Legal Dictionary of Pakistan
Quick lookup for English, Urdu, and Latin legal terms used in Pakistani jurisprudence.
Chamber
n. 1. A room or compartment <gas chamber>. 2. A legislative or judicial body; the hall or room where such a body conducts business <the senate chamber>. - chamber, adj.
Chamber, ub.
to sit in one's chambers at a given location <Judge Kaye chambers sometimes in New York and sometimes in Albany .
Court of Exchequer Chamber
Hist. 1. An informal assembly of common-law judges who (sometimes with the Lord Chancellor) gathered to discuss important cases that have adjourned pending an opinion from the Court. 0 This body never became a court of law in a technical sense, but judges gave great weight to its decisions. The last reported decision of this body is from 1738. "Earlier than these two statutory courts was the practice, which apparently originated about the time of Edward I, of informal meetings of the judges in the Exchequer Chamber to decide matters connected with litigation .... The purpose of the meeting was to bring before the judges a point of law which caused difficulty and which had arisen in a case being heard before one or other of the courts. Any resolution passed did not constitute a judgment; it was left to the court concerned to make the appropriate decree, and the official record made no reference to the informal decision .... Civil cases were debated in the Exchequer Chamber as late as the seventeenth century, and criminