In law and government, de jure describes practices that are legally recognised, regardless whether the practice exists in reality. In contrast, de facto describes situations that exist in reality, even if not legally recognised. The terms are often used to contrast different scenarios: for a colloquial example, "I know that, de jure, this is supposed to be a parking lot, but now that the flood has left four feet of water here, it's a de facto swimming pool". To further explain, even if the signs around the flooded parking lot say "Parking Lot" it is "in fact" a swimming pool.
Prima facie is a Latin expression meaning on its first encounter or at first sight. The literal translation would be "at first face" or "at first appearance", from the feminine forms of primus ("first") and facies ("face"), both in the ablative case. In modern, colloquial and conversational English, a common translation would be "on the face of it". The term prima facie is used in modern legal English to signify that upon initial examination, sufficient corroborating evidence appears to exist to support a case. In common law jurisdictions, prima facie denotes evidence that, unless rebutted, would be sufficient to prove a particular proposition or fact. The term is used similarly in academic philosophy. Most legal proceedings, in most jurisdictions, require a prima facie case to exist, following which proceedings may then commence to test it, and create a ruling.
Pieter Burman, also known as Peter or Pieter Burmann and posthumously distinguished from his nephew as "the Elder", was a Dutch classical scholar.
An ex post facto law is a law that retroactively changes the legal consequences of actions that were committed, or relationships that existed, before the enactment of the law. In criminal law, it may criminalize actions that were legal when committed; it may aggravate a crime by bringing it into a more severe category than it was in when it was committed; it may change the punishment prescribed for a crime, as by adding new penalties or extending sentences; or it may alter the rules of evidence in order to make conviction for a crime likelier than it would have been when the deed was committed.
Ex parte is a Latin legal term meaning "from [the/a] party."
An ex parte decision is one decided by a judge without requiring all of the parties to the controversy to be present. In Australian, Canadian, U.K., South African, Indian, and U.S. legal doctrines, ex parte means a legal proceeding brought by one person in the absence of and without representation or notification of other parties. It is also used more loosely to refer to improper unilateral contacts with a court, arbitrator, or represented party without notice to the other party or counsel for that party. The phrase was common in the titles of habeas corpus and judicial review cases up until the end of the twentieth century, because these cases were originally brought by the Crown on behalf of the claimant. In Commonwealth common law jurisdictions, the title typically appeared as R v (Defendant), ex parte (Claimant); in the US, this was shortened to Ex parte (Claimant). A proceeding in an executive agency to establish a right, such as patent prosecution, can also be ex parte.
An official is someone who holds an office in an organization or government and participates in the exercise of authority.
Citizenship in ancient Rome was a privileged political and legal status afforded to free individuals with respect to laws, property, and governance.
Ex gratia is Latin for "by favour", and is most often used in a legal context. When something has been done ex gratia, it has been done voluntarily, out of kindness or grace. In law, an ex gratia payment is a payment made without the giver recognising any liability or legal obligation.
Nota bene is a Latin phrase meaning 'note well'.
The phrase first appeared in English writing c. 1711. Often abbreviated as NB, n.b., or with the ligature
, the phrase is Latin for "note well" and comes from the Latin roots notāre and bene ("well"). It is in the singular imperative mood, instructing one individual to note well the matter at hand, i.e., to take notice of or pay special attention to it. In Modern English, it is used, particularly in legal papers, to draw the attention of the reader to a certain (side) aspect or detail of the subject on hand. While NB is also often used in academic writing, note is a common substitute.
Ex rel. is an abbreviation of the Latin phrase "ex relatione". The term is a legal phrase; the legal citation guide, the Bluebook, describes ex rel. as a "procedural phrase" and requires using it to abbreviate "on the relation of", "for the use of", "on behalf of", and similar expressions.
Ex facie, Latin for "on the face [of it]," is a legal term typically used to note that a document's explicit terms are defective without further investigation. For example, a contract between two parties would be void ex facie if, under a legal system where it was a binding requirement for validity, the document did not require party A to give consideration to party B for services rendered.
Nemo judex in causa sua is a Latin phrase that means, literally, "no-one should be a judge in his own case." It is a principle of natural justice that no person can judge a case in which they have an interest. The rule is very strictly applied to any appearance of a possible bias, even if there is actually none: "Justice must not only be done, but must be seen to be done".
Ex aequo et bono is a Latin phrase that is used as a legal term of art. In the context of arbitration, it refers to the power of arbitrators to dispense with consideration of the law but consider solely what they consider to be fair and equitable in the case at hand.
Legal English is the type of English as used in legal writing. In general, a legal language is a formalized language based on logic rules which differs from the ordinary natural language in vocabulary, morphology, syntax, and semantics, as well as other linguistic features, aimed to achieve consistency, validity, completeness and soundness, while keeping the benefits of a human-like language such as intuitive execution, complete meaning and open upgrade. However, Legal English has been referred to as a "sublanguage", as legal English differs from ordinary English. A specialized use of certain terms and linguistic patterns governs the teaching of legal language. Thus, "we study legal language as a kind of second language, a specialized use of vocabulary, phrases, and syntax that helps us to communicate more easily with each other".
In utero is a Latin term literally meaning "in the womb" or "in the uterus". In biology, the phrase describes the state of an embryo or fetus. In legal contexts, the phrase is used to referred to an unborn child, i.e., gestational age until birth. Under common law, unborn children are still considered to exist for property transfer purposes.
Curia advisari vult is a Latin legal term meaning "the court wishes to consider the matter", a term reserving judgment until some subsequent day. It often appears in case reports, abbreviated as "Cur. adv. vult", or sometimes "c.a.v." or "CAV", when the bench takes time for deliberation after hearing counsel's submissions.
Relator, female relatrix, is the legal term meaning a private person at whose relation or on whose behalf an application for a quo warranto or mandamus is filed. The relator appears as one beneficially interested, but the action is maintained on his behalf. The relator furnishes the knowledge or facts on which an information or a proceeding in quo warranto is based. Such a proceeding is usually in the name of the state, ex rel. of the relator, and so is called an "ex rel. action".
Ex contractu, Latin for "from a contract," is a legal term that indicates a consequence of a contract. Ex contractu is often to denote the source of a legal action.
