Difference between revisions of "Terminology"

;Land:See "Real Property."

;Last Will and Testament:See "Will."

;Law:“It is not, what a lawyer tells me I may do; but what humanity, reason and justice tell me I ought to do.” Edmund Burke

;Lawful:Conduct which is permitted both by legislation and by the common law; conduct not prohibited by law. See “Unlawful.”

;Lawsuit:See "Action."

;Lawyer:See "Barrister and Solicitor."

;Lawyer’s Fees:The fees a lawyer charges his or her client, usually pursuant to the lawyer's retainer agreement, for the lawyer's services. Most lawyers bill by the hour with a premium for success or the difficulty or novelty of the case. A lawyer's bill may include disbursements, which are costs incurred by the lawyer for such things as courier costs, court filing fees or photocopying. Under the Legal Profession Act a lawyer’s fees may be challenged at a taxation hearing. See “Account” and “Certificate of Fees.”

;Lay Litigant:A party to a legal action who is not represented by a lawyer and acts on his or her own behalf. "Lay" in this context means amateur. See "Action," "Barrister and Solicitor" and "Litigant."

;Leading Question:A question asked of a witness, normally during cross-examination, which suggests the answer. For example: "You’ve never worked a day in your life, have you?" See "Cross-Examination."

;Lease:An agreement such that the owner of a piece of property (a car or an apartment, for example) gives up the right to occupy and use that property in exchange for, usually, money. A lessor is the person who retains ownership of the property. A lessee is the person who obtains the right of possession in exchange for payments to the lessor.

;Legal Burden:See "Burden of Proof."

;Legal Description:In real property law, the full formal identification of a particular piece of property by its lot number, district lot number, plan number and land district, rather than by its street address. See “Land Title and Survey Authority,” "PID" and “Real Property.”

;Legal Duty:An obligation at law to do or not do a thing, whether by legislation, the common law or an order of the court. For example, the Criminal Code imposes on parents a legal duty to provide the necessities of life to their children until they turn 16. See “Duty.”

;Legislate:To create and revise written laws governing things, people and places; a right of the provincial and federal governments to propose, enact and enforce laws derived from the Constitution. See "Act" and “Constitution.”

;Legislation:An act, a statute; a law passed by a government. See “Act.”

;Litigant:A direct party to a legal action, such as an Appellant, Applicant, Claimant or Respondent. See “Action.”

;LLB:A Bachelor of Laws degree, a prerequisite for the practice of law in British Columbia. “LLM” stands for a Master of Laws degree and “LLD” for a Doctor of Laws.

;Maintenance:In family law, usually refers to payments made by one party to the other to defray that person's daily living expenses or the living expenses of the a child; also known as palimony, alimony or support. See "Child Support" and "Spousal Support."  

;Majority, Age of:See "Age of Majority."

;Male Fides:A Latin phrase meaning “in bad faith.” See “Bad Faith.”

;Malfeasance:Doing an act which is wrongful or unlawful by operation of law. See “Unlawful.”

;Marriage:A legal and emotional relationship between two people, solemnized by a marriage commissioner or licenced religious official, which gives rise to certain mutual rights, benefits and obligations. See also “Conjugal Rights,” “Consortium” and “Validity of Marriage.”

;Marriage Agreement:See "Family Law Agreements."  

;Marriage-Like Relationship:In family law, a quality of an opposite- or same-sex couple's relationship connoting their committment to each other, their self-identification as a couple and other people's perception of them as a couple; a legal requirement for a couple to be considered common-law spouses. See “Cohabitation,” “Marriage” and "Spouse."

;Material:In law, relevant, important. A material fact is a fact relevant to a claim. See “Claim” and “Fact.”

;Memorandum of Understanding:A document setting out the bare bones of an agreement or settlement reached between two or more people, often used as a guide to the terms of a final agreement or settlement. See “Family Law Agreements.”

;Minor:See "Disability" and "Infant."

;Minutes of Settlement:A document setting out the bare bones of an agreement or settlement reached between two or more litigants, produced after negotiations and signed by the parties and their lawyers. Minutes of Settlement are normally used as the foundation of a final order, and are often attached to that order as a schedule. See “Family Law Agreements,” "Litigant" and "Orders."

;Miscarriage of Justice:A term referring to a demonstrable and traumatic failure of the justice system in a particular case.

;Misrepresentation:Acts or words tending to give a misleading or false impression as to the true state of affairs. See "Bad Faith."

;Mistake:In contract law, an unintentional act or failure to act arising from a misunderstanding of the true state of affairs, from ignorance, or from an error not intentionally made in bad faith; an unintentional misunderstanding as to the nature of a term agreed to in a contract. See "Bad Faith" and "Good Faith."

;Mortgage:The conditional transfer of the title to a piece of property to someone else in return for loaned money, while retaining possession of the property. The party to whom the title is given, the mortgagee, usually a bank, is allowed to register the title of the property in his or her name if the person making the payments on the loan, the mortgagor, fails to make those payments. See “Encumbrance” and “Real Property.”

;Motion:In law, an application to the court for an order, usually brought after the commencement of a legal action but before its conclusion following trial or by settlement before trial. See "Action," “Application,” “Interim Application” and “Order.”

;Natural Parent:A biological parent of a child, as opposed to adoptive parents and step-parents.

;Negligence:Failing to do something which a reasonable person would do, or doing something which a reasonable person would not do, which results in harm to someone else.

;Negotiate:In family law, the process by which a contract or agreement is formed, usually consisting of the mutual compromise of the parties' original positions to the extent tolerable by each party. See "Alternative Dispute Resolution" and “Family Law Agreements.”

;Net Income:The remainder of a person’s annual income after the deduction of expenses, which may include CPP, EI and income taxes, or business and operating expenses.

;Nil:A short form of the Latin word nihil meaning “nothing;” usually used to indicate a zero value. See “Null and Void.”

;Non Compos Mentis:A Latin phrase meaning “not of sound mind,” a legal disability arising from mental infirmity. See “Disability.”

;Notary Public:A person authorized to administer affirmations and oaths, and execute or certify documents. All lawyers are notaries public in addition to being barristers and solicitors. See “Barrister and Solicitor.”

;Null and Void:Invalid; a nullity; of no legal force and effect. Curiously, null and void mean the same thing, which is partly explained by the fact that solicitors used to be paid by the word, just like Charles Dickens.

;Oath:An affirmation of the truth of a statement by one's faith in a god. Someone making an affidavit gives his or her evidence in that affidavit under oath; a witness giving oral evidence gives his or her evidence in court under oath. See “Affirmation” and “Perjury.”

;Obligation:A duty at law, whether contractual, moral or legal in origin, to do or not do something. See “Duty.”

;Obstruction of Justice:Doing a thing or not doing a thing with the intention or effect of hindering the administration of justice. See “Contempt of Court.”

;Offer:In contact law, the expression, either orally or in writing, of a willingness to be bound by a proposed agreement, contract or settlement proposal. See “Offer to Settle.”

;Offer to Settle:A proposal made by one party to the other, prior to the trial of an action, setting out the terms on which the party is prepared to settle. Offers to settle can have important consequences, particularly with respect to costs, if the offer is close to what the judge decides following trial. See “Costs.”

;Officer of the Court:Any official of the court, including court clerks, lawyers and judges.

;Onus:See "Burden of Proof."

;Omission:In law, a failure to do something, whether intentional or unintentional.

;Opinion:In law, a lawyer's advice to his or her client; a lawyer's analysis of a legal problem. Also, the views of an expert as to a matter at issue in an action. See "Expert Evidence."

;Order:A mandatory direction of the court, binding upon the parties to a legal action. An “interim order” is a temporary order, the product of an interim application following the hearing of that application. A “final order” is a permanent order, the product of either the trial of the action or the agreed settlement of the parties before trial, following which the only recourse open to a dissatisfied party is to appeal the decision. Orders made by a judge that both parties agree the judge should make are called "consent orders." See “Appeal” and “Decision.”

;Ordinary Service:Sending legal documents to a party at that party's "address for service," usually by mail, fax or email. Certain documents, like a Notice of Family Claim, must be served on the other party by personal service. Other documents may be served by ordinary service. Which documents must be served by personal service and which may be served by ordinary service is set out in the Supreme Court Family Rules. See also “Address for Service” and “Personal Service.”

;Ownership:A legal right to the title of a thing. See “Possession” and “Real Property.”

;Paramountcy, Doctrine of:The rule that federal laws on a subject alse covered by provincial laws is superior to and takes precedence over the provincial laws. See “Act” and "Constitution."

;Parens Patriae:A Latin phrase meaning "parent of the country." Refers to the court’s inherent jurisdiction to deal with issues concerning persons under a legal disability, such as children. See "Children," “Disability” and “Jurisdiction.”

;Parent:In family law, the natural or adoptive father or mother of a child; may also include step-parents depending on the circumstances and the legislation applicable to those circumstances.  

;Parol Evidence:Oral evidence, as opposed to written or physical evidence. See “Evidence” and “Witness.”

;Partition:In law, the division of the ownership of a piece of real property between two or more people. See “Real Property.”

;Party:In law, a person named as a Claimant, Respondent or third party to an action; someone either asserting a claim in a legal action or subject to a claim made in an action. See “Action.”

;Paternity:The fatherhood of a child.

;Paternity Suit:An action brought to prove or disprove that a particular man is the biological father of a child, usually brought to determine the man's liability to pay child support. See “Action” and "Child Support."

;Paternity Test:A scientific test performed to determine the parentage of a child, usually performed by the genetic testing of the blood or saliva of the alleged parents and the child.

