Legal English – Peter’s Pills – Lesson 39 – When is Latin hot, and when is it not?
When is Latin hot, and when is it not?
Transcript:
Hello!
Many Latin expressions are used in Legal English. Degrees in Law in Common Law countries do not require students to study Latin, so how do you know when you can or can’t use Latin expressions in a legal context? The answer is easy. I have drawn up a list and if a Latin expression is on my list, then it is hot, otherwise it is not. This list does not consider Latin words used in Criminal Law, but only on focuses on areas which correspond to the Latin Civil Law.
Here are the Latin words that are extremely common in the AnlgoSaxon world. If you want to be understood by English speaking people, you should pronounce these with a typical English pronunciation:
Latin
Meaning
Ab initio
from the begining of something
Bona fide
in good faith
Bona vacantia
goods or an estate belonging to nobody, ownerless property which by law passes to the Crown or State
Caveat
a warning
Caveat emptor
“buyer beware”. A common law doctrine that places the burden on buyers to reasonably examine property before making a purchase.
Latin
Meaning
Commorientes
The commorientes rule states (subject to a court order) that if two or more people die in circumstances where it is not possible to tell who died first, the deaths are presumed to have occurred in order of seniority, so the younger is deemed to survive the elder
De facto
really, or in reality
Et al
“and others” or “and the other people” and usually follows the name of a person or a list of names and represents the remainder of the group. Please note, NEVER say “et alia,” “et alius,” or “et alii.” becuase this will confuse people.
E.g.
“for example.” Please note, NEVER say “exempli gratia” because this will confuse people.
Et seq
and in the following pages’
I.e.
“that is” (cioè). Please note, NEVER say “id est” because this will confuse people.
Inter alia
among other things
Inter alios
among other people
Obiter dictum
obiter dictum = Obiter: A judge’s expression of opinion said in court or in a written judgement, but not essential to the decision and therefore not legally binding as a precedent.
Pari passu
“equal footing”. In finance, “pari passu” means that two or more parties to a financial contract are all treated the same. Pari-passu is common in bankruptcy proceedings as well as debts in which each party gets the same amount. Wills and trusts can also assign a pari-passu distribution where all the named parties share the assets equally.
Latin
Meaning
Per se
in itself or by itself
Per stirpes
describes property divided equally between the offspring. If a parent who is a beneficiary under a will dies and the legacy goes to the children in equal shares, the legacy has been divided per stirpes.
Prima facie
at first sight or based on first impression
Quid prod quo
(BEWARE: may be a false friend). Please note that the expression is “quid pro quo”, not “qui pro quo”. It means “an exchange of favours” or “a favour in exchange for something else” or an exchange of services. E.g.: In a quid pro quo agreement the baker always exchanged loaves of bread with the butcher for beef. “Quid pro quo” is NOT used in English to mean a misunderstanding.
Ratio decidendi
“rationale for the decision”. The chain of reasoning in a case that causes the judge to arrive at the final judgment.
Sine die
to a later undefined time. With no date for the restart. E.g.: The meeting was adjourned sine die.
Ultra vires
beyond your powers. If a director of a company does something ultra vires, then what has been done is invalid.
Verbatim
word by word; exectly
Vice versa
the other way around; the contrary
Thank you very much and see you next time for more Peter’s Pills to improve your Legal English!
You may be surprised to discover that in English speaking counties there is a “Plain English Movement”. This movement tries to get the legal community to abandon Latin and archaic terms for modern plain English. Read more about the Plain English Movement here: “Plain English Movement, The Plain English Movement: Panel Discussion” (.PDF).
Legal English – Sommario delle Lezioni
Legal English – Peter’s Pills – Lesson 39 – When is Latin hot, and when is it not?
Legal English – Peter’s Pills – Lesson 38 – Default
Legal English – Peter’s Pills – Lesson 37 – Company Agent
Legal English – Peter’s Pills – Lesson 36 – Injunction (false freind)
Legal English – Peter’s Pills – Lesson 35 – Mortgage
Legal English – Peter’s Pills – Lesson 34 – Freehold, Leasehold and Commonhold estates
Legal English – Peter’s Pills – Lesson 33 – Transferor, Transferee and Transmittee
Legal English – Peter’s Pills – Lesson 32 – Tax evasion, tax mitigation and tax avoidance
Legal English – Peter’s Pills – Lesson 31 – Numbers
Legal English – Peter’s Pills – Lesson 30 – Ordinary resolutions vs special resolutions
Legal English – Peter’s Pills – Lesson 29 – AGM vs EGM
Legal English – Peter’s Pills – Lesson 28 – A going concern
Legal English – Peter’s Pills – Lesson 27 – Collocations: Violate, breach, break, disobey and infringe
Legal English – Peter’s Pills – Lesson 26 – Company meeting words
Legal English – Peter’s Pills – Lesson 25 – Mortgagor vs Mortgagee
Legal English – Peter’s Pills – Lesson 24 – Fixed charges vs Floating charges
Legal English – Peter’s Pills – Lesson 23 – Doctrine
Legal English – Peter’s Pills – Lesson 22 – Construe
Legal English – Peter’s Pills – Lesson 21 – Sign vs Execute
Legal English – Peter’s Pills – Lesson 20 – The closing statement
Legal English – Peter’s Pills – Lesson 19 – Writing Business Emails
Legal English – Peter’s Pills – Lesson 18 – Limited companies
Legal English – Peter’s Pills – Lesson 17 – Annual Accounts
Legal English – Peter’s Pills – Lesson 16 – Meetings
Legal English – Peter’s Pills – Lesson 15 – Attorney-at-law vs Attorney-in-fact
Legal English – Peter’s Pills – Lesson 14 – Here and there compounds
Legal English – Peter’s Pills – Lesson 13 – Subject Matter
Legal English – Peter’s Pills – Lesson 12 – The clear days rule
Legal English – Peter’s Pills – Lesson 11 – Shareholder, Member or Holder of shares?
Legal English: Peter’s Pills – Lesson 10 – Competition Law
Legal English: Peter’s Pills – Lesson 9 – Lasting Power of Attorney
Legal English: Peter’s Pills – Lesson 8 – Guardianship
Legal English: Peter’s Pills – Lesson 7 – Damage vs Damages
Legal English: Peter’s Pills – Lesson 6 – Legal Doublets
Legal English: Peter’s Pills – Lesson 5 – Escrow
Legal English: Peter’s Pills – Lesson 4 – Memorandum of Association vs Articles of Association
Legal English: Peter’s Pills – Lesson 3 – Sign legibly
Legal English: Peter’s Pills – Lesson 2 – Deed poll
Legal English: Peter’s Pills – Lesson 1 – Party, counterparty and counterpart
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