A compilation of important legal maxims and foreign

words to assist you in attaining a tight grasp over the

aspects of Legal Aptitude.
Legal maxims (mostly Latin word or words) are
established principles of law which are universally admitted
and people in legal field are very well aware of these words
(called legal maxims).
Just like in Geometry we have Axioms, in Law we have
Legal Maxims.
Ab Initio - From the beginning.
Actionable per se - The very act is punishable and no proof
of damage is required.
Actiopersonalis moritur cum persona -Apersonal right
of action dies with the person. In other sense if he dies the
right to sue is gone.
Actoriincumbit onus probandi - The burden of proof is
on the plaintiff.
Actus Reus Non Facit Reum NisiMens Sit Rea -
Conviction of a crime requires proof of a criminal act and
intent. or an act does not nmake a defendant guilty without a
guilty mind. or an act does not constitute guilt unless done
with a guilty intention.
Ad hoc - For the particular end or case at hand.
Alibi -At another place, elsewhere.
Amicus Curiae -A friend of court or member of the Bar
who is appointed to assist the Court.
Ante Litem Motam - Before suit brought; before
controversy instituted OR spoken before a lawsuit is
brought.
Assentio mentium - The meeting of minds, i.e mutual
assents.

Audi alteram partem - No man shall be condemned

unheard.
Bona fide - In good faith.
Bona vacantia - Goods without an owner.

Boni judicis est ampliare jurisdictionem - Itis the part of

a good judge to enlarge his jurisdiction, i.e. remedial
authority.
Caveat -Acaution registered with the public court to
indicate to the officials that they are not to act in the matter
mentioned in the caveat without first giving notice to the
caveator.

Caveat actor - Let the doer beware.

Caveat emptor - Let the buyer beware.

Caveat venditor -Let the seller beware.

Certiorari - A writ by which orders passed by an inferior

court is quashed.
Corpus - Body.
Corpus delicti - The facts and circumstances constituting a
crime and Concrete evidence of a crime, such as a corpse
(dead body).
Also,
It refers to the principle that 'a crime must be proved to
have occurred before a person can be convicted of
committing that crime.' (This definition is mostly used in
Western Law.)
Damnum sine injuria - Damage without injury.
De facto - In fact.

De jure - By law.
De minimis - About minimal things.
De Minimis Non Curat Lex - The law does not govern
trifles (unimportant things) or law ignores insignificant
details.
0r

A common law principle whereby judges will not sit in

judgment of extremely minor transgressions (offence,
wrongdoings) of the law.
De novo - To make something anew.
Dictum - Statement of law made by judge in the course of
the decision but not necessary to the decision itself.
Doli incapax - Incapable of crime.
Detinue - Tort of wrongfully holding goods which belong
to someone else.

Donatio mortis causa - Gift because of death. (or a future

gift given in expectation of the donor's imminent death and
only delivered upon the donor's death.)
Estoppel - Prevented from denying.
Ex gratia - As a favour.
Ex officio - Because of an office held.

Ex parte - Proceedings in the absence of the other party.

Ex post facto - Out of the aftermath. or After the fact.
According to Wikipedia,
It is a law that retroactively changes the legal consequences
(or status) of actions that were committed, or relationships
that existed, before the enactment of the law.
In criminal law, it maycriminalise actions that were legal
when committed; it may aggravate a crime by bringing it
into amore severe category than itwas in when itwas
committed; it may change the punishment prescribed for a
crime, as by adding new penalties or extending sentences;
or itmay alter the rules of evidence in order to make
conviction for acrime likelier than it would have been
when the deed was committed.

Fatum - Beyond human foresight.

Factum probans - Relevant fact.
Fraus est celare fraudem - It is a fraud to conceal a fraud.

Functusofficio - No longer having power or jurisdiction.

Furiosinulla voluntas est - Mentally impaired or mentally
incapable persons cannot validly sign a will, contract or
form the frame of mind necessary to commit a crime. or a
person with mental illness has no free will.
Habeas corpus - A writ to have the body of a person to be
brought in before the judge.
Ignorantia juris non excusat - Ignorance of the law
excuses not or Ignorance of law excuses no one.
In other words,
A person who is unaware of a law may not escape liability
for violating that law merely because one was unaware of
itscontent.
Injuria sine damno - Injury without damage.
Ipso facto - By the mere fact.
In promptu - In readiness.
In lieu of - Instead of.

In personam - A proceeding in which relief I sought

against a specific person.
Innuendo - Spoken words which are defamatory because
they have a double meaning.
In status quo - In the present state.
Inter alia - Among other things.
Inter vivos - (especially of a gift as opposed to a legacy)
between living people.
Interest Reipublicae Ut Sit Finis Litium - Itmeans it is in
the interest of the state that there should be an end to
litigation.
Jus cogens (or ius cogens) - Compelling law.
Jus in personam - Right against a specific person.
Jus in rem - Right against the world at large.
Jus naturale - Natural law.
Or in other words,
A system of law based on fundamental ideas of right and
Wrong that is Natural Law.
Jus non scriptum - Customary law.
Jus scriptum - Written law.
Jus - Law or right.
Justitia nemini neganda est - Justice is to be denied to
nobody.
Lex non arege est violanda - The law must not be violated
even by the king.
Locus standi- Right of a party to an action to appear and
be heard bythe court and be heard by the court.
Mala fide Inbad faith.
Malum in se or Mala in se (plural) - Wrong or evil in
itself.
Or

Mala in se is 'A term that signifies crime that is considered

Wrong in and of itself.!
For Example,
Most human beings believe that murder, rape, and theft are
wrong, regardless of whether a law governs such conduct or
where the conduct occurs, and is thus recognizably malum
1n se.

