Bad Faith: Intent to deceive. A person who intentionally tries to deceive or mislead another in order to gain some advantage. See the complete Legal Definition of Bad Faith

Bail: The pledge of cash or property to secure the release of a thing or person which would otherwise be held in custody. See the complete Legal Definition of Bail

Bailee: The person who receives property through a contract of bailment, from the bailor, and who may be committed to certain duties of care towards the property while it remains in his or her possession. See the complete Legal Definition of Bailee

Bailment: The transfer of possession of something (by the bailor) to another person (called the bailee) for some temporary purpose (eg. repair or storage) after which the property is either returned to the bailor or otherwise disposed of in accordance with the contract of bailment. See the complete Legal Definition of Bailment

Bailor: The person who temporarily transfers possession of property to another, the bailee, under a contract of bailment. See the complete Legal Definition of Bailor

Bankruptcy: The formal condition of an insolvent person being declared bankrupt under law. See the complete Legal Definition of Bankruptcy

Bare Trust: A trust that is or has become passive for the trustee because all the duties the settlor may have imposed upon the trustee have been performed or any conditions or terms have come to fruition. See the complete Legal Definition of Bare Trust

Barrister: A lawyer that restricts his or her practice to the court room; a litigation specialist. See the complete Legal Definition of Barrister

Bastard: An illegitimate child, born in a relationship between two persons that are not married (ie. not in wedlock) or who are not married at the time of the child’s birth. See the complete Legal Definition of Bastard

Bench: A judge in court session. See the complete Legal Definition of Bench

Beneficiary: The person for whom a trust has been created. See the complete Legal Definition of Beneficiary

Berne Convention: An international copyright treaty called the Convention for the Protection of Literary and Artistic Works signed at Berne, Switzerland in 1886; since amended several times. See the complete Legal Definition of Berne Convention

Bigamy: Being married to more than one person at the same time; a criminal offence in most jurisdictions. See the complete Legal Definition of Bigamy

Bill of Exchange: A written order from one person (the payor) to another, signed by the person giving it, requiring the person to whom it is addressed to pay on demand or at some fixed future date, a certain sum of money, to either the person identified as payee or to any person presenting the bill of exchange. See the complete Legal Definition of Bill of Exchange

Bill of Lading: A document that a transport company possesses acknowledging that it has received goods, and serves as title for the purpose of transportation. See the complete Legal Definition of Bill of Lading

Blind Trust: A trust in which a settlor reserves the right to terminate the trust but to assert no other power over the trust, which is administered without any other measure of control over the trust's administration. See the complete Legal Definition of Blind Trust

Bona Vacantia: Property that belongs to no person, and which may be claimed by a finder. See the complete Legal Definition of Bona Vacantia

Born Out of Wedlock: Born of parents who were not married at the time of birth. See the complete Legal Definition of Born Out of Wedlock

Breach of Contract: A failure of a party to a contract to perform his or her obligations as agreed to within the contract. See the complete Legal Definition of Breach of Contract

Buggery: Synonymous with sodomy and referring to 'unnatural' sex acts, including copulation, either between two persons of the same sex or between a person and an animal. See the complete Legal Definition of Buggery

Burden of Proof: A rule of evidence that makes a person prove a certain thing or the contrary will be assumed by the court. See the complete Legal Definition of Burden of Proof

Bawdy House: A brothel; an establishment of ill repute - within which occur acts of prostitution or lewd sex. See the complete Legal Definition of Bawdy House

Bait and Switch: To lure a customer by advertising, at a very attractive price, a reputable product and then to denigrate it in favour of another product offered at a higher price. See the complete Legal Definition of Bait and Switch

By-Law: A municipal, local or corporate rule or regulation. See the complete Legal Definition of By-Law

Blockbusting: Attempt to manipulate sale prices of real property by making representations as to crime rate or ethnic ratios. See the complete Legal Definition of Blockbusting

Breach Of Trust: Any act or omission on the part of the trustee which is inconsistent with the terms of the trust agreement or the law of trusts. See the complete Legal Definition of Breach Of Trust

Barrator: A person who, on more than one occasion, incites litigation or spreads false rumours. See the complete Legal Definition of Barrator

Born Alive: A child born and independently breathing or with a heart beat. See the complete Legal Definition of Born Alive

Balance of Probabilities: Burden of proof in civil trials. See the complete Legal Definition of Balance of Probabilities

Bequeath or Bequests: Gift of personal property or chattels by will. See the complete Legal Definition of Bequeath or Bequests

But For: A test in tort law linking the tort and the damages (aka causation), which are stated as: "but for" the defendant's negligence, the plaintiff would not have been injured. See the complete Legal Definition of But For

Bill: A proposed statute, not yet approved. See the complete Legal Definition of Bill

Bill of Attainder: Conviction and sentence to death directly by statute, as opposed to resulting from trial. See the complete Legal Definition of Bill of Attainder

Binder: A formal statement or written certification of an insurance policy. See the complete Legal Definition of Binder

Battery: Offensive and intentional contact, direct or indirect, which causes injury. See the complete Legal Definition of Battery

Blue Sky Law: An American law term that refers to government controls, through statutes, of the sale of securities to the public. See the complete Legal Definition of Blue Sky Law

Break and Enter: A burglary; to break and enter onto another's premises, land or real property with the intent to there commit a crime, most typically theft See the complete Legal Definition of Break and Enter

