Legal Dictionary of Pakistan
Quick lookup for English, Urdu, and Latin legal terms used in Pakistani jurisprudence.
Confinement
n. The act of imprisoning or restraining someone; the state of being imprisoned or restrained <solitary confinement>. -confine, ub.
Define
ab. 1. To state or explain explicitly. 2. To fix or establish (boundaries or limits). 3. To set forth the meaning of (a word or phrase).
Excessive Fines Clause
The clause of the Eighth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution prohibiting the imposition of excessive fines.
Fine
n. 1. An amicable final agreement or compromise of a fictitious or actual suit to determine the true possessor of land. ( The fine was formerly used as a form of convefyance to disentail an estate__also termed final concord.finalis cincordia.see foot of the fine. "A peculiar and persistent use of the writ [of covenant; was in levying a fine. A fine - finalis concordia - way the compromise of a suit, settled upon terms approved h,; the court. The dispute, while it might be a reality, wamore often fictitious, and was chiefly used as a means of conveying land .... Soon after [Glanvill's] book was written, an innovation was made in the procedure whicl; endured until 1833. The terms of the compromis, agreed by the parties and approved by the judges, wen entered upon a threefold indenture, one of the part: being given to each of the litigants and the third - th, 'foot' or bottom of the document - being kept amon~ the records of the court. The parties thus obtaine,~ incontestable evidence and abundant security, and eitheicould sue the other if the agreement were not implemented." C.H.S. Fifoot, History and Sources of the Com man Law: Tort and Contract 256 (1949). "The fine that survived into the nineteenth century waa conveyancing mechanism that had worked in much th same way at the end of the twelfth. It took the form of ;i compromised law-suit .... The terms of the agreement were written out three times on a single piece of parch ment which was then cut into three, one part remaining with each party and one, across the bottom and known as the 'foot', with the court .... This power to do more than the parties could do by their own act is not a trick harnessing the force of a judicial decision, and it come:, from a time when judicial decision was not seen as the only business of courts." S.F.C. Milsom, Historical Foundations of the Common Law 151 (1969). "Unlike the recovery, which was a real action, the fii,was a compromised fictitious perscnal action, original], designed as a method of ensuring security in conveyano ing and only later being employed for the purpose c t barring estates tail. In outline, it operated in the following manner. The intending purchaser brought an action begun by writ of covenant, against the intending vendor The parties then applied to the court to compromise the action; by the terms of the compromise (finis) the intending vendor admitted that the land belonged to th, intending purchaser because he had given it to him, and the terms of the compromise were recorded in the court records. The fine owed its popularity as a means of conveyancing to two factors, neither of which was preent in the standard method of conveyance by means of feoffment. First, the enrolling in the court records provided evidence of the transaction which was both permanent and free from the danger of forgery. Secondly, t1; effect of the fine was to set running a short period o: limitation at the expiration of which all claims to th, land were barred. It was this second aspect which mad. the device attractive as a means of 'barring' fees tail Peter Butt, Land Law 102-03 (2d ed. 1988).
Fine and Recovery Act
Hist. A statute, enacted in 1833, that abolished the use of fines as a method of conveying title to land. See FINE (1). 3 & 4 Will. 4, ch. 74.
Finis finem litibus imponit
A fine puts an end to litigation.
Nulla curia quae recordum non habet potest imponere finem neque aliquem rnandare carceri; quia ista spectant tantummodo ad curias de recordo
No court that does not have a record can impose a fine or commit any person to prison; because those powers look only to courts of record.
Quae ad unum finem locuta sunt, non debent ad alium detorqueri
What speaks to one purpose ought not to be twisted to another.
Qui adimit medium dirimit finem
A person who takes away the means destroys the end.
Qui dat finem dat media ad finem necessaria
A person who gives an end gives the necessary means to that end.
Qui destruit medium destruit finem
A person who destroys the means destroys the end.