Malum prohibitum - In a way opposite of Malum in se.

Itmeans Crimes are criminal not because they are
inherently bad,but because the act is prohibited by the law
of the state.
For example,
Jurisdiction in India require drivers to drive on the left side
of the road. This is not because driving on the right
side of a
road is considered immoral, but because law says to drive
on the left side and not on right side.
Mandamus "We command'. A writ of command issued by
a Higher Court to Government/Public Authority, to
compel
the performance of a public duty.
Mens rea - Guilty mind.
Misnomer - A wrong or inaccurate name or term.
Modus operandi - Way of working.
Modus Vivendi - Way of living.
Mutatis Mutandis - with the necessary changes having
been made OR with the respective differences having been
considered.

Nemo bis punitur pro eodem delicto - Nobody can be

twice punished for the same offence.
Nemo debet bis vexari pro una et eadem causa - It means
no man shall be punished twice for the same offence.
Nemo debet esse judex in propria causa or Nemo judex
in causa sua or Nemo judex in sua causa - Nobody can be
judge in his own case.
Nemo moriturus praesumitur mentire - A man will not
meet his maker (God) with a lie in his mouth or in other
words 'No man at the point of death is presumed to
lie. (This maxim is related to DYING DECLARATION)
Nemo Potest esse tenens et dominus - No body can be
both a landlord and a tenant of the same property.

Nolle prosequi -Aformal notice of abandonment by

plaintiff or prosecutor of all or part of a suit.
Novation - Transaction in which a new contact is agreed by
all parties to replace an existing contract.
Nuncpro tunc - Now for then. Aruling nunc pro tunc
applies retroactively to correct an earlier ruling.
Non Sequitur - A statement (such as a response) that does
not followlogically from or is not clearly related to
anything previously said.
Source: Merriam Webster Dictionary.
Obiter dictum - Things said by the way. It is generally
used in law to refer to an opinion or non-necessary remark
made by a judge. It does not act as a precedent.
In other words,
Obiter dictum means "that which is said in passing," an
incidental statement. Specifically, in law, it refers to a
passage in a judicial opinion which is not necessary for the
decision of the case before the court. Such statements lack
the force of precedent but may nevertheless be significant.
Source: Britannica

Onus probandi - Burden of proof.

Pacta Sunt Servanda - Agreements must be kept. or
Agreements are legally binding.
In nternational Agreements it means 'every treaty in force
is binding upon the parties to it and must be performed by
them in good faith.'
Pari passu - With an equal step. Read more about it on
Wikipedia.
Per curiam (decision or opinion) - By the court.
In other words,
The decision is made by the court (or at least, a majority of
the court) acting collectively.
Per se - By itself.
Persona non grata - A person who is unacceptable or
unwelcome.
Opposite of persona non grata is persona grata.
Also,
Indiplomacy, a persona non grata is a foreign person whose
entering or remaining in a particular country is prohibited
by that country's government.
Prima facie - At first sight.
Alimony - a husband's (or wife's) provision for a spouse
after separation or divorce; maintenance.
Palimony - Money which a man pays to a woman with
whom he has been living and from whom he is separated.
Palimony has slightly different meanings in different
jurisdictions.
Per curiam - By a court.
Per incuriam - Because of lack of care.

Primafacie - On the face of it.

Quantum meruit -What one has earned. or The amount he
deserves.
In other words,
A reasonable sum of money to be paid for services rendered
or work done when the amount due is not stipulated
(specified,written down) in a legally enforceable contract.
Source: Oxford
Qui facit per alium, facit per se - He who acts through
another acts himself.
In simple words,
It is a fundamental legal maxim of the law of agency. It is a
maxim often stated in discussing the liability of employer
for the act of employee in terms of vicarious (indirect,
secondhand) liability.
Quid pro quo - Something for something.
Qui sentit commodum, sentire debet et onus - It means
he who receives advantage must also bear the burden.
Quo warranto - By what authority. A writ calling upon one
to show under what authority he holds or claims a public
office.
Ratio decidendi- Principle or reason underlying a court
judgement. or The rule of law on which a judicial decision
is based.
Respondeat superior - Let the master answer.
For example,
There are circumstances when an employer is liable for acts
of employees performed within the course of their
employment. This rule is also called the master-servant
rule.

Res ipsa loquitor -The thing speaks for itself.

Res Judicata - A matter already judged.
Res Judicata Pro Veritate Accipitur - It means that a
judicial decision must be accepted as correct.
Rex non protest peccare -The king can do no wrong.
Salus populi est suprema lex -The welfare of the is the
supreme law.

Status quo - State of things as they are now.

Sine die - With no day (indefinitely).
Sine qua non - "without which nothing". An essential
condition; a thing that is absolutely necessary. Basicaly a
component of an argument that, if debunked, causes the
entire argument to crumble.
Suo Motu -On its own motion.

Uberrima fides (sometimes uberrimae fidei) -Utmost

good faith.
Ubi jus ibiremedium - Where there isa right, there is a
remedy.
Veto - Ban or order not to allow something to become law,
even if it has been passed by a parliament.
Vice versa -Reverse position.
Vis major -Act of God.
Volenti non fit injuria - Damage suffered by consent gives
no cause of action.
or in other words,
If someone willingly places himself in a position where he
knows that harm might result, then he is not able (allowed)
to bring a claim against the other party in tort or delict (a
violation of law).
Vox populi - Voice of the people.or The opinion of the
majority of the people.
Waiver - Voluntarily giving up or removing the conditions.