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Legal English - BengHum > Legal System Vocab > Flashcards

Legal System Vocab Flashcards

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Proverbs and Idioms flashcards
1
Q

Act

A

Act; specific piece of legislation passed by a legislative body, such as Parliament or Congress.

An Act of Parliament is divided into parts, sections, sub-sections, paragraphs and at the end are the schedules

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2
Q

ADR

A

ADR; these initials stand for alternative dispute resolution. This includes mediation, conciliation and arbitration

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3
Q

Alternative Business Structure (ABS)

A

Alternative Business Structure (ABS); since 2012 a new form of licensed business in the United Kingdom which is allowed to provide legal and other services. It enables consumers to obtain services from one business entity that brings together lawyers and non-lawyers.
For example, an ABS could provide insurance, mortgage and estate agency services, as well as property conveyancing. The ABS can be owned wholly or partly by non-lawyers.

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4
Q

Arbitration

A

Arbitration; a form of alternative dispute resolution where a third party, acting as an arbitrator, delivers an opinion that is binding on the parties.

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5
Q

Attorney-at-law

A

Attorney-at-law; usually referred to simply as an attorney. An attorney is a legal professional in the United States with the right to practice law in the state for which he has been admitted to the Bar

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6
Q

Attorney General

A

Attorney General; in England he is a legal adviser to the Crown. The Attorney General has political duties that include advising government departments.
In the United States there is also an Attorney General. He is the head of legal affairs in a state or in the federal government

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7
Q

Bar

A

Bar; the collective name for barristers/attorneys in independent practice

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8
Q

Barrister

A

Barrister; a legal professional in the English legal system with a right of audience before all courts. As well as acting as an advocate, a barrister may also be a specialist in a certain area of law

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9
Q

Beneficiary

A

Beneficiary; one who benefits from a trust and who has an equitable interest in the trust property

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10
Q

Bill

A

Bill; an Act of Parliament is called a bill before it has been formally approved

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11
Q

Binding

A

Binding; if a decision is binding, it must be followed. For example, precedents set by a higher court must be followed by lower courts

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12
Q

Brief

A

Brief; in the English system this refers to the written instructions sent by a solicitor to a barrister, briefing him about a case. In the United States, it is used to indicate a written statement setting out the legal contentions of a party in litigation, especially on appeal

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13
Q

Canon law

A

Canon law; also referred to as ecclesiastical law. This is the law of the church.

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14
Q

Case law

A

Case law; refers to the decisions made by judges applying legal principles from legislation and binding precedent (see doctrine of binding precedent) to the circumstances of the particular disputes before them

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15
Q

Certiorari

A

Certiorari; this order usually transfers a case from an appeal court, and in certain special cases from a trial court, to the US Supreme Court for judicial review

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16
Q

Challenge

A

Challenge; potential members of a jury can be challenged, either for a reason that is stated before the court or for no reason. This is a way of excluding potential jurors from a jury.

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17
Q

Chambers

A

Chambers: accommodation for a group of barristers. Barristers in chambers are self-employed and group together only to share facilities and staff. It would therefore be wrong to refer to a firm of barristers.

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18
Q

Civil law

A

Civil law: this term has two meanings. It can be used in the sense of the law concerned with private rights rather than public law. The term may also be used to describe a legal system. Unlike the common law system, a civil law system has its roots in Roman law and is a codified system.

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19
Q

Clerk

A

Clerk: the English legal system knows various types of legal clerks, for example, lay magistrates are assisted by a magistrate’s clerk. The clerk in barristers’ chambers, often now referred to as the practice manager, acts as a business manager for the barristers of that chamber.

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20
Q

Coded systems

A

Coded systems: systems where the codification of the law has taken place, i.e., the laws of the land have been compiled to form a systematic, formal legal code.

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21
Q

Common law

A

Common law: as a system of law it originated in medieval England and was later applied in former British colonies, including the United States. Common law is based on judicial precedent arising from cases rather than law based on codes or other forms of legislative enactments. Hence the term common law is also used to refer to case law rather than statute law.

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22
Q

Competence

A

Competence: a court has the competence to hear a case if it has jurisdiction over the person or property at issue in that case.

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23
Q

Conciliation

A

Conciliation: alternative form of dispute resolution where a third party, acting as a conciliator, offers the parties a non-binding opinion.