Burglary: Breaking and entering a residence for the intention of committing a crime or while lawfully within, commit a crime and to thereafter break out. See the complete Legal Definition of Burglary

Bird's Nest Custody: A form of access or custody where the children stay in the former family residence and it is the parents who rotate in and out separately and on a negotiated schedule. See the complete Legal Definition of Bird's Nest Custody

Backing Sheet: A back cover page to a legal document designed to show, when folded, what the legal document is and who it is from. See the complete Legal Definition of Backing Sheet

Bond: A written guarantee in regards to the fulfillment of a legal obligation. See the complete Legal Definition of Bond

Building Code: A North American legal term for the local or municipal regulation which regulates the construction of new, or renovation of existing buildings. See the complete Legal Definition of Building Code

Bare Trustee: The trustee of a bare trust; a trust that has been reduced to holding the trust property at the absolute disposal and benefit of the beneficiaries. See the complete Legal Definition of Bare Trustee

Bankrupt: A person who has legally declared bankruptcy. See the complete Legal Definition of Bankrupt

Bribery: A secret payment to a public officer in exchange for preferential treatment. See the complete Legal Definition of Bribery

Bicycle: A muscle-propelled two-wheeled vehicle. See the complete Legal Definition of Bicycle

Browne v Dunn, The Rule in: Rule of evidence named after the British case in which it was first established; that if you intend on later impeaching a witness with contradictory evidence, that evidence ought to be put to the witness. See the complete Legal Definition of Browne v Dunn, The Rule in

Barratry: An intentional wrongful act committed by the crew or master of a ship to the prejudice of the owner or the charterer. See the complete Legal Definition of Barratry

Bottomry: An obsolete bond contract by which a ship owner or master borrowed money in a far-off port of call, for the repair of a ship in exchange for which, he would repay the loan on safe arrival at the ship's destination, for which the ship stood as collateral but where the lender assumed the risk of the loss of the ship en route. See the complete Legal Definition of Bottomry

Black Letter Law: A principle of law so notorious and entrenched that it is commonly known and rarely disputed. See the complete Legal Definition of Black Letter Law

Bank: A corporation empowered to deal with cash, domestic and foreign, and to receive the deposits of money and to loan those monies to third-parties. See the complete Legal Definition of Bank

Banker: An individual who is engaged in the business of banking. See the complete Legal Definition of Banker

Blasphemy: The scurrilous, deriding or intemperate expression of dissent or criticism of God or a state's oficial religion. See the complete Legal Definition of Blasphemy

Builders' Lien: A statutory charge against real property by those who have contributed material or manpower to its improvement. See the complete Legal Definition of Builders' Lien

Black Code: Statutes passed by pro-slavery, Southern states of the USA before and after the Civil War, to limit the civil rights of slaves or freed slaves. All black codes were eventually repealed. See the complete Legal Definition of Black Code

Boarding House: Residential premises where both shelter and food are provided. See the complete Legal Definition of Boarding House

Battle of the Forms: Two persons intending to contract but tendering differing form contracts rendering the conclusion as to the terms of the contract, or a determination as to whether there was a contract, difficult. See the complete Legal Definition of Battle of the Forms

Blue-Pencil Severance: Striking out an offending part of a legal document, such as a contract or a statute. See the complete Legal Definition of Blue-Pencil Severance

Brehon: Judges in ancient and medieval Ireland. See the complete Legal Definition of Brehon

Battered Woman Syndrome: A species of self-defence to manslaughter or murder in which expert evidence is led to demonstrate that a female defendant in an abusive relationship comes to believe that to save herself she must kill her husband first. See the complete Legal Definition of Battered Woman Syndrome

Breathalyzer: A device which records alcohol impairment. See the complete Legal Definition of Breathalyzer

Bereavement Leave: Authorized leave from work, paid or unpaid, for the purposes of attending to the funeral of a family member. See the complete Legal Definition of Bereavement Leave

Bona Fide: Latin: good faith. See the complete Legal Definition of Bona Fide

Bijural: A legal instrument, such as a statute that, is to be applied to different legal systems. See the complete Legal Definition of Bijural

Bankruptcy Trustee: An officer generally appointed by the court, who takes over the assets of a bankrupt to the benefit of creditors. See the complete Legal Definition of Bankruptcy Trustee

Boundary: An imaginary line which marks the limits of two adjacent pieces of real property. See the complete Legal Definition of Boundary

Boundary Tree: A tree whose trunk, roots or branches encroach on the property or air space of an adjoining owner. See the complete Legal Definition of Boundary Tree

Batture: An elevation of the bed of a river under the surface of the water or the elevation of the bank when it has emerged from the water or is as high as the adjoining land. See the complete Legal Definition of Batture

Board of Directors: The group of most senior managers, operators and administrators of a corporation or association. See the complete Legal Definition of Board of Directors

Bailiff: A person acting with legal authority in the seizure of personal property. See the complete Legal Definition of Bailiff

Benefit of Inventory: A right of legal or testamentary beneficiaries to an estate to demand of the administrator an inventory of the estate. See the complete Legal Definition of Benefit of Inventory

Backfilling: A term of employment law; where an employee is assigned to a new job and his/her position filled by another employee. See the complete Legal Definition of Backfilling