Glossary of Legal Terms

Glossary of Legal Terms (England and Wales)

A

• Abatement: A reduction in a tax or other payment, often used in the context of inheritance tax.
• Acquittal: A formal declaration in court that the defendant is found not guilty of the charge(s) against them.
• Act: A law or statute that has been formally adopted by the legislative body.
• Adjudication: The process of making a judicial ruling or decision.
• Affidavit: A sworn written statement made before an official or a notary public.
• Aforementioned: Previously mentioned in the same text.
• Alienation: The voluntary transfer of property rights, often used in the context of the alienation of land.
• Alimony: A financial support one spouse might be ordered to pay the other during or after divorce proceedings.
• Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR): Methods to solve disputes outside of the courtroom, such as mediation or arbitration.
• Annulment: A legal decree that declares a marriage null and void, different from a divorce in that it treats the marriage as if it never existed.
• Anticipatory Breach: Indication that one party intends not to uphold their end of a contract before they are required to do so.
• Appeal: A formal application to a higher court requesting a change to a decision made by a lower court.
• Appellant: The party who initiates an appeal, often the losing party in the initial decision.
• Appurtenance: A right or privilege associated with a property, such as a parking space in a condominium complex.
• Arbitration: A form of alternative dispute resolution where a neutral third party (an arbitrator) settles a dispute, often binding.

B

• Bail: Temporary release of an accused person awaiting trial, sometimes with conditions set by the court.
• Bailiff: An officer of the court responsible for carrying out its orders and ensuring the proper conduct of proceedings.
• Bankruptcy: A legal status of a person or organization that cannot repay debts owed to creditors.
• Barrister: A lawyer entitled to represent clients in higher courts in England and Wales.
• Beneficiary: Someone who benefits from a will, trust, or life insurance policy.
• Bequest: A gift of personal property by will.
• Bona Fide: In good faith, without deceit or fraud.
• Breach of Contract: Failing to perform any term of a contract without a legitimate excuse.
• Breach of the Peace: Conduct that is disruptive or causes public disorder.
• Burden of Proof: The responsibility of showing that a statement is true; in criminal cases, this is on the prosecution.
• Bylaws: Rules made by a company or association to control the actions of its members.
• Battery: The act of intentionally inflicting bodily harm on another person.
• Bench Warrant: A court order issued by a judge for the arrest of a person.
• Beneficial Interest: The right to receive benefits on assets held by another party.
• Bill of Sale: A legal document that confirms the transfer of ownership of goods or property from one party to another.

C

• Caveat Emptor: Let the buyer beware; the principle that the buyer is responsible for checking the quality and suitability of goods before purchase.
• Chambers: Private rooms where a judge has discussions or conducts business not open to the public.
• Chattel: Personal property or assets other than real estate.
• Child Custody: Legal terms describing the legal and practical relationship between a parent and child.
• Circumstantial Evidence: Evidence that relies on inference to connect it to a conclusion of fact.
• Claimant: The party making a claim in a civil proceeding.
• Common Law: A legal system that develops law through judicial decisions rather than legislative statutes.
• Conciliation: A form of alternative dispute resolution where an independent person helps both sides to resolve their dispute.
• Conditional Discharge: A discharge of a defendant by a court in criminal proceedings on condition they do not reoffend within a specified period.
• Contempt of Court: Behavior that disrespects or obstructs the functioning of the court.
• Contract: A legally binding agreement between parties.
• Conveyancing: The legal process of transferring ownership of property from one person to another.
• Copyright: Legal protection given to the creators of original works.
• Criminal Law: The body of law dealing with criminal offenses and their punishments.
• Crown Court: A criminal court of both original and appellate jurisdiction in England and Wales.

D

• Damages: Monetary compensation awarded by a court in civil actions.
• Debt Recovery: The process of pursuing payments of debts owed by individuals or businesses.
• Deed: A legal document that is signed and delivered, especially one regarding the ownership of property.
• Defamation: The act of damaging the good reputation of someone through false statements.
• Defendant: A person or entity accused of a crime in criminal prosecution, or a party being sued in a civil case.
• Discovery: The pre-trial phase where parties can obtain evidence from each other.
• Divorce: The legal dissolution of a marriage.
• Domicile: The country that a person treats as their permanent home.
• Due Process: The fair treatment through the normal judicial system, especially as a citizen’s entitlement.
• Duress: Compulsion by threat or force.