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24
Q

Concur

A

Concur: verb used to indicate that judges in a case agree with the majority conclusion. The reasons for reaching that conclusion, however, may vary.

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25
Q

Congress

A

Congress: the federal legislative body of the United States. It consists of two houses, the Senate and the House of Representatives.

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26
Q

Conveyancing

A

Conveyancing: drawing up legal documents to transfer the ownership of property from seller to buyer; in general, the law and procedure with respect to the purchase and sale of property.

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27
Q

Coroner’s Court

A

Coroner’s Court: holds an inquest where death appears to be violent, unnatural or sudden and the cause is unknown.

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28
Q

Counsel

A

Counsel: when representing a party in court, a barrister is referred to as counsel and an attorney as counsel or counsellor

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29
Q

County Court

A

County Court: in the English system it hears civil cases. The name ‘county court’ may also be found in the court systems of several states in the United States, where it has a limited jurisdiction in civil and criminal cases.

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30
Q

Court of Appeal

A

Court of Appeal: this is an appellate court to be found in many common law jurisdictions hearing appeals from lower courts.

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31
Q

Court of first instance

A

Court of first instance: this term can be used to describe a court in which proceedings are initiated

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32
Q

Court of Justice

A

Court of Justice: is part of the Court of Justice of the European Union and is the senior court in the European Union legal order. It is this European court, not the national courts of the Member States of the European Union, which has the competence to make decisions regarding European Union law

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33
Q

Crown Court

A

Crown Court: this is a court in the English court system that hears primarily criminal cases

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34
Q

Custom

A

Custom: this is unwritten law that is legally valid if a practice can be shown to have been continuously in operation since time immemorial.

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35
Q

Discretionary

A

Discretionary: where a remedy is not available by right but depends upon the consideration of the court.

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36
Q

Dissent

A

Dissent: where a judge disagrees with the majority opinion in a case. A dissenting judgment is classed as obiter dicta.

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37
Q

Distinguish

A

Distinguish: if a case is distinguished, a judge finds a precedent laid down in a previous case not binding on the case before him because the material/key facts in the present case differ from those of the previous case.

38
Q

District courts

A

District courts: these are the trial courts of the American federal court system

39
Q

Doctrine of binding precedent

A

Doctrine of binding precedent: the precedent laid down in a prior case of a similar nature must be followed. The Latin term for the doctrine of binding precedent is stare decisis.

40
Q

Doctrine of parliamentary sovereignty

A

Doctrine of parliamentary sovereignty: all legislative power in England is vested in Parliament or is derived from the authority of Parliament, Parliament being the House of Commons, the House of Lords and the Crown. Parliament has the right to make any
laws it wishes to make, although these laws are in practice bound by certain constitutional documents, norms and conventions, and must now be in keeping with European Union law.

41
Q

Draft

A

Draft: when a legal document, such as a contract, is being drawn up, the preliminary version (or versions) of the document is referred to as a draft. The draft may be subject to amendments before it is accepted as the final version

42
Q

Employment Tribunal

A

Employment Tribunal: tribunal in the English system with the jurisdiction to hear almost all individual disputes based on statutory employment law claims and common law contract claims up to a set maximum.

43
Q

Equitable title

A

Equitable title: under the principles of law developed by the court of equity, one piece of property could be subject to two sorts of interest: a legal interest and an equitable interest.
The legal owner of the property holds the legal title, which was protected by the common law. The one with the equitable interest holds an equitable title, which was protected by the chancellor in the court of equity.
The person holding the equitable title is the one intended to benefit from the property, even though that person is not the legal owner. There are no longer separate common law courts and equity courts, as these courts have fused. An equitable title is still protected in law against all but the bona fide purchaser without notice.

44
Q

Equity

A

Equity: historically, equity developed as a separate system of law in England, as the common law was too rigid. The court of equity developed its own principles of fairness and its own legal remedies. Now all courts may apply principles of equity alongside those of the common law

45
Q

Federal courts

A

Federal courts: the courts of the United States as distinguished from the courts of the individual states. Federal courts hear cases that involve disputes or issues governed by federal law or the US Constitution, or disputes involving citizens from different
states.

46
Q

Forum shopping

A

Forum shopping: where more than one court has the competence to hear a case and parties wish to select the forum that would be most favourable for their case.

