Legal Terms Beginning with C
Canon law
The law of the Christian Church. Has little or no legal effect today. - (see expanded definition at duhaime.org)
Capital punishment
The most severe of all sentences: that of death. - (see expanded definition at duhaime.org)
Carrier's Case
A monumental 1473 English case which extended the offence of theft (then called larceny) to include a carrier of goods who, initially lawfully in possession, converts goods to his own use. - (see expanded definition at duhaime.org)
Case law
The entire collection of published legal decisions of the courts which, because of stare decisis, contributes a large part of the legal rules which apply in modern society. - (see expanded definition at duhaime.org)
Causation
The but-for link between a harmful action and another's injury. - (see expanded definition at duhaime.org)
Caveat
Latin: let him beware. A formal warning. - (see expanded definition at duhaime.org)
Caveat emptor
Caveat emptor means let the buyer beware or that the buyers should examine and check for themselves things which they intend to purchase and that they cannot later hold the vendor responsible for the broken condition of the thing bought. - (see expanded definition at duhaime.org)
Certificate of Independent Legal Advice
A document that attests that a person has received legal advice on a proposed contract, from a lawyer not associated with the other contracting party. - (see expanded definition at duhaime.org)
Certiorari
A writ of certiorari is a form of judicial review whereby a court is asked to consider a legal decision of an administrative tribunal, judicial office or organization (eg. government) and to decide if the decision has been regular and complete or if there has been an error of law. - (see expanded definition at duhaime.org)
Cestui que trust or cestui que use
The formal Latin word for the beneficiary or donee of a trust. - (see expanded definition at duhaime.org)
Ceteris paribus
Latin: all things being equal or unchanged. - (see expanded definition at duhaime.org)
Champerty
When a person agrees to finance someone else's lawsuit in exchange for a portion of the judicial award. - (see expanded definition at duhaime.org)
Charterparty
A transportation contract which includes the full and exclusive use of the airplane, vehicle or vessel for the duration of the transportation of either goods or persons. - (see expanded definition at duhaime.org)
Chaste
A person who has never voluntarily had sexual intercourse outside of marriage such as unmarried virgins. - (see expanded definition at duhaime.org)
Chattel
Moveable items of property which are neither land nor permanently attached to land or a building, either directly or vicariously through attachment to real property. - (see expanded definition at duhaime.org)
Chattel mortgage
When an interest is given on moveable property other than real property (in which case it is usually a 'mortgage'), in writing, to guarantee the payment of a debt or the execution of some action. - (see expanded definition at duhaime.org)
Check or cheque
A form of bill of exchange where the order to pay is given to a bank which is holding the payor’s money. - (see expanded definition at duhaime.org)
Child Support
Periodic money payments payable by a non-custodial parent, to the custodial parent, for the care of his or her child. - (see expanded definition at duhaime.org)
Chinese Wall
A screening barricade established within a law firm to prevent conflicts of interests between associates. - (see expanded definition at duhaime.org)
Chose in action
A property right in something intangible, or which are not in one's possession, but enforceable through legal or court action. - (see expanded definition at duhaime.org)
Circumstantial evidence
Evidence which may allow a judge or jury to deduce a certain fact from other facts which have been proven - (see expanded definition at duhaime.org)
Citation
An order of a court to either do a certain thing or to appear before it to answer charges. - (see expanded definition at duhaime.org)
Citizen's Arrest
Detainment of a person suspected of having committed a crime, by a person other than a police officer. - (see expanded definition at duhaime.org)
Civil law
Law inspired by old Roman Law, the primary feature of which was that laws were written into a collection; codified, and not determined, as is common law, by judges. - (see expanded definition at duhaime.org)
Clandestine
Something that is purposely kept from the view or knowledge of others either in violation of the law or to conduct or conceal some illegal purpose. - (see expanded definition at duhaime.org)
Class action
When different persons combine their lawsuits because the facts and the defendant are so similar. - (see expanded definition at duhaime.org)
Clayton's Case
An English case which established a presumption that monies withdrawn from a money account are presumed to be debits from those monies first deposited; first in, first out. - (see expanded definition at duhaime.org)
Clean hands
A maxim of the law to the effect that any person, individual or corporate, that wishes to ask or petition a court for judicial action, must be in a position free of fraud or other unfair conduct. - (see expanded definition at duhaime.org)
Client-solicitor privilege
A right that belongs to the client of a lawyer that the latter keep any information or words spoken to him during the provision of the legal services to that client, strictly confidential. - (see expanded definition at duhaime.org)
Codicil
An amendment to an existing will. Does not mean that the will is totally changed; just to the extent of the codicil. - (see expanded definition at duhaime.org)
Collateral
Property which has been committed to guarantee a loan. - (see expanded definition at duhaime.org)
Collateral descendant
A descendant that is not direct, such as a niece or a cousin. - (see expanded definition at duhaime.org)
Collateral source rule
A rule of tort law which holds that the tortfeasor is not allowed to deduct from the amount he or she would be held to pay to the victim of the tort, any goods, services or money received by that victim from other 'collateral' sources as a result of the tort (eg. insurance benefits). - (see expanded definition at duhaime.org)