E

• Easement: The right to cross or otherwise use someone else’s land for a specified purpose.
• Embezzlement: The act of withholding assets for the purpose of theft.
• Equity: Fairness or justice, but also a specific branch of law dealing with a type of ownership or interest in property.
• Estoppel: A legal principle that prevents someone from arguing something or asserting a right that contradicts what they previously said or agreed to by law.
• Eviction: The process by which a landlord may legally remove a tenant from their property.
• Executor: A person or institution appointed by a testator to carry out the terms of their will.
• Exhibit: A document or object shown in a court trial as evidence.
• Extradition: The official process of returning someone accused of a crime to the jurisdiction of the crime’s occurrence.

F

• Fiduciary: A person or organization that owes to another the duties of good faith and trust.
• Foreclosure: The process of taking possession of a mortgaged property when the mortgagor fails to keep up mortgage payments.
• Fraud: Wrongful or criminal deception intended to result in financial or personal gain.
• Freehold: A legal term describing a form of ownership or interest in a property, which is of an indeterminate duration.
• Family Law: An area of law that deals with family matters and domestic relations.
• Felony: A serious criminal offense, generally one punishable by imprisonment for more than one year.
• Filing: The process of submitting documents to a court clerk who records and stores them.
• Force Majeure: A common clause in contracts that essentially frees both parties from liability or obligation when an extraordinary event occurs.
• Forensic: Relating to or denoting the application of scientific methods and techniques to crime investigation.
• Franchise: A legal right or privilege granted by the government, or the authorization given by a company to sell or distribute its goods or services in a certain area.

G

• Garnishment: A legal procedure by which a creditor can collect what a debtor owes by reaching the debtor’s property when it is in the hands of someone other than the debtor.
• Goodwill: An intangible asset that represents the positive reputation of a business.
• Grantor: The individual who creates a trust.
• Grievance: A wrong considered as grounds for complaint, or something believed to cause distress.
• Guardian: A person who has the legal authority and duty to care for the personal and property interests of another person, typically a minor.
• Guilt: The state of having committed a specified or implied offense or crime.
• Guilty Plea: A formal admission in the court of guilt for the criminal act charged.
• Gross Negligence: A conscious and voluntary disregard of the need to use reasonable care, likely to cause foreseeable serious injury or harm.

H

• Habeas Corpus: A legal action or writ requiring a person under arrest to be brought before a judge or into court.
• Harassment: Unwanted behavior intended to annoy, threaten, or alarm another person.
• Hearsay: Testimony given by a witness who relates not what they know personally, but what others have said.
• Heir: A person legally entitled to the property or rank of another upon that person’s death.
• Homicide: The act of killing another person, which can be lawful (justifiable) or unlawful.
• Hung Jury: A jury that cannot reach a unanimous decision, leading to a mistrial.

I

• In Camera: Latin for “in chambers.” Refers to a hearing or inspection of documents that takes place in private, often in a judge’s chambers.
• Injunction: An order by a court to a person to do or refrain from doing a particular thing.
• Insolvency: The state of being unable to pay debts owed.
• Intangible Property: Property that has no physical existence, such as copyrights, patents, or goodwill.
• Intellectual Property: A category of property that includes intangible creations of the human intellect, such as inventions, literary and artistic works, and symbols, names, and images used in commerce.
• Interlocutory: Temporary or provisional; often refers to court orders that are not final.
• Intestate: Dying without a will, causing the laws of inheritance to determine the distribution of the estate.
• Involuntary Manslaughter: Unintentional killing that results from recklessness or criminal negligence, or from an unlawful act that is a misdemeanor or low-level felony.

J

• Joint Tenancy: A form of legal co-ownership of property; typically, the surviving owner gets the property when the other one dies.
• Judge: An official with the authority to preside over and make decisions in a court of law.
• Judgment: The official and final decision made by a court.
• Judicial Review: A type of court proceeding in which a judge reviews the lawfulness of a decision or action made by a public body.
• Jurisdiction: The authority of a court or other body to hear and decide a case.
• Jury: A body of people sworn to give a verdict in a legal case based on the evidence presented.
• Juvenile: A young person, usually under 18, who is accused of a violation of some criminal statute.

