Ab Initio from the beginning, void ab initio the thing was never created or valid to begin with ;

Ad Idem in agreement / meeting of minds / understanding same thing in same sense or manner ;

Ad Infinitum infinity, forever, repeated again & again in same way without ending ;

Ad Valorem according to value, in proportion to estimated value of goods or transaction concerned ;

Ad Nauseam to a sickening or excessive degree, something has been done or repeated so often that it has

become annoying or tiresome ;

Alibi excuse, claim or piece of evidence that one was elsewhere other than spot of crime ;

Ambiguitas Latens latent ambiguity or defect in a legal instrument that may not be readily apparent from a

superficial inspection but is hidden & disclose by interpretation ;

Ambiguitas Patens patent / intrinsic ambiguity or defect / uncertainty that is present on face of a document ;

Amicus Curiae friend of the court, an impartial adviser to a court of law in a particular case to assists a court by

offering information, expertise, or insight that has a bearing on an issues ;

Animus Possidendi intention to possess & exclude others is necessary to acquisition of title by adverse

possession ;

Audi Alteram Partem listen to other side, let the other side be heard as well, no person should be judged

without a fair hearing in which each party is given the opportunity to respond to the evidence against them ;

Bonafide in good faith, genuine, real, without intention to deceive ;

Caveat Emptor let buyer beware, onus is on buyer to perform due diligence before making a purchase, buyer

alone is responsible for checking the quality & suitability of goods before a purchase is made ;

De Facto in fact / in reality, whether by right or not, existing or holding a specified position in fact but not

necessarily by legal right ;

De Jure legally recognized, according to rightful entitlement or claim, by right existing or holding a specified

position by legal right ;

De Novo a fresh / new starting from beginning ;

Ejusdem Generis of the same kind, in same light, denoting a rule for interpreting statutes by assuming that a

general term describing a list of specific terms denotes other things that are like specific elements ;

Ex Gratia by favour, done from a sense of moral obligation rather than because of any legal requirement, it has

been done voluntarily, out of kind or grace, payment made without the giver recognising any liability or legal

obligation ;

Ex Parte without / in absence of party, ex parte decision is one decided by a judge without requiring all of the

parties to the dispute to be present ;

Ex Post Facto with retrospective effect, action or force, a law that retroactively changes the legal consequences

of actions that were committed, or relationships that existed, before the enactment of the law ;

Factum Valet 'what ought not to be done, become valid when done it already, applied on grounds of equity,

justice & good conscience while administrating the old Hindu Law texts ;

Fait Accompli a thing that has already happened or been decided before those affected hear about it, leaving
them with no option but to accept it ;

Fiat Justitia let justice be done though heavens fall, justice must be realized regardless of consequences ;

Inter Alia among other things, to specify one example out of many possibilities ;

In Limine 'at the threshold or beginning' as a preliminary matter, used for motions regarding the admissibility of

evidence brought up at a pretrial hearing ;

Jus Ad Rem 'a right to a thing' exercisable by one person over a particular article of property in virtue of a

contract or obligation incurred by another person in respect to it and which is enforceable only against or

through such other person ;

Jus in Personam right against a person, right to enforce a particular person's obligation by instituting an action

against such person ;

Letter Rogatory letters formal request from a court to a foreign court for some type of judicial assistance in

service of process or taking of evidence ;

Locus Standi right or capacity to bring an action or to appear in a court, ability of a party to demonstrate to

court sufficient connection to claim made in support it's participation ;

Malafide in bad faith, with intent to deceive illegal or dishonest ;

Modus Operandi mode of operating, particular way or method of doing something, someone's habits of

working in the context of business or criminal investigations ;

Mutatis Mutandis having changed what needs to be changed, making necessary alterations while not affecting

main point at issue ;

Nudum Pactum naked / bare promise made without consideration thus is not legally enforceable ;

Obitor Dicta by the way / an incidental remark, a judge's expression of opinion uttered in court or in a written

judgement, but not essential to decision & therefore not legally binding as a precedent ;

Onus Probandi burden of proof, obligation to prove an assertion or allegation that one makes ;

Parens Patriae parent of the nation, power of State to intervene against an abusive or negligent parent, legal

guardian, or informal caretaker & to act as the parent of any child or individual who is in need of protection ;

Pari Passu side by side, with an equal step or on equal footing, with equal force, fairly, without partiality ;

Per Incuriam through lack of care / bad at law, a previous judgment in which court has failed to pay attention to

relevant statutory provision or precedents ;

Prima Facie on face of thing / at first appearance, based on first impression, accepted as correct until proved

otherwise ;

Pro Bono Publico for public good, work undertaken by professionals voluntarily & without payment ;

Quid Pro Quo a favor for a favor / give & take, exchange of goods or services, in which one transfer is

contingent upon the other ;