Collusion
A secret agreement between two or more persons, who seem to have conflicting interests, to abuse the law or the legal system, deceive a court or to defraud a third party. - (see expanded definition at duhaime.org)
Commission
A formal group of experts brought together on a regular or ad hoc basis to debate matters within that sphere of expertise, and with regulatory or quasi-judicial powers such as the ability to license activity in the sphere of activity or to subpoena witnesses - (see expanded definition at duhaime.org)
Committee
A term of parliamentary law which refers to a body of one or more persons appointed by a larger assembly or society, to consider, investigate and/or take action on certain specific matters. - (see expanded definition at duhaime.org)
Common law
Judge-made law. Law which exists and applies to a group on the basis of historical legal precedents developed over hundreds of years. - (see expanded definition at duhaime.org)
Common share
The basic share in a corporation. - (see expanded definition at duhaime.org)
Company
A legal entity, allowed by legislation, which permits a group of people, as shareholders, to apply to the government for an independent organization to be created, which can then focus on persuing set objectives, and empowered with legal rights which are usually only reserved for individuals, such as to sue and be sued, own property, hire employees or loan and borrow money. - (see expanded definition at duhaime.org)
Comparative negligence
A principle of tort law which looks at the negligence of the victim and which may lead to either a reduction of the award against the defendant, proportionate to the contribution of the victim’s negligence, or which may even prevent an award altogether if the victim’s negligence, when compared with the defendant, is equal to or greater in terms or contributing to the situation which caused the injury or damage - (see expanded definition at duhaime.org)
Condition precedent
A contractual condition that suspends the coming into effect of a contract unless or until a certain event takes place. - (see expanded definition at duhaime.org)
Condition subsequent
A condition in a contract that causes the contract to become invalid if a certain event occurs. - (see expanded definition at duhaime.org)
Condonation
Obvious or implied forgiveness. - (see expanded definition at duhaime.org)
Cone of Silence
An oath by a solicitor or other employee in a law firm not to disclose any information in regards to a previous client otherwise placing that lawyer or employee in a conflict of interest with other clients of the same law firm. - (see expanded definition at duhaime.org)
Confession
A statement made by a person suspected or charged with a crime, that he (or she) did, in fact, commit that crime. - (see expanded definition at duhaime.org)
Consensus
A result achieved through negotiation whereby a hybrid solution is arrived at between parties to an issue, dispute or disagreement, comprising typically of concessions made by all parties, and to which all parties then subscribe unanimously as an acceptable resolution to the issue or disagreement. - (see expanded definition at duhaime.org)
Consensus ad idem
Latin term meaning an agreement, a meeting of the minds between the parties where all understand the committments made by each. This is a basic requirement for each contract. - (see expanded definition at duhaime.org)
Consideration
Under common law, there can be no binding contract without consideration, which was defined in an 1875 English decision as 'some right, interest, profit or benefit accruing to the one party, or some forbearance, detriment, loss or responsibility given, suffered or undertaken by the other'. - (see expanded definition at duhaime.org)
Consign
To leave an item of property in the custody of another. - (see expanded definition at duhaime.org)
Conspiracy
An agreement between two or more persons to commit a criminal act. Those forming the conspiracy are called conspirators. - (see expanded definition at duhaime.org)
Constitution
The basic law or laws of a nation or a state which sets out how that state will be organized by deciding the powers and authorities of government between different political units, and by stating and the basic principles of society - (see expanded definition at duhaime.org)
Construction
The legal process of interpreting a phrase or document; of trying to find it’s meaning - (see expanded definition at duhaime.org)
Constructive dismissal
Under the employment law of some states, judges will consider a situation where there has been a fundamental violation of the rights of an employee, by the employer, so severe that the employee would have the right to consider himself as dismissed, even though, in fact, there has been no act of dismissal on the part of the employer. - (see expanded definition at duhaime.org)
Constructive trust
A trust which a court declares or imposes onto participants of very specific circumstances such as those giving rise to an action for unjust enrichment, and notwithstanding the lack of any willing settlor to declare the trust (contrast with express trusts and resulting trusts). - (see expanded definition at duhaime.org)
Contempt of Court
Conduct that is disobedient, obstructive or contemptuous to the Court. - (see expanded definition at duhaime.org)
Contingency fee
A method of payment of legal fees represented by a percentage of an award. - (see expanded definition at duhaime.org)
Contract
An agreement between persons which obliges each party to do or not to do a certain thing. - (see expanded definition at duhaime.org)
Contract law
That body of law which regulates the enforcement of contracts. - (see expanded definition at duhaime.org)
Contributory negligence
The negligence of a person which, while not being the primary cause of a tort, nevertheless combined with the act or omission of the primary defendant to cause the tort, and without which the tort would not have occurred. - (see expanded definition at duhaime.org)
Conversion
An action against a person who found and converted someone else property to his own use. - (see expanded definition at duhaime.org)
Conveyance
A written document which transfers property from one person to another. - (see expanded definition at duhaime.org)
Conviction
The formal decision of a criminal trial which finds the accused guilty. - (see expanded definition at duhaime.org)
Co-operative
A group of people formed as a separate organization and which has as a stated purpose either in regards to the public at-large or in regards to the common interests of the members. - (see expanded definition at duhaime.org)
Coparcenary
An obsolete co-ownership mechanism of English law where property, if there was no will, always went to the eldest son. - (see expanded definition at duhaime.org)
Copyright
The exclusive right to produce or reproduce (copy), to perform in public or to publish an original literary or artistic work, pursuant to a statute usually called the Copyright Act, or some similar name. - (see expanded definition at duhaime.org)
Coroner
A public official who holds an inquiry into violent or suspicious deaths. - (see expanded definition at duhaime.org)
Corporal punishment
A punishment for some violation of conduct which involves the infliction of pain on, or harm to the body - (see expanded definition at duhaime.org)
Corporate secretary
Officer of a corporation responsible for the official documents of the corporation such as the official seal, records of shares issued, and minutes of all board or committee meetings. - (see expanded definition at duhaime.org)
Corporation
A legal entity, allowed by legislation, which permits a group of people, as shareholders, to apply to the government for an independent organization to be created, which can then focus on persuing set objectives, and empowered with legal rights which are usually only reserved for individuals, such as to sue and be sued, own property, hire employees or loan and borrow money. - (see expanded definition at duhaime.org)
Costs
When a person is condemned to 'costs' it means that he has to pay all the court costs such as the fees for bringing the action, witness fees and other fees paid out by the other side in bringing the action to justice. - (see expanded definition at duhaime.org)
Council
A formal group of experts brought together on a regular basis to debate matters within that sphere of expertise, and with advisory powers to government - (see expanded definition at duhaime.org)
Counterclaim
A defendant's claim against a plaintiff. - (see expanded definition at duhaime.org)
Court martial
A military court set up to try and punish offenses taken by members of the army, navy or air force. - (see expanded definition at duhaime.org)
Court of admiralty
A rather archaic term used to denote the court which has the right to hear shipping, ocean and sea legal cases. Also known as 'maritime law'. - (see expanded definition at duhaime.org)
Covenant
A written document in which signatories either commit themselves to do a certain thing, to not do a certain thing or in which they agree on a certain set of facts. - (see expanded definition at duhaime.org)
Creditor
A person to whom money, goods or services are owed by the debtor. - (see expanded definition at duhaime.org)
Crime
An act or omission which is prohibited by criminal law. Each state sets out a limited series of acts (crimes) which are prohibited and punishes the commission of these acts by a fine, imprisonment or some other form of punishment. - (see expanded definition at duhaime.org)
Crimes against humanity
An international criminal justice offence; the perpetration of acts of war upon a civilian, non-soldier population. - (see expanded definition at duhaime.org)
Criminal conversation
Criminal conversation: synonymous with adultery. - (see expanded definition at duhaime.org)
Criminal law
That body of the law that deals with conduct considered so harmful to society as a whole that it is prohibited by statute, prosecuted and punished by the government. - (see expanded definition at duhaime.org)
Criminal Negligence
Reckless disregard for the lives or safety of other persons. - (see expanded definition at duhaime.org)
Cross-examination
In trials, each party calls witnesses. Each party may also question the other’s witness(es). When you ask questions of the other party’s witness(es), it is called a 'cross-examination' and you are allowed considerably more latitude in cross-examination then when you question your own witnesses (called an 'examination-in-chief'). - (see expanded definition at duhaime.org)
Crown
The word refers specifically to the British Monarch, where she is the head of state of Commonwealth countries. - (see expanded definition at duhaime.org)
Crumbling Skull Rule
A legal theory, companion to the thin skull rule, which limits a tort defendant’s exposure to a plaintiff’s injuries to the plaintiff’s condition at the time of the tort. - (see expanded definition at duhaime.org)
Cuius est solum, ejus est usque ad caelum et ad in
Latin: who owns the land, owns down to the center of the earth and up to the heavens. - (see expanded definition at duhaime.org)
Culpa lata
Latin for gross negligence. It is more than just simple negligence and includes any action or an omission in reckless disregard of the consequences to the safety or property of another. - (see expanded definition at duhaime.org)
Curtesy
Curtesy: widower's right to an interest in his deceased wife's real property. - (see expanded definition at duhaime.org)
Curtilage
The yard surrounding a residence or dwelling house which is reserved for or used by the occupants for their enjoyment or work. Curtilage may or may not be inclosed by fencing and includes any outhouses such as stand-alone garages or workshops. - (see expanded definition at duhaime.org)
Custody
Charge and control of a person or item of property. - (see expanded definition at duhaime.org)
Cy-pres
'As near as may be': a technical word used in the law of trusts or of wills to refer to a power that the courts have to, rather than void the document, to literal construction would give the document illegal, impracticable or impossible effect. - (see expanded definition at duhaime.org)
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