K

• Kidnap: The crime of unlawfully seizing and carrying away a person by force or fraud or detaining a person against their will.
• Knowingly: With knowledge, deliberately; a legal standard by which a person may be held liable for his or her actions.
• Knowledge: Information, understanding, or skill that a person has acquired through education or experience.

L

• Larceny: Theft; the wrongful taking and carrying away of the personal goods of another from their possession with intent to convert them to the taker’s own use.
• Lease: A contractual agreement by which one party conveys an estate in property to another party, for a limited period, subject to various conditions.
• Legal Aid: Financial assistance given to people in need to cover legal costs.
• Liability: Being responsible or accountable in law or equity.
• Lien: A right to keep possession of property belonging to another person until a debt owed by that person is discharged.
• Liquidation: The process of winding up a company’s financial affairs by selling off assets to pay creditors and distributing the remaining assets.
• Litigation: The process of taking legal action; the pursuit of a lawsuit.
• Living Will: A legal document stating a person’s desires regarding medical treatment in circumstances in which they are no longer able to express informed consent.

M

• Magistrate: A civil officer who administers the law, especially one who conducts a court dealing with minor offenses.
• Malpractice: Improper, illegal, or negligent professional behavior.
• Manslaughter: The crime of killing a human being without malice aforethought, or in circumstances not amounting to murder.
• Mediation: A method of dispute resolution using a neutral third party to help the parties come to a mutually agreeable solution.
• Misdemeanor: A criminal offense that is less serious than a felony and more serious than an infraction.
• Mortgage: A legal agreement by which a person borrows money to buy property, with the property as security for the loan.
• Motion: A request by a litigant to a judge for a decision on an issue relating to the case.
• Murder: The unlawful premeditated killing of one human being by another.

N

• Negligence: Failure to take proper care in doing something, which can lead to harm or damage to others.
• Next of Kin: The person’s closest living blood relative or relatives.
• No-Contest Clause: A clause that can be inserted into a will that states that if any beneficiary challenges the will, then that beneficiary is cut off under the will and treated as if he or she has predeceased the testator.
• Notary Public: An official licensed to authenticate legal documents.
• Notice: A legal notification to another of an intention to end an agreement or contract or an intention to proceed with legal action.
• Null and Void: Having no legal force; invalid.

O

• Oath: A sworn promise to tell the truth or to perform an act faithfully and truthfully.
• Objection: The act of taking exception to a statement or procedure during a trial; used to call the court’s attention to improper evidence or procedure.
• Occupier’s Liability: The liability of a person who occupies real property (either through ownership or lease) for injuries suffered by persons who visit the property.
• Offense: A violation of the criminal law.
• Order: A directive from a court to do or not do something.
• Ordinance: A piece of legislation enacted by a municipal authority.
• Overrule: To reject or disallow as being wrong or inappropriate; a judge’s decision not to allow an objection, such as during a trial.

P

• Pardon: An official forgiveness for an acknowledged crime.
• Parole: The conditional early release of a prisoner, who then serves the remainder of their sentence under supervision.
• Patent: Exclusive rights granted for an invention, which prevent others from making, using, selling, or distributing the invention without permission.
• Perjury: Deliberately providing false information while under oath, especially in a legal proceeding.
• Plaintiff: A person who brings a civil lawsuit against another.
• Power of Attorney: A legal document that allows someone to act on another’s behalf, especially in financial or legal matters.
• Probate: The legal process of validating a will and administering the estate of a deceased person.
• Pro bono: Legal work undertaken voluntarily and without payment or at a reduced fee as a public service.

Q

• Quantum Meruit: A Latin phrase meaning “what one has earned.” In the legal context, it refers to a claim for a reasonable sum for services rendered.
• Quash: To annul or make void; typically refers to a judge’s order that annuls a previous court order.
• Quitclaim Deed: A legal document used to transfer interest in real property, with no warranties or representations about the title.
• Quorum: The minimum number of members required to be present at an assembly or meeting to make its proceedings valid.

