Legal Dictionary of Pakistan
Quick lookup for English, Urdu, and Latin legal terms used in Pakistani jurisprudence.
Competency
n. 1. The mental ability to understand problems and make decisions. 2. A criminal defendant's ability to stand trial, measured by the capacity to understand the proceedings, to consult meaningfully with counsel, and to assist in the defense. - Also termed competency to stand trial. - competent, adj. Cf COMPETENCE.
Sincompetency
n. Lack of legal ability in some respect, esp. to stand trial or to testify < once the defense lawyer established her client's in- competency, the client did not have to stand trial>. - Also termed incompetence; mental incompetence. - incompetent, adj. Cf. INCAPACITY.
competency hearing
See PATE HEARING.
competency proceeding
A proceeding to assess a person's mental capacity. ( A compeency hearing may be held either in a criminal context to determine a defendant's competency to stand trial or as a civil proceeding to assess whether a person should be committed to a mental-health facility.
competency to stand trial
See COMPETENCY
incompetency hearing
See PATE HEARING