Sapiens incipit a fine, et quod primum est in intentione, ultimum est in executione
A wise person begins from the end, and what is first in intention is last in execution.
a fine force
[law french] of pure necessity.
ad finem
adv. [Latin] To the end. 0 This citation signal, abbreviated in text ad fin., formerly provided only the first page of the section referred to, but now usu. directs the reader to a stated span of pages.
capias pro fine
[Latin "that you take for the fine"] A writ for the arrest of a person who had not paid an imposed fine. - Also termed capiatur pro fine.
chirographer of fines
Hist. A Court of Common Pleas officer who engrossed court-ordered fines and delivered indentures of the fines to the parties. See INDENTURE OF A FINE."Chirographer of jynes ... signifieth in our common lawe, him in the common bench office, that ingrosseth fines in that court acknowledged, into a perpetual] record, after they be acknowledged, and fully passed by those officers, by whome they are formerl
common fine
A sum of money due from a tenant to a lord to defray the cost of a court leet or to allow the litigants to try the action closer to home. - Also termed head-silver. 5. A pecuniary criminal punishment or civil penalty payable to the public treasury. - fine, vb.
de fine force
[Law French] Of pure necessity.
de fine non capiendo pro pulchre placitando
n. [Law Latin "of not taking a fine for amending a bad pleading"] Hist. A writ prohibiting the imposition of a fine for bad pleading. See BEAUPLEADER.
de fine pro redisseisina capiendo
n. [Law Latin "of a fine paid for one imprisoned for redisseisin"] Hist. A writ releasing a person who paid a reasonable fine after being imprisoned for a redisseisin.
defined pension plan
A pension plan in' which the employer promises specific benefits to each employee. - Also termed fixed-benefit plan.
defined term
In legal drafting, a word or phrase given a specific meaning for purposes of the document in which it appears; a definiendum.
defined-benefit plan
A plan established and maintained by an employer primarily to provide systematically for the payment of definitely determinable benefits to employees over a period of years, usu. for life, after retirement. ( Retirement benefits under a defined-benefit plan are measured by and based on various factors such as years of service rendered and compensation earned. The amount of benefits and the employer's contributions do not depend on the employer's profits. The employer has the entire investment risk, and must cover any funding shortfall. Any plan that is not a definedcontribution plan is a defined-benefit plan. 29 USCA ยง 1002(35). Cf. defined-contribution plan.
defined-contribution plan
See EMPLOYEE BEN. EFIT PLAN.
excessive fine
1. Criminal law. A fine that is unreasonably high and disproportionate to the offense committed. ( The Eighth Amendment proscribes excessive fines. An example of an excessive fine is a civil forfeiture in which the property was not an instrumentality of the crime and the worth of the property was not proportional to the owner's culpability. 2. A fine or penalty that seriously impairs one's earning capacity, esp. from a business. fresh fine. Hist. A fine levied within the past year.
executed fine
See FINE (1).
fine annullando levato de tenemento quod fait de antiquo dominico
[Latin "a fine to be annulled levied from a tenant which was of ancient demesne"] Hist. A writ for disannulling a conveyance of land in ancient demesne to the lord's prejudice.
fine capiendo pro terris
[Latin "a fine to be taken for lands"] Hist. A writ that an imprisoned felon could use in some circumstances to obtain release from jail and to recover lands and goods taken during imprisonment.
fine for alienation
Hist. A fee paid by a tenant to the lord upon the alienation of a feudal estate and substitution of a new tenant. ( It was payable by all tenants holding by knight's service or tenants in capite by socage tenure. -Often shortened to fine.
fine for endowment
Hist. A fee paid by a widow of a tenant to the tenant's lord. ( If not paid, the widow could not be endowed of her husband's land.
fine non capiendo pro pulchre placitando
[Latin "a .fine not to be taken for pleading fairly"] Hist. A writ prohibiting court officers from taking fines for fair pleading (i.e., beaupleader).
fine print
The part of an agreement or document - usu. in small, light print that is not easily noticeable - referring to disclaimers, restrictions, or limitations.
fine pro redisseisina capiendo
[Law Latin "a fine to be taken for again disseising"] Hist. A writ that entitled a person imprisoned for twice dispossessing someone (redisseisin) to release upon payment of a reasonable fine.
fine sur cognizance de droit tantum
[Law French "fine upon acknowledgment of the right merely"] Hist. A fine of conveyance that does not acknowledge a prior conveyance of land. ( This type of fine was used to convey reversionary interests - that is, interests that did not require acknowledgment of an earlier livery of seisin. See FINE (1).
