Deck 3 Flashcards
Agricultural holding
a type of tenancy agreement for someone doing
agricultural work. The tenant has special rights
including, when the tenancy finishes, the right to
compensation for improvements to the land. If the
land has deteriorated the tenant must compensate
the landlord.
Aiding and abetting
helping someone to commit a crime.
Airspace
the space in the atmosphere directly above a piece
of land. If you own a piece of land you also own the
airspace above the land.
Alias
a false name.
Alibi
a claim that a person was elsewhere when a crime
was committed. If someone is accused of a crime
their alibi is:
• evidence that the person was somewhere else
when the crime was committed; or
• an attempt to prove that the person was
somewhere else when the crime was
committed.
Alien
someone from a foreign country.
Alienation
transferring the ownership of property from one
person to another
All and sundry
everybody
Allegation
an unproved statement declaring that something has
happened.
Alleviate
to lessen or reduce.
Allocation rate
the proportion of money left to be invested after
charges have been taken off when money is paid
into a fund (such as a pension fund). For example, if
the charges were 2%, the allocation rate would be
98%.
Allotment
shares allocated to a buyer. An allotment of shares
in a company gives the owner (of the allotment) an
unconditional right to buy the shares at a fixed price.
All that
words used in a conveyance to introduce the
description of the property which is being conveyed.
Alternate director
a person appointed by a director to take the
director’s place.
Alternative verdict
a person being found guilty of a less serious crime
than the one they were charged with. If a more
serious charge has not been proved and the
defendant has been found not guilty, the defendant
may be found guilty of a less serious crime instead.
For example, there may not be enough evidence to
convict someone of a murder but there may still be
enough for a manslaughter conviction. This is known
as an alternative verdict.
Amalgamation
two or more companies combining.
Ambiguity
capability of more than one meaning. When a
statement’s meaning is not clear because it is
capable of more than one meaning, it contains an
ambiguity.
Ambulatory will
a will which can be revoked or changed while the
person who made it is still living.
Amnesty
not punishing a person for an offence they have
committed and removing details of the offence from
the court’s records is giving the person an amnesty.
Ancient lights
the right not to have the light you receive from a
neighbour’s land blocked.
Annual accounts
the summary of an organisation’s financial
transactions during the year covered by their
accounts, and a ‘snapshot’ of the assets and
liabilities at the end of the year.
Annual general Meeting
the yearly meeting of the members of an
organisation which must be held to meet legal
conditions. The annual accounts are presented for
approval at this meeting.
Annual return
a return which must be sent by companies to the
Registrar of Companies. Each year the officers of a
company have to fill in an annual return with details
of the members, officers, shares issued and other
information about the company. The return is then
sent to Companies House for filing and is available
for inspection by members of the public.
Annuitant
the person who gets paid an annuity.
Annuity
an amount paid out every year to someone. The
money usually comes from an insurance policy. It
can be split up into smaller amounts and be paid out
more frequently, such as monthly. It is usually paid
for the rest of the beneficiary’s life.
Annul
to cancel:
• an invalid marriage; or
• a bankruptcy order.
Ante
before.
Antecedents
details about the past of a defendant or a person
found guilty of a crime. The information about
previous crimes, background and bad behaviour is
given to the court before the sentence is given.
Antenuptial agreement
a legal agreement between two people who are
about to get married. The agreement sets out how
the couple’s assets will be divided between them if
they later divorce.
Anton Piller order
an order by the High Court. It gives the applicant
permission to search the defendant’s premises for
evidence, inspect it and take it away. It is intended to
prevent evidence being destroyed or hidden which
would be relevant to the case. (Since April 1999, this
has been known as a ‘search order’.)
Appeal
asking a court to overturn a lower court’s decision. If
the decision of a court is disputed it may be possible
to ask a higher court to consider the case again by
lodging an appeal.
Appellant
the person who is appealing to a court against a
decision of a lower court.
Appellate jurisdiction
the authority a court has to hear an appeal against a
decision made by a lower court.
