Difference between revisions of "Terminology"

;''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, including children. See "children," "disability" and "jurisdiction."

;parent:In family law, the natural or adoptive father or mother of a child; may also include stepparents, depending on the circumstances and the applicable legislation; may include the donors of eggs or sperm and surrogate mothers, depending on the circumstances and the terms of any assisted reproduction agreement. See "adoptive parent," "natural parent" and "stepparent."

;parental responsibilities:A term under the ''Family Law Act'' which describes the various rights, duties and responsibilities exercised by guardians in the care, upbringing and management of the children in their care, including determining the child's education, diet, religious instruction or lack thereof, medical care, linguistic and cultural instruction, and so forth. See "guardian."

;parenting arrangements:A term under the ''Family Law Act'' which describes the arrangements for parental responsibilities and parenting time among guardians, made in an order or agreement. "Parenting arrangements" does not include contact. See "contact," "guardian," "parental responsibilities" and "parenting time."

;parenting coordinator:A lawyer or mental health professional with special training in the mediation and arbitration of family law disputes, family dynamics and child developmental psychology who meets the training and experience requirements set out in the provincial Family Law Act Regulation.

;party:In law, a person named as an applicant, claimant, respondent or third party in a court proceeding; someone asserting a claim in a court proceeding or against whom a claim has been brought. See "action" and "litigant."

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

;perfected:In contract law, finished, legally complete and enforceable; executed. A "perfected" agreement is one that has been dated and signed by all parties in the presence of one or more witnesses.

;perjury:Intentionally lying to the court while giving evidence under oath or affirmation, including lying in a document made on oath or affirmation, such as an affidavit or a Financial Statement. This is a criminal offence and may also addressed by the court through its powers to punish for contempt. See "contempt of court."  

;personal service:In law, the delivery of a legal document to a party in a court proceeding in a manner which complies with the rules of court, usually by physically handing the document to the party and verifying their identity. Personal service is usually required for the proper delivery of the pleadings that are used to start a proceeding to ensure that the party is given proper notice of the proceeding and the opportunity to mount a defence. See also "ordinary service," "pleadings" and "service, substituted."

;Petition:A court form required by the Supreme Court Family Rules used to commence court proceedings that can be dealt with in the manner of an application, without the need for a protracted process of disclosure and discovery. See "action," "application," "disclosure" and "discovery."

;pleading:A legal document setting out either a claim or a defence to a claim prepared at or following the start of a court proceeding. In the Provincial Court, the pleadings are the Application to Obtain an Order and Reply. In the Supreme Court, the pleadings include the Notice of Family Claim, Response to Family Claim, Counterclaim, Petition and Response to Petition. See "action," "claim" and "Counterclaim."

;polygamy:The act going through a marriage ceremony or performing a marriage ceremony between three or more persons or with a person who is already married to more than two other persons . This is a criminal offence in Canada, under s. 293 of the ''Criminal Code'', although one that is rarely enforced. All marriages subsequent to the first valid, subsisting marriage are void ''ab initio''. See "ab initio," "bigamy" and "marriage, validity of."

;preamble:An introductory statement in legislation, an order or an agreement usually describing the purpose of the legislation or the parties to the order or agreement. Preambles are normally used to provide a guide the to interpretation of the rest of the document. See "act" and "family law agreements."

;precedent:Historical decisions of the courts; the principle that such historic decisions of the court are binding on subsequent judges hearing cases of a similar nature or of a similar circumstances. Templates or sample documents used to draft new documents. See "common law."

;probate:The process of checking the validity of a will, distributing a dead person’s estate and settling their debts according to the instructions set out in that person's will. See "estate" and "will."