47
Q

High Court

A

High Court: a superior court in the English court system

48
Q

House of Lords

A

House of Lords: until 2009, the House of Lords as a court heard appeals in both civil and criminal cases where the matter was of public importance. However, the House of Lords as a court has now disappeared, having been replaced by the Supreme Court of
the United Kingdom.

49
Q

Inferior

A

Inferior: an adjective used to describe a lower court. It does not mean that the quality of the court is poor. It simply means a court of lower jurisdiction

50
Q

Judicial review

A

Judicial review: an examination by judges of a higher court. This examination may be of either a decision made in an inferior court or decisions made by public authorities that affect the rights of individuals. In the US Supreme Court, judges may reject any legislation, whether state or federal, that is not in keeping with the US Constitution.
Judges in the English system were never allowed to reject parliamentary legislation, as only Parliament could revoke one of its own acts. However, since becoming a member of the European Union, English judges are allowed to review whether parliamentary legislation is in keeping with European Union law.

51
Q

Jurisdiction

A

Jurisdiction: the legal power to hear and decide a case. If the court does not have the jurisdiction to hear a case, its decision will be void.

52
Q

Jurisprudence

A

Jurisprudence: the study or philosophy of law. In the United States it is also used in the sense of case law rather than statute law.

53
Q

Juror

A

Juror: a member of a jury

54
Q

Jury

A

Jury: a cross-section of the public called upon to hear a case. In England, a trial jury consists of twelve persons. In the United States, there are two sorts of juries. The trial jury (petit jury) consists of six to twelve persons. It hears criminal and civil cases. The grand jury has up to twenty-three persons. It hears criminal cases.
The task of the grand jury is to see whether the accusations should result in an indictment being filed (the indictment sets out the charges against the accused). This depends upon whether there is enough evidence against the accused to bring a criminal prosecution

55
Q

Jury vetting

A

Jury vetting: procedure by which members of the public are selected in court for jury service in England. In the United States, the counsels for the defence/prosecution have far more opportunities to challenge potential members of the jury than in England. This procedure is commonly termed voir dire in the United States.

56
Q

Legal certainty

A

Legal certainty: to protect the expectations of individuals by ensuring that laws are applied consistently and predictably.

57
Q

Legal Disciplinary Practices (LDP)

A

Legal Disciplinary Practices (LDP): a new form of providing licensed legal services in the United Kingdom, as the business is conducted both by different kinds of lawyers and non-lawyers.
Those working for an LDP could, for example, include solicitors,
licensed conveyors, legal executives and patent and trademark agents. The Bar Stan dards Board has given its approval for barristers to supply legal services through LDPs. There can be no external ownership of an LDP.

58
Q

Legal executive

A

Legal executive: in England a legal executive is trained by the Institute of Legal Executives. Legal executives train under the supervision of a solicitor, the solicitor being referred to as the principal in this context. A fully qualified legal executive in
the English system may perform many of the tasks of a solicitor. Legal executives do not have independent practice rights, but they may become partners or managers in LDPs (see Legal Disciplinary Practices). The term paralegal is also used in this context.

59
Q

Legal remedy

A

Legal remedy: means provided by the law to redress the harm suffered by one party because another party has acted contrary to the rules of law

60
Q

Legislation

A

Legislation: written laws passed by a legislative body, for example, the Parliament in England and the Congress in the United States

61
Q

Litigation

A

Litigation: where a party, known as a litigant, brings an action (a lawsuit)

62
Q

Magistrate

A

Magistrate: term given to an inferior judicial officer both in England and the United States. In the English court system, magistrates are often lay people. Professional, legally qualified magistrates in the English system are called district judges

63
Q

Magistrates’ Court

A

Magistrates’ Court: in the English court system this is an inferior court primarily for criminal cases. All criminal cases start in the Magistrates’ Courts. It hears summary offences and triable either way offences. More serious crimes are sent from the Magistrates’ Court to the Crown Court.

64
Q

Material

A

Material: used generally to denote something of importance in a case, for example, material fact or a material witness. The word key may also be used in this context

65
Q

Mediation

A

Mediation: alternative form of dispute resolution where a third party, acting as a mediator, helps the parties in a dispute to reach an agreement

66
Q

Notary

A

Notary: in the civil law system a notary is a trained lawyer who specialises in drafting and authenticating legal documents, and retains legal instruments. Inthe United States, on the other hand, a notary need not be a trained lawyer and the notary’s function is limited to administering oaths, affirmations and witnessing the signing of documents

67
Q

Obiter dicta

A

Obiter dicta: plural of obiter dictum, meaning passing or incidental statements in a judicial opinion that do not form part of the ratio decidendi or binding element in a case.

68
Q

Overrule

A

Overrule: a court reaches the decision that a precedent laid down in a different case no longer has precedential value.

69
Q

Persuasive

A

Persuasive: if the authority is persuasive rather than binding, the judge is not obliged to follow it, but it should be of importance in reaching a judgment.

70
Q

Pre-emption

A

Pre-emption: where one system of law takes precedence over another. In the United States, federal legislation is superior to state legislation and will pre-empt state legislation where there is a conflict. In Europe, the law of the European Union is said to override that of the national law of the Member States on matters within its competence.

71
Q

Probate

A

Probate: legal acceptance that a document usually associated with the administration of estates, such as a will, is valid

72
Q

Ratio decidendi

A

Ratio decidendi: the reason for the decision. This is the part of the judgment in which legal principles are applied to the facts of the particular case before the court. It is this part of the judgment that forms the precedent. In the United States this may also be referred to as a holding

73
Q

Reverse

A

Reverse: when a higher court hearing a case on appeal from a lower court reaches the opposite judgment to that of the lower court.

74
Q

Revoke

A

Revoke: to cancel or annul, for example, to annul previous legislation

75
Q

Right of audience

A

Right of audience: the right to appear and conduct proceedings in a court

76
Q

Senior Courts

A

Senior Courts: since the coming into operation of the Supreme Court in the United Kingdom, the Court of Appeal, the High Court and the Crown Court are now known together as the ‘Senior Courts of England and Wales’

77
Q

Settlor

A

Settlor: also referred to as a trustor or donor. This is the person who settles his property on someone, in particular to set up a trust

78
Q

Solicitor

A

Solicitor: is a legal professional within the English system. A solicitor has four main areas of competence: conveyancing, probate, drafting company and commercial contracts and the preparation of litigation. Unless he has an advocacy certificate, his right to be heard in court is in general limited to the lower courts. A solicitor who has an advocacy certificate is known as a solicitor advocate

79
Q

State courts

A

State courts: this is the term given to the courts in the individual states of the United States as opposed to the courts in the federal system.

80
Q

Statute

A

Statute: a form of written law, such as an Act of Parliament, passed by a legislative body.

81
Q

Statutory instrument

A

Statutory instrument: subordinate legislation, usually made by a minister, under the authority granted by an act of Parliament

82
Q

Superior

A

Superior: this adjective is applied to courts to indicate courts of higher jurisdiction. Precedents set in the superior courts must be followed by the lower courts

83
Q

Supreme Court

A

Supreme Court: for centuries, the highest court of appeal in the United Kingdom was the House of Lords. However, since 2009, the House of Lords, in its committee capacity as an appellate court, has been replaced by a new Supreme Court. In the United
States, the term Supreme Court refers either to the US Supreme Court, which is the highest court in the federal system, or it is often used to refer to the highest appellate court in a state

84
Q

Trust

A

Trust: property, either real or personal, that is held by one party for the benefit of another party. Property held in trust comprises two interests: a legal interest and an equitable interest. The legal interest is held by the trustee and the equitable interest is held by the beneficiary

85
Q

Trustee

A

Trustee: person who holds the legal title to property which is administered for the benefit of someone else

86
Q

US Bankruptcy Court

A

US Bankruptcy Court: only the federal courts may hear bankruptcy cases

87
Q

US Court of Federal Claims

A

US Court of Federal Claims: a federal court hearing claims against the United States for such matters as monetary claims against the US and disputes concerning federal contracts

88
Q

US Court of International Trade

A

US Court of International Trade: specialises in cases involving international trade

89
Q

US Supreme Court

A

US Supreme Court: this is the top court in the federal court system of the United States

90
Q

US Tax Court

A

US Tax Court: a federal court hearing tax cases

91
Q

Voir dire

A

Voir dire: see jury vetting

Jury vetting: procedure by which members of the public are selected in court for jury service in England. In the United States, the counsels for the defence/prosecution have far more opportunities to challenge potential members of the jury than in England. This procedure is commonly termed voir dire in the United States

Legal English - BengHum (6 decks)

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