fine sur cognizance de droit, comme ceo que il ad de son done
[Law French "a fine upon acknowledgment of the right, as that which he has of his gift"] Hist. The most common fine of conveyance, by which the defendant (also called the deforciant) acknowledged in court that he had already con- veyed the property to the cognizee. 0 This form of conveyance took the place of an actual livery of seisin. See FINE (1). "But, in general, the first species of fine, 'sur cognizance de droit come ceo, etc.,' is the most used, as it conveys a clean and absolute freehold, and gives the cognizee a seisin in law, without an actual livery; and is therefore called a fine executed, whereas the others are but executory." 2 William Blackstone, Commentaries on the Laws of England 353 (1766).
fine sur concessit
[Law French] Hist. A species of conveyance in which the cognizor does not acknowledge the cognizee's preceding right in land but grants the cognizee an estate de novo, usu. for life or years, by way of supposed composition. See FINE (1).
fine sur done, grant et render
[Law French "fine upon gift, grant and render"] Hist. A double conveyance, consisting of a fine sur cognizance de droit come ceo que il ad de son done and a fine sur concessit, used to convey particular limitations of estates. 0 For example, after acknowledgment of the cognizee's right in the land, the cognizee would grant back to the cognizor or a third party some other estate in the land. See FINE (1).
finem facere
[Latin] Hist. 1. To make a composition or compromise; to relinquish a claim in exchange for consideration. "In the thirteenth century the king's justices wield a wide and a 'common law' power of ordering that an offender be kept in custody. They have an equally wide power of discharging him upon his 'making fine with the king.' We must observe the language of the time. In strictness they have no power to 'impose a fine.' No tribunal of this period, unless we are mistaken, is ever said to impose a fine. To order the offender to pay so much money to the king - this the judge may not do. If he did it, he would be breaking or evading the Great Charter, for an amercement should be affeered, not by royal justices, but by neighbours of the wrong-doer. What the judges can do is this: - they can pronounce a sentence of imprisonment and then allow the culprit to 'make fine,' that is to make an end (finem facere) of the matter by paying or finding security for a certain sum of money. In theory the fine is a bilateral transaction, a bargain; it is not 'imposed,' it is 'made."' 2 Frederick Pollock & Frederic W. Maitland, The History of English Law Before the Time of Edward 1 517 (2d ed. 1899). 2. To make a settlement of a penalty. ( Magna Carta (ch. 55) specifically limited "[a]ll fines which were made with us unjustly and contrary to the law of the land ...." ([o]mnes fines qui injuste et contra legem terrae facti sunt nobiscum).
finement in a certain place.
A milder form of relegatio was the exclusion of the wrongdoer from residence in a specified territory. Illicit return was punished with the death penalty." Adolf Berger, Encyclopedic Dictionary of Roman Law 673 (1953).
fines le roy
[Law French] Hist. The king's fines. ( A fine or fee that was paid to the monarch for an offense or contempt.
foot of the fine
Hist. At common law, the fifth and last part of a fine of conveyance. 0 This part included the entire matter, reciting the names of the parties and the date, place, and before whom it was acknowledged or levied. See FINE (1).
fresh fine.
See FINE (5).
in fine
adv. [Latin] 1. In short; in summary. 2. At the end (of a book, chapter, section, etc.).
indenture of a fine
Hist. A document engrossed by the chirographer of fines to reflect penalties assessed by the court. ( The chirographer prepared indentures in duplicate on the same piece of parchment, then split the parchment along an indented line through a word, sentence, or drawing placed on the parchment to help ensure its authenticity. See CHIROGRAPHER OF FINES.
note of a fine
Hist. English law. A step in the judicial process for conveying land, consisting of a chirographer's brief of the proceedings before the documents of conveyance are engrossed. - Also termed abstract of a fine. See FINE.
post-fine
See KING'S SILVER.
primer fine
[Latin] Hist. A fee payable to the Crown on the suing out of a writ of praecipe to begin a conveyance by fine. See FINE (1). - Also termed praefine.
provision of a fine
Hist. A proclamation made after the conveying of land by fine, read aloud in court 16 times - four times in the term when the fine was made, and four times in the three succeeding terms.
solitary confinement
Separate confinement that gives a prisoner extremely limited access to other people; esp., the complete isolation of a prisoner.