Ratio Decendi reason or rationale for decision, point in a case that determines judgement, rule of law on which

a judicial decision is based ;

Raison D’etre most important reason or purpose for someone or something's existence ;
Res Integra entire thing, untouched matter, point without precedent, points of law which have not been

decided, which are untouched by dictum or decision ;

Res Nullius nobody’s property or thing which has no owner ;

Sine Qua Non essential condition, thing that is absolutely necessary an indispensable & essential action,

condition or ingredient ;

Intra Vires within legal power or authority ;

Ultra Vires beyond powers or authority, act which requires legal authority but is done without it

************

Actus non facit reum mens sit rea Any act to be illegal in nature it must be done with a guilty mind, conviction

of a crime requires proof of a criminal act & intent ;

Bonafides non paitur ut lis idem exigatur Good faith does not allow to demand twice the payment /

satisfaction of same thing ;

Damnumsine injuria esse potest Damage without any act of injustice, there may be damage or loss inflicted

without any act being done which the law deems an injury, for such damage no action can be maintained ;

Extra territorium jus dicenti impune Nonparentur One who exercises jurisdiction out of his territory is not

obeyed with impunity, orders of person who uses his jurisdiction beyond his territory cannot be executed

fearlessly ;

Audi alteram partem Listen to other side, let other side be heard as well, no man should be condemned un

heared or both sides must be heard before passing any order, thus no person should be judged without a fair

hearing in which each party is given opportunity to respond to evidence against it ;

Commodum ex injuria sua memohabere debet Wrongdoer should not be enabled by law to take any

advantage from his actions, no person ought to take advantage from his own wrong ;

Delegatus non potest Delegare No delegated powers can be further delegated, thus one to whom power is

delegated cannot himself further delegate that power ;

Pacta sunt servanda Agreements must be kept, thus when two parties willingly & knowingly enter into a

contract, then terms of that contract should be upheld by both parties ;

Res ipsa loqitor Thing speaks for itself, a doctrine that infers negligence from very nature of an accident or

injury in absence of direct evidence as to how defendant behaved ;

Ubi jus ibi remedium where there is a wrong, there is a remedy, if any wrong is committed then law or equity

provides a suitable remedy for that as such no wrong should be allowed to go without any compensation /

redressed ;

Executio juris non habet injurium Execution of law does no injury as such execution of law / punishment by

law itself cannot be called as an injury, thus one cannot claim damages for the loss suffered due to the

punishment in execution of law ;

Nemo dat quod non habet No one can give what they do not have, no one can transfer a better title than he

himself has ;

Quid pro quo Favour or advantage granted in return for something something for something, it means mutual
 consideration in order to make contract enforceable thus involved exchange of things of value

Legal Language words are essential tools of law, thus in study of law, Language has nice importance. legal

language means language used by persons connected with legal profession like lawyer, jurist & legislative drafts

man in their professional capacities.

➢ Nature & Scope legal language comes across & influences different segments of society, some of them

may be law knowing persons & others may not, so the communication between the

a) law makers (legislature) & men of law is one say communication, it can be found in the shape of

statute / Acts. language of statute is most technical & legislators have very little to do with it but drafter take

care that it is communicative of the law-givers intention.

b) communication between judge & advocate is interactive, as both are well-versed in law, so is the formal

communication between two opposed advocates while addressing judge involving judgments & briefs

c) there is informal consultation that takes place either between two or more judges in their chamber or

advocates in their office or bar room or among men of law in landmark decisions.

d) there is the consultation between advocate & ordinary citizen who may be ignorant of law, therefore

making job of advocate more difficult as he has to give legal shape & terminology to the ordinary language of

client,

thus legal communication is summarized in 4 types of situational contexts

i) Lawmakers to judge & advocates through Statutes or Acts

ii) Judge to advocates & inter se through Judgment, briefs, courtroom exchange

iii) Judge to jury or advocate to client & vice versa through Judge’s brief, Consultations

iv) Between ordinary citizens though Contracts, Testaments, bye-laws, Notice etc

➢ Importance of language in law, legal language is different from everyday L as differences are most

obvious at the semantic level of all modes of persuasion furnished by spoken work there are 3 kinds,

i) depends upon personal character of speaker,

ii) on putting audience into a certain frame of mind

iii) on proof or apparent proof provided by words of speech itself & this can be achieved by

a) reasoning logically

b) understanding human character & goodness in their various forms

c) understanding the liberty of the mind, thus object of every sincere speech after all, is not to arouse

passions or flatter senses, but to convince listeners of the truth.

As a lawyer one must have a distinctive vocabulary which uses the words from outside the general L

and words which are part of the general L, but which have radically different meaning in legal and general

usage.

➢ Significant of language for law lies in fact that it is not merely a medium of communication but also a

medium of law or furthermore or is not merely only medium, to is the law as to communicate efficiently and

effectively.