R

• Rebuttal: Evidence or argument that is presented to contradict or nullify other evidence or argument.
• Receivership: A legal process in which a person (the receiver) is appointed to act as the custodian of a company’s assets or property.
• Reciprocity: Mutual exchange of privileges; for example, an agreement by two countries to recognize the legal effect of each other’s judgments.
• Replevin: A legal remedy for a person to recover goods unlawfully taken from their possession.
• Res Ipsa Loquitur: A Latin phrase meaning “the thing speaks for itself.” It refers to situations where negligence is presumed because the object causing injury was under the defendant’s control.
• Restitution: A legal remedy where the defendant is ordered to return something to the plaintiff.
• Retainer: A fee paid in advance to a lawyer to secure their services as needed.

S

• Slander: The act of making a false spoken statement damaging to a person’s reputation.
• Small Claims Court: A court that deals with relatively minor financial claims.
• Solicitor: A type of lawyer in England and Wales who traditionally deals with most legal matters, including drafting documents, giving legal advice, and representing clients in courts.
• Statute: A written law passed by a legislative body.
• Statute of Limitations: A law that sets the time within which parties must take legal action to enforce their rights.
• Subpoena: A writ ordering someone to attend a court or produce evidence.
• Summary Judgment: A judgment decided by a court without a full trial.
• Surety: A person who takes responsibility for another’s debt or performance obligations if the other fails to meet them.

T

• Tenant: A person who occupies land or property rented from a landlord.
• Testament: A legal document, also known as a will, expressing a person’s wishes as to how their property is to be distributed after their death and which person is to manage the property until its final distribution.
• Testimony: A formal written or spoken statement, especially one given in a court of law.
• Tort: A wrongful act or an infringement of a right leading to legal liability.
• Trademark: A symbol, word, or words legally registered or established by use as representing a company or product.
• Trial: A formal examination of evidence by a judge, typically before a jury, in order to decide guilt in a case of criminal or civil proceedings.
• Trust: A fiduciary relationship in which one party, known as a trustor, gives another party, the trustee, the right to hold title to property or assets for the benefit of a third party.

U

• Ultra Vires: A Latin term meaning “beyond the powers.” Refers to actions taken by government bodies or corporations that exceed the scope of their power.
• Unconscious Bias: A social stereotype about certain groups of people that individuals form outside their conscious awareness. It can influence judicial decisions without the decision-maker recognizing the influence.
• Underwrite: To support a financial risk, such as an insurer agreeing to cover potential losses.
• Unjust Enrichment: A legal principle that no person should be allowed to profit at another’s expense without making restitution for the reasonable value of any property, services, or other benefits that have been unfairly received and retained.
• Usury: The act of lending money at an interest rate that is considered unreasonably high or that is higher than the rate permitted by law.

V

• Vacate: To annul or render void; a vacated judgment is one that is set aside and made null and void.
• Venue: The location where a trial or hearing is held.
• Verdict: The formal decision or finding made by a jury or judge on the matters or questions submitted to them in a trial.
• Vicarious Liability: A legal responsibility placed on one person for the acts of another, generally in an employer-employee relationship.
• Void: Having no legal force or binding effect; null.
• Voir Dire: A French term referring to the process of selecting jurors or examining witnesses to assess their competence or suitability.

W

• Warranty: A legal promise or guarantee, often related to the quality, condition, or performance of a product.
• Will: A legal document by which a person expresses their wishes as to how their property is to be distributed at death.
• Without Prejudice: A legal term indicating that an act, particularly a communication, is made without an intention to affect the legal rights of any person. Often used in negotiations to allow for candid discussions without the fear that statements might be used against the parties in litigation.
• Writ: A formal written order issued by a court.
• Wrongful Dismissal: The termination of employment that is in breach of contract or violates statutory provisions in employment law.

X

Y

• Yield: In financial terms, the income or profit arising from such instruments as bonds, shares, or securities, usually expressed annually as a percentage of their cost or current value.
• Youth Court: A special court handling cases involving minors, focusing on rehabilitation and the best interests of the child.

Z

• Zoning Laws: Laws that regulate and restrict land use, often to separate residential, commercial, and industrial areas, within a jurisdiction.
• Zero Tolerance: A policy that allows no exceptions to a rule or standard, often used in the context of criminal laws related to drugs, weapons, or harassment.

Disclaimer

This glossary is intended as a general guide to certain terms as they are often understood in the context of the law. It is not to be considered legal advice, nor does it necessarily reflect the views of Pembridge Solicitors.  Always consult with a legal professional to understand the exact meaning of any given legal term.