Dictionary Search: "Declaration" - Pakistan Law Portal

Declaration

n. 1. A formal statement, proclamation, or announcement, esp. one embodied in an instrument.

Declaration of Independence

The formal proclamation of July 4, 1776, in the name of the people of the American colonies, asserting their independence from the British Crown and announcing themselves to the world as an independent nation.

Declaration of Paris

An international agreement, signed by Great Britain, France, Turkey, Sardinia, Austria, Prussia, and Russia in 1856 (at the end of the Crimean War), providing that (1) privateering is illegal, (2) with the exception of contraband, a neutral flag covers an enemy's goods, (3) with the exception of contraband, neutral goods cannot be confiscated under a hostile flag, and (4) a blockade must work to be binding. ( The agreement was later adopted by most other maritime powers, except the United States and a few others. "The Declaration of Paris is one of the greatest triumphs won by commercial interests over the strict rules of maritime warfare. Its importance resides in its first three articles. Article 4 did no more than formulate a principle acknowledged for more than a century. Construed strictly it requires an impossibility; for no blockade, however strict, can always 'prevent access to the coast of the enemy.' But it is clear that the words were meant to be understood in a reasonable sense as merely prohibitory of ineffective or 'paper' blockades . . . . Article 1 struck at a most objectionable practice. The current of opinion had long been running strongly against the use of privateers .... Article 2 ... has provoked an enormous amount of controversy. Together with Article 3 it amounted to a new departure in the law of maritime capture. Up to 1856 the great naval powers had been divided between the old principle that the liability of goods to capture should be determined by the character of their owner, and the more modern principle . . . that the character of the ship in which the goods were laden should settle their fate." 1 R.H. Inglis Palgrave, Palgraue's Dictionary of Political Economy 520-21 (Henry Higgs ed., 2d ed. 1925).

Declaration of Taking Act

The federal law regulating the government's taking of private property for public use under eminent domain. 40 USCA § 258a. 0 Fair compensation must be paid for the property.

Ideclaration of estimated tax

A required IRS filing by certain individuals and businesses of current estimated tax owed, accompanied by periodic payments of that amount. 0 The requirement ensures current collection of taxes from taxpayers (such as self-employed persons) whose incomes are not fully taxed by payroll withholding. IRC (26 USCA) §§ 6315, 6654.

Universal Declaration of Human Rights

An international bill of rights approved by the United Nations in December 1948, being that body's first enumeration of human rights and fundamental freedoms. ( The preamble states that "recognition of the inherent dignity and of the equal and inalienable rights of all members of the human family is the foundation of freedom, justice and peace in the world." The Declaration contains a lengthy list of rights and fundamental freedoms. For the full text of the Declaration, see Appendix C."The Universal Declaration is the first comprehensive human rights instrument to he proclaimed by a universal international organization. Because of its moral status and the legal and political importance it has acquired over the years, the Declaration ranks with the Magna Carta, the French Declaration of the Rights of Man and the American Declaration of Independence as a milestone in mankind's struggle for freedom and human dignity. Its debt to all these great historical documents is unmistakable." Thomas Buergenthal, International Human Rights in a Nutshell 29-30 (2d ed. 1995).

deathbed declaration

See dying declaration under DECLARATION t8).

declaration against interest

A statement by a person who is not a party to a suit and is not available to testify at trial, discussing a matter that is within the declarant's personal knowledge and is adverse to the declarant's interest. ( Such a statement is admissible into evidence as an exception to the hearsay rule. Fed. R. Evid. 804(b)(3). See admission against interest under ADMISSION.

declaration date

The date when corporate directors declare a dividend. Cf. DIVIDEND DATE; EX-DIVIDEND DATE.

declaration in chief

A declaration for the principal cause of action. 8. A formal, written statement - resembling an affidavit but not notarized or sworn to -that attests, under penalty of perjury, to facts known by the declarant. ( Such a declaration, if properly prepared, is admissible in federal court with the same effect as an affidavit. 28 USCA § 1746. - Also termed declaration under penalty of perjury; unsworn declaration under penalty of perjury. Cf. AFFIDAVIT( Int'l law. An oral or written statement, unilaterally made, by which a state expresses its will, intent, or opinion when acting in the field of international relations. 10. See declaratory judgment under JUDGMENT. - declare, ub. Declaratory

declaration of a desire for a natural death

See LIVING WILL.

declaration of alienage

the declaration of a citizen or subject having dual citizenship that the person wishes to renounce the citizenship of one state. ( for the declaration to be effective, the person making it must be of full age and not under any disability.

declaration of dividend

A company's setting aside of a portion of its earnings or profits for distribution to its shareholders. See DIVIDEND.

declaration of homestead

See DECLARATION (1).

declaration of intention

An alien's formal statement resolving to become a U.S. citizen and to renounce allegiance to any other government or country.

declaration of legitimacy

See DECLARATION

declaration of no defenses

See WAIVER OF DEFENSES.

declaration of pain

A person's exclamation of present pain, which operates as an exception to the hearsay rule. Fed. R. Evid. 803(3).

declaration of rights

An action in which a litigant requests a court's assistance not because any rights have been violated but because those rights are uncertain. 0 Examples include suits for a declaration of legitimacy, of nullity of marriage, of the legality or illegality of the conduct of state officers, and of the authoritative interpretation of wills. See declaratoryjudgment under JUDGMENT.

declaration of state of mind

A person's state-of-mind statement that operates as an exception to the hearsay rule. Fed. R. Evid. 803(3).

declaration of trust

See DECLARATION (1).

declaration of war

A country's announcement that it is officially engaged in war against another country. 4. A document that governs legal rights to certain types of real property, such as a condominium or a residential subdivision. S. A listing of the merchandise that a person intends to bring into the United States. ( This listing is given to U.S. Customs when one enters the country. 6. Evidence. An unsworn statement made by someone having knowledge of facts relating to an event in dispute.

declaration under penalty of perjury

See DECLARATION (8).

dying declaration

A statement by a person who believes that death is imminent, relating to the cause or circumstances of the person's imminent death. ( The statement is admissible in evidence as an exception to the hearsay rule. - Also termed deathbed declaration.

en declaration de simulation

[French "in or-der to declare (something) a pretence"] Civil law. An action to void a contract; esp., one brought to remove a cloud from title and bring back, for any legal purpose, to the true owner's estate the thing sold.

export declaration

A document - required by federal law - containing details of an export shipment.

plea to the declaration

See PLEA (3).

self-serving declaration

An out-of-court statement made to benefit one's own interest. 7. Common-law pleading. The plaintiff's first pleading in a civil action. ( It is an amplification of the original writ on which the action is founded, with the additional circumstances of the time and place of injury. In a real action, the declaration is called a count. Today the equivalent term in English law is statement of claim; in most American jurisdictions, it is called a petition or complaint. - Also termed narratio. See COUNT (3). Cf. PLEA (2). "The declaration is a statement of all material facts constituting the plaintiffs cause of action in a methodical and legal form. It consists of the following parts: (a) Statement of title of court. (b) Statement of venue in the margin. (c) The commencement. (d) The body, or statement of the cause of action. (e) The conclusion." Benjamin J. Shipman, Handbook of Common-Lace Pleading § 76, at 192 (Henry Winthrop Ballantine ed., 3d ed. 1923).

self-serving declaration.

See DECLARATION (s).

spontaneous declaration

Evidence. A statement that is made without time to reflect or fabricate and that is related to the circumstances of the perceived occurrence. - Also termed spontaneous statement; spontaneous exclamation; spontaneous utterance. See EXCITED UTTERANCE; PRESENT SENSE IMPRESSION.

unsworn declaration under penalty of perjury