20 My field of study is law. In my Paralegal Technology program, we learn the foundations of law and the different ways that the law is applied in its respective contexts. terms
I am making this glossary to explain some legal terms so that more people can understand and learn more about the law. These terms are not all related to each other, they are used in different contexts and different topics are therefore brought together in this glossary. It is simply there to help understands certain words if someone finds themselves in a lawyer or law conversation. These words are common in the legal field, and I found their definitions in the Reid Dictionary of Quebec and Canadian Law with some additions of my own.
ability
noun
Ability of a person to hold a right and to exercise it.
Example: She did not have the ability to enter into this contract.
fr: capacité
actus reus
noun (latin expression)
Latin expression meaning “guilty act”. Conscious and voluntary act or behavior of an individual that a criminal law prohibits and punishes. It constitutes the material element of a criminal offense and, if it is combined with guilty intent, it entails the criminal liability of its author.
Example: The shot fired by a person constitutes the actus reus of murder.
fr: actus reus
Appeal Court
proper noun
General Court of Appeal which may hear an appeal from any judgment subject to such appeal under any provision of law. In civil matters, one may appeal as of right the judgments of the Superior Court and the Court of Quebec when the value of the subject matter of the appeal is equal to or greater than $60,000; on the other hand, authorization from a judge of this court is required when the amount is less than this sum. There is also an appeal as of right from any judgment which does not involve any sum of money.
Example: We will take this case to the Appeal Court.
fr: Cour d'appel
consent
Agreement given by a third party to an act carried out by other people, by a person to a proposal or of two or more wishes with a view to the conclusion of a legal act.
Example: Parental consent to the marriage of their minor child.
fr: consentement
creditor
noun
Person who holds a debt.
Example: The creditor has not fulfilled his obligation to the debtor.
fr: créancier
debtor
noun
A person who is required to perform an obligation towards another.
Example: The debtor must give $500 to the Bank.
fr: débiteur
doctrine
noun
These are the set of works in which the authors explain and interpret the law. A work of doctrine may contain the opinion of one or more authors on a question of law based on the general or particular theory relating to a legal question. They are used to understand an aspect of the law because they are often very detailed and dissected.
Example: According to the doctrine, the character of authority that the animal keeper has over the animal is essential to incur liability.
fr: doctrine
jurisprudence
noun
Set of decisions and legal principles that emerge from the solutions provided by the courts when they are called upon to interpret the law or to create law in the event of silence of the law.
Example: Jurisprudence confirms that other similar cases have been admitted despite their lack of evidence.
fr: jurisprudence
matrimonial regime
noun
Set of rules which govern the financial relations of spouses with each other and with third parties, during their marriage and upon its dissolution. It takes effect on the day of the celebration of the marriage and the spouses can, under certain conditions, modify it subsequently.
Example: We choose the matrimonial regime by marriage contract.
fr: régime matrimonial
mens rea
noun (latin expression)
Latin expression meaning "guilty intention" and which designates an individual's awareness of committing an act prohibited by law or his recklessness with regard to the consequences of an act he performs.
Example: A hunter who kills a person while believing he is targeting an animal does not commit murder, given the absence of mens rea.
fr: mens rea
notification
noun
More generally, it is the act by which a decision is expressly and officially brought to someone's attention. It is also a formality by which a judicial or extrajudicial act is brought to the attention of an interested party.
Example: Notification of a notice of dismissal to an employee.
fr: notification
obligation
noun
In the broad sense, synonymous with a duty generally imposed by law. It can also be a legal relationship by virtue of which one or more people, the debtor(s), can be forced by one or more others, the creditor(s), to give, do or not do something.
Example: The debtor has not fulfilled his obligation.
fr: obligation
office of the court
noun
Place where court archives are kept and where procedural documents, supporting documents and minutes of judgments are deposited. It constitutes a secretariat comprising the administrative services of one or more courts, ensuring in particular the management of the issuance of court orders and the conservation of archives.
Example: She works in the criminal and penal offices of the courthouse.
fr: greffe
patrimony
noun
All of a person's assets and obligations that are valuable in money. It forms a whole made up of a person's assets and liabilities.
Example: She did not have a large patrimony at the time of her death.
fr: patrimoine
prescription
noun
In criminal matters, method of extinguishing certain remedies when they have not been exercised within the time limit determined by law.
Example: The limitation period for proceedings relating to summary offenses is six months.
fr: prescription
prestation
noun
Object of the obligation which consists, for the debtor, of doing or not doing something.
Example: Social assistance prestations will help him financially.
fr: prestation
presumption
noun
Legal reasoning by virtue of which, from the proof of a certain fact, we induce the existence of another fact that we want to prove.
Example: There is a presumption as to the responsibility of parents for the actions of their minor children.
fr: présomption
public order
noun
Set of legal rules of general interest which are mandatory, the nature of which is mandatory and therefore no one can deviate from it by a particular agreement.
Example: This law is of public order.
fr: ordre public
service
noun
Formality by which a person is informed that their presence, during a trial, is required in order for them to give testimony. It can also be understood as a form of notification by which one party to a civil trial brings to the attention of another a procedural document or a judgment.
Example: The service of a subpoena to a witness.
fr: signification
summons
noun
An order given to a person by a judicial authority to appear before a court on a fixed date or within a specified time.
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