legally enforceable only if valid consideration has been provided for it, and a plaintiff is legally entitled to enforce such a promise only if they are a promisee from whom the consideration has moved.
A counsel or a counsellor at law is a person who gives advice and deals with various issues, particularly in legal matters. It is a title often used interchangeably with the title of lawyer.
An estate, in common law, is the net worth of a person at any point in time, alive or dead. It is the sum of a person's assets – legal rights, interests and entitlements to property of any kind – less all liabilities at that time. The issue is of special legal significance on a question of bankruptcy and death of the person.
In a contract of carriage, the consignee is the entity who is financially responsible for the receipt of a shipment. Generally, but not always, the consignee is the same as the receiver.
Consignment is a process whereby a person gives permission to another party to take care of their property and retains full ownership of the property until the item is sold to the final buyer. It is generally done during auctions, shipping, goods transfer, or putting something up for sale in a consignment store. The owner of the goods pays the third-party a portion of the sale for facilitating the sale. Consignors maintain the rights to their property until the item is sold or abandoned. Many consignment shops and online consignment platforms have a set day limit before an item expires for sale. Within the time of contract, reductions of the price are common to promote the sale of the item, but vary on the type of item sold (usually 60–90 days).
Commonwealth is a term used by four of the 50 states of the United States in their full official state names. "Commonwealth" is a traditional English term used to describe a political community as having been founded for the common good. The four states – Kentucky, Massachusetts, Pennsylvania, and Virginia – are all in the Eastern United States, and prior to the formation of the United States in 1776 were British colonial possessions. As such, they share a strong influence of English common law in some of their laws and institutions. However, the "commonwealth" appellation has no legal or political significance, and it does not make "commonwealth" states any different from other U.S. states.
A contract of carriage is a contract between a carrier of cargo or passengers and the consignor, consignee or passenger. Contracts of carriage typically define the rights, duties and liabilities of parties to the contract, addressing topics such as acts of God and including clauses such as force majeure. Among common carriers, they are usually evidenced by standard terms and conditions printed on the reverse of a ticket or carriage document. Notification of a shipment’s arrival is usually sent to the "notify party", whose address appears on the shipping document. This party is usually either the buyer or the importer.
A specialized set of jargon describe the tools, equipment, and employment sectors used in the trucking industry in the United States. Some terms may be used within other English-speaking countries, or within the freight industry in general. For example, shore power is a term borrowed from shipping terminology, in which electrical power is transferred from shore to ship, instead of the ship relying upon idling its engines. Drawing power from land lines is more efficient than engine idling and eliminates localized air pollution. Another borrowed term is "landing gear", which refers to the legs which support the front end of a semi-trailer when it is not connected to a semi-truck. Some nicknames are obvious wordplay, such as "portable parking lot", in reference to a truck that carries automobiles.
Document automation is the design of systems and workflows that assist in the creation of electronic documents. These include logic-based systems that use segments of pre-existing text and/or data to assemble a new document. This process is increasingly used within certain industries to assemble legal documents, contracts and letters. Document automation systems can also be used to automate all conditional text, variable text, and data contained within a set of documents.
QVC Germany is a branch of QVC, a multinational corporation specialising in televised home shopping, originally founded in 1986 by Joseph Segel in West Chester, Pennsylvania. It expanded into Germany in 1996. QVC broadcasts in four major countries to 141 million consumers. The name is an initialism—standing for "Quality, Value, Convenience".
Attorney at law or attorney-at-law, usually abbreviated in everyday speech to attorney, is the preferred term for a practising lawyer in certain jurisdictions, including South Africa, Sri Lanka, the Philippines, and the United States. In Canada, it is used only in Quebec as the English term for avocat. The term has its roots in the verb to attorn, meaning to transfer one's rights and obligations to another.
A consignment agreement is an agreement between a consignee and consignor for the storage, transfer, sale or resale and use of the commodity. The consignee may take goods from the consignment stock for use or resale subject to payment to the consignor agreeably to the terms bargained in the consignment agreement. The unsold goods will normally be returned by the consignee to the consignor.
A manifest, customs manifest or cargo document is a document listing the cargo, passengers, and crew of a ship, aircraft, or vehicle, for the use of customs and other officials. Where such a list is limited to identifying passengers, it is a passenger manifest or passenger list or bag manifest; conversely, a list limited to identifying cargo is a cargo manifest or cargo list, or a container manifest for cargo in a container. The manifest may be used by people having an interest in the transport to ensure that passengers and cargo listed as having been placed on board the transport at the beginning of its passage continue to be on board when it arrives at its destination.
This document, made up generally by the ship's broker, from the contents of the bills of lading, contains a specification of the nature and quantity of the cargo laden, and is generally attested officially, and in some countries notarially. The prize laws seldom mention this paper; nor is it general; but yet of essential importance in case of search, as well for belligerents, as for neutrals in procuring a speedy dismissal. It is usual to require it at the custom house. (p301)
Young Woman with a Serpent is a c. 1885 sculpture by Auguste Rodin, realised in several media. The artist later used the figure in his 1905 Adam and Eve.
The Railways Act, 1989 is an Act of the Parliament of India which regulates all aspects of rail transport. The Act came into force in 1989, replacing the Railways Act of 1890. The Act provides in detail the legislative provisions regarding railway zones, construction and maintenance of works, passenger and employee services.
