Legal Dictionary of Pakistan
Quick lookup for English, Urdu, and Latin legal terms used in Pakistani jurisprudence.
Fox's Libel Act
Hist. A 1792 statute that gave the jury in a libel prosecution the right of pronouncing a guilty or not-guilty verdict on the whole matter in issue. 0 The jury was no longer bound to find the defendant guilty if it found that the defendant had in fact published the allegedly libelous statement. The Act empowered juries to decide whether the defendant's statement conformed to the legal standard for libel.
Inveniens libellum famosum et non corrumpens punitur
A person who discovers a libel and does not destroy it is punished.
Libel
vb. 1. To defame (someone) in a permanent medium, esp. in writing. 2. To sue in admiralty or ecclesiastical court.
Libelee
The party against whom a libel has been filed in admiralty or ecclesiastical court. - Also spelled libellee.
Libeler
One who publishes a written defamatory statement. - Also spelled libeller. - Also termed libelant.
Libellant
1. The party who institutes a suit in admiralty or ecclesiastical court by filing a libel. 2. LIBELER. - Also spelled libellant.
Libellus
n. [Latin] 1. Roman law. A small book; a writing; a petition. 2. Hist. An instrument conveying all or part of land. 3. Any one of a number of legal petitions or documents, such as a bill of complaint.
Libelous
adj. See LIBELOUS.
Nemo sine actione experitur, et hoc non sine breve sive libello conventionali
No one goes to trial without an action, and no one can bring an action without a writ or bill.
a libellis
[law latin] roman law. 1. an officer having charge of petitions (libelli) addressed to the emperor or sovereign. 2. chancellor of the exchequer.
ad libellum rescribere
ub. [Latin] Roman law. To write an answer to a petition, esp. one to the emperor.
copia libelli deliberanda
See DE COPIA LIBELLI DELIBERANDA.
criminal libel
At common law, a malicious libel that is designed to expose a person to hatred, contempt, or ridicule and that may subject the author to criminal sanctions. ( Because of constitutional protections of free speech, libel is no longer criminally prosecuted.
de copia libelli deliberanda
n. [Law Latin "for delivering a copy of a libel"] Hist. Eccles. law. A writ ordering an ecclesiastical-court judge (such as the Dean of Arches) to provide the defendant with a copy of the plaintiff's complaint.
entry and detainer, and libel on a private person. petty offense
A minor or insignificant crime. "[Me find ... an apparent implication that a 'petty offense' is not a 'crime.' Much could be said for such a position but it is not the law at the present time. In the federal penal code, for example, it is provided that any misdemeanor 'the penalty for which does not exceed imprisonment for a period of six months or a fine of not more than $500, or both, is a petty offense."' Rollin M. Perkins & Ronald N. Boyce, Criminal Law 22 (3d ed. 1982) (quoting 18 USCA ยง 1(3)). political offense. See POLITICAL OFFENSE.
false-implication libel
Libel of a public figure in a news article that creates a false implication or impression even though each statement in the article, taken separately, is true. See FALSE LIGHT; INVASION OF PRIVACY.
famosus libellus
n. [Latin] Roman law. 1. A libelous writing, esp. a letter to the emperor that attacked someone's character. 2. The species of injury that is caused by libel.
group libel
Libel that defames a class of persons, esp. because of their race, sex, national origin, religious belief, or the like. Civil liability for group libel is rare because the plaintiff must prove that the statement applied particularly to him or her. Cf. hate speech under SPEECH.
group libel.
See LIBEL.
libel of review
Maritime law. A new proceeding attacking a final decree after the right to appeal has expired. See LIBEL (3).
libel per quod
1. Libel that is actionable only on allegation and proof of special damages. ( Most jurisdictions do not recognize libel per quod, holding instead that general damages from libel are presumed. 2. Libel in which the defamatory meaning is not apparent from the statement on its face but rather must be proved from extrinsic circumstances. See INNUENDO (2).
libel per se
See LIBEL.
libellary procedure
Roman law. A procedure in which the parties submitted their claims to the magistrate without formally making an issue and with only a short statement (a libellus) of the basis for the lawsuit.
libellos agree
vb. [Latin] Roman law. To assist the emperor in responding to petitions. - Also termed libellum agere.
libellus accusatorius
n. [Latin] Roman law. A formal criminal accusation.
libellus appellatorius
n. [Latin] Roman law. An appeal.
libellus consultatorius
n. [Latin] Roman law. A petition to the emperor from a judge or official asking for guidance.
libellus conventionis
n. [Latin] Roman law. The statement of a plaintiff's claim in a petition sent to the magistrate, who directs its delivery to the defendant. "The libellus conventionis was very like the intentio of the formulary system, and the modern statement of claim, since it set forth in a succinct manner the nature of the plaintiffs right and the circumstances attending its alleged violation." RW. Leage, Roman Private Law 417 (C.H. Ziegler ed., 2d ed. 1930).
libellus divortii
n. [Latin] Roman law. A bill of divorce.
libellus famosus
n. [Latin] Roman law. A defamatory publication."Libellus famosus According to the Lex Cornelia de iniuriis punishment was inflicted on the person who wrote (scripserit), composed (composuerit) or edited (edi- derit) such a lampoon, even if the publication was made under another name or anonymously (sine nomine)." Adolf Berger, Encyclopedic Dictionary of Roman Law 562 (1953).
libellus rerum
n. [Latin] Hist. An inventory.
libellus supplex
n. [Latin] Roman law. A petition, esp. to the emperor. ( All petitions to the emperor had to be in writing.
magister libellorum
n. [Latin "master of written petitions"] Roman law. The chief of the imperial chancery bureau that handled petitions to the emperor.
obscene libel
Hist. 1. The common-law crime of publishing, with the intent to corrupt, material (esp. sexual words or pictures) that tends to deprave or corrupt those whose minds are open to immoral influences. 2. A writing, book, picture, or print that is so obscene that it shocks the public sense of decency.
seditious libel
Libel made with the intent of inciting sedition. ( Like other forms of criminal libel, seditious libel is no longer prosecuted. See SEDITION. trade libel. See TRADE LIBEL. 2. The act of making such a statement. 3. The complaint or initial pleading in an admiralty or ecclesiastical case.
trade libel
A false statement that disparages the quality or reputation of another's product or business. See DISPARAGEMENT.