Legal terminology

Question 1

supreme law of a particular country

Answer 1

constitution

Question 1

concerned with relations between individuals and the state or society in general (includes constitutional, tax, administrative, human rights and criminal law)

Answer 1

public law

Question 2

involve disputes between individuals and covers issues such as wills, contracts, marriage and divorce, civil wrong (eg. Negligence)

Answer 2

private law

Question 3

laws enacted by any legislative body.

Answer 3

statutory law

Question 4

the body of principles that evolves from court decisions. Common law is continually being adapted and expanded. Generally adhere to the doctrine of “following precedent” to arrive at a ruling in a particular case; the court applies the same rules and principles applied in previous similar cases

Answer 4

common law

Question 5

the person who files the complaint.

Answer 5

plaintiff

Question 6

a document filed by a person who claims that the person’s legal rights have been infringed upon by one or more persons.

Answer 6

complaint

Question 7

person accused of infringing upon the plaintiff’s legal rights.

Answer 7

defendant

Question 8

the duty of providing an assertion (evidence of the defendant’s wrong doing.)

Answer 8

burden of proof

Question 9

one who has special training, experience, or skill in a relevant area and who is allowed by the court to offer an opinion on some issue within that nurse’s area of expertise.

Answer 9

Expert witness

Question 10

information given to a professional person who is forbidden by law from disclosing information in a court without the consent of the person who provided it.

Answer 10

privileged communication

Question 11

the granting by a nursing regulatory body to a qualified nurse the right to practice within a province or territory, according to standards of care and ethics and scope of practice specified in the licensure

Answer 11

licensure

Question 12

the listing of an individual’s name and other information on the official roster of a governmental or nongovernmental agency. Nurses who are registered are permitted to use the title “Registered Nurse”

Answer 12

Registeration

Question 13

the voluntary practice of validating that an individual nurse has met minimum standards of nursing competence in specialty areas.

Answer 13

certification

Question 14

a process by which a voluntary organization appraises and grants accredited status to institutions and/or programs or services that meet predetermined structure, process, and outcome criteria.

Answer 14

accreditation

Question 15

an agreement between two or more competent persons, on sufficient consideration (remuneration) to do or not to do some lawful act.

Answer 15

Contract

Question 16

one that has not been explicitly agreed to by the parties but that the law nevertheless considers to exist.`

Answer 16

implied contract

Question 17

being legally responsible to account for one’s obligations and actions and to make financial restitution for wrongful acts.

Answer 17

liability

Question 18

standards by which a nurse acts or fails to act. They are legally defined by nurse practice acts and by the role of reasonable and prudent action.

Answer 18

standards of care

Question 19

means that the individual acts with the care that any reasonable person with his or her knowledge, education and experience would take.

Answer 19

Reasonable prudence

Question 20

conduct that does not meet a standard of care established by law.
Failure to behave in a reasonable and prudent manner, whether as a layperson or a professional. When harm or injury results from this failure, negligence is said to occur.

Answer 20

Negligence

Question 21

the negligent acts of persons engaged in professions or occupations in which highly technical or professional skills are employed.

Answer 21

malpractice

Question 22

the nurse’s duty of care, established by the presence of an expressed or implied contract.

Answer 22

contractural obligation

Question 23

privileges or fundamental powers to which an individual is entitled unless they are revoked by law or given up voluntarily.

Answer 23

rights

Question 24

obligations associated with rights.

Answer 24

responsililities

Question 25

the formalized decision-making process between representatives of management and representatives of labor to negotiate wages and conditions of employment, including work hours, working environment, and fringe benefits of employment.

Answer 25

collective bargaining

Question 26

organized work stoppage by a group of employees to express a grievance, enforce a demand for changes in conditions of employment or solve a dispute with management.

Answer 26

strike

Question 27

any dispute, difference, controversy, or disagreement arising out of the terms and conditions of employment.

Answer 27

griecance

Question 28

accountability

Answer 28

a person is answerable (or accepts responsibility) for his or her own actions.

Question 29

an act committed in violation of public (criminal law) and punishable by a fine and/or imprisonment. A crime does not have to be intended in order to be a crime.

Answer 29

crime