;Peace Officer:A person having a duty to enforce the law as a result of his or her position or employment, including police officers as well as RCMP officers, sheriffs, customs officers and mayors, among others.

;Pecuniary:Relating to money, which is exactly what someone who is impecunious doesn't have a great deal of.

;Peremptory:Something which is mandatory or absolute. A peremptory hearing date, for example, is a date on which a hearing will absolutely proceed without any further adjournment or delay.

;Perfected:In contract law, finished, legally complete and enforceable, executed.

;Performance:In contract law, the fulfilment of an obligation or duty arising from a contract.

;Personal Property:Chattels, goods; property other than real property. See “Chattel” and “Real Property.”

;Petition:A court document used to commence certain types of legal actions. The person bringing such an action is the “Petitioner” and the person against whom the action is brought is the “Petition Respondent.” An action can only be started by a Petition in certain circumstances, most often actions are started with a Notice of Family Claim. See “Action,” “Claimant” and "Notice of Family Claim.”

;Pleading:A legal document setting out either a claim or a defence to a claim. Usually, the pleadings consist of the Notice of Family Claim, Response to Family Claim and Counterclaim. See “Counterclaim,” “Notice of Family Claim” and “Response to Family Claim.”

;Polygamy:Being married to more than one person at the same time. A criminal offence elsewhere in Canada than Bountiful, British Columbia. Polygamous marriages subsequent to the first are void ab initio. See "Ab Initio," "Marriage" and "Validity of Marriage."

;Possession:In law, the right to have the control and use of a thing. One can have a right to the possession of a thing without owning it, as in the case of a car lease, or ownership without possession, as in the case of a landlord and an apartment suite. See “Ownership” and “Real Property.”

;Preamble:An introductory statement in an act or agreement setting out the purpose of the statute or agreement, but not technically forming a part of the statute or agreement, in the sense that the preamble is not enforceable and does not give rise to a legal right or entitlement. Preambles are normally used to provide a guide the to interpretation of the rest of the document. See “Act” and "Family Agreements."

;Precedent:This word has a number of meanings: 1) historical decisions of the courts; 2) the principle that such decisions are binding on subsequent judges hearing cases of a similar nature or of similar circumstances; and, 3) templates or sample documents used to draft new documents. See “Common Law.”

;Premises:In real property law, a piece of property and a building situated on it, usually including the area of the property surrounding a building on that property. In law generally, a premise is an assumption which founds a logical argument. See "Argument" and “Real Property.”

;Prima Facie:A Latin phrase meaning at “first face.” Refers to a fact which is obvious at first glance.

;Primary Residence:In family law, the home at which a child lives most often. This term is particuarly important in situations of joint guardianship, as the parent with "primary residence" is often given decision-making authority when the parents cannot agree on a parenting issue. See “Custody,” “Guardianship” and "Joint Guardianship."

;Privilege:In law, the duty a lawyer has to keep his or her client’s information confidential, including communications between the lawyer and client and advice given to the client. A lawyer cannot reveal privileged communications even to the court, except in certain usual circumstances. See “Barrister and Solicitor” and “Duty.”

;Probate:The process of checking the validity of a will, distributing a dead person’s estate and settling his or her debts according to the instructions set out in that person's will. See “Estate” and “Will.”

;Pro Bono:A Latin phrase meaning “for the good of,” short for "pro bono publico," meaning "for the public good." Usually refers to those situations in which a lawyer voluntarily performs a legal service without charge.

;Proceeding:In law, the whole of the conduct of a legal action, from beginning to end, and all steps in between; may also be used to refer to a specific hearing or trial. See “Action.”

;Proof:Evidence which establishes or tends to establish the truth of a fact; also, the conclusion of a logical argument. See “Evidence” and "Premises."

;Property:Something which can be owned. See "Chattels" and "Real Property."

;Quantum Meruit:A Latin phrase meaning “the amount deserved.” Refers to the payment for a service according to the amount deserved for the performance of the service, often calculated by an hourly wage.

;Quantum Valebant:A Latin phrase meaning “the amount worth.” Refers to the payment for a service according to the value or benefit of the service received.

;Quash:To set aside or vacate an order or judgment. See “Action" and “Order.”

;Question of Fact:An issue arising where the parties disagree about a material fact relevent to a legal action, when only one party can be right. A court's decision about what the facts of a case are is a "finding of fact." See “Finding of Fact.”

;Question of Law:An issue about which law should be applied in a legal action, or how the law should be applied in an action. A court's decision about how the law should be applied to the facts of case or about what the law is in a particular situation is a "finding of law." See "Finding of Law."

;Real Estate:See "Real Property."

;Real Property:A parcel of land and the buildings on that land. Real property is different from chattels or personal property because it cannot be moved. A landlord gives someone the right to the possess a property in exchange for rent while keeping the ownership of the property. A person who has mortgaged their property gives the bank the right of ownership while retaining the right to possess the property. See also “Chattel,” “Ownership” and “Possession.”