Hey!
My name is Maelle-Andrea. I live in Montreal and I have been studying Paralegal Technology almost 2 years at Ahuntsic College. The filed of study is law. This glossary will contain legal vocabulary used in that filed. It will help you to understand the judicial language that jurists use.
Contractual Obligations
Common noun and adj
An obligation to do or not to do something, which flows from an agreement between people. This agreement can in writing or verbal. Promising to mow a neighbour’s lawn is an example of a verbal contract.
Example: The debtor and the creditor have the contractual obligation to not talk to each other.
fr: Obligations contractuelles
Court clerk
Common noun
A public servant of the Department of Justice who works in a courthouse. The clerk calls witnesses and asks them to promise to tell the truth. The clerk also writes down in the court record all the main steps that take place in a court case, and makes a list of documents filed as evidence.
Example: The count clerk forwarded the personal information of the two parties to the judge in charge.
fr: Greffier de la Cour
Creditor
Common noun
A person owed something by another person, called a debtor. For example, let’s say that Peter lends Paul $5.00. Peter becomes Paul’s creditor because Paul owes Peter $5.00.
fr: Créancier
Debtor
Common noun
A person who owes something to someone else. For example, say that Paul borrows $5.00 from Peter. Paul is a debtor of Peter for $5.00.
Example: The debtor did not respect the obligation to pay the car as promised.
fr: Débiteur
Dol
Common Noun
Fraud committed to induce another to make a contract.
Example: By the time I signed that contract, I realized he had committed a dol.
fr: Dol
Judicial District
Common noun
The district is the place where the proceedings of a judicial proceeding or trial will take place.
Each courthouse in Quebec has authority over a geographic area called a judicial district. Quebec is divided into 36 judicial districts.
The list of judicial districts of Quebec is available on that website.
https://www.justice.gouv.qc.ca/nous-joindre/recherche-dun-district/liste-des-municipalites-et-des-communautes-autochtones-par-district-judiciaire/district-judiciaire/?no_cache=1
Example: John’s trial will take place in the judicial district of Montreal.
fr: District judiciaire
Jurisdiction
Common noun
The power given to a court to hear a case. The jurisdiction of a court is limited to certain types of cases, in certain geographic locations, and sometimes even to certain people. For example, the Superior Court of Quebec has the power to hear divorce cases, but not adoption cases. Adoptions fall under the jurisdiction of the Court of Quebec.
Example: The Court of Quebec does not have jurisdiction in this case.
fr: Juridiction
Jurisprudence
Common Noun
All of the decisions made courts. Case law is also called jurisprudence. Jurisprudence clarifies the meaning of the law and guides judges who must decide similar cases in the future.
Jurisprudence is a very useful research method for for jurists and paralegals.
Example: The jurisprudence of the Court of Justice must be consulted for tomorrow’s trial.
fr: Jurisprudence
Law
Common Noun
The law is a set of rules of conduct that govern relationship in a society.
Example: Mr Trudeau must know the law in order to fulfill his role as Prime Minister.
fr: Droit
Legal Doctrine
Common noun and adj
Refers to all opinions (written, comments, theories, etc.) given by academics and lawyers.
Example: This paralegal works for a large firm which has taught him very well the research method by legal doctrine.
fr: Doctrine juridique
Legislator
Common noun
A person responsible for creating laws. In Canada, the legislators in the federal Parliament and the legislative assemblies of the provinces have this power.
Example: The federal Parliament will contact the Civil Code legislator to correct this error in the Divorce Act.
fr: Législateur
Litigation
Common noun
A legal conflict between 2 or more people.
Example: Martha and Siri’s litigation will go to Court of Appeal Court before Justice Mcgeth.
fr: Litige
Oath
Common noun
A promise by a person to tell the truth.
Example: All people who must testify in court must take an oath. All officers of the court shall also take an oath in the performance of their duties.
fr: Serment ou Assermentation
Perjury
Common noun
When someone voluntarily says something false, even though she had taken an oath to promise to tell the truth in court.
Example: The culprit will be charged with a perjury in addition to robbery and murder.
fr: Parjure
Preponderance of evidence
Common Noun
Preponderance of the evidence is one type of evidentiary standard used in a burden of proof analysis. Under the preponderance standard, the burden of proof is met when the party with the burden convinces the fact finder that there is a greater than 50% chance that the claim is true. This is the burden of proof in a civil trial.
Example: In the civil trial, the winning party will have to rely on the preponderance of evidence. If he has no more evidence than the other side, my brother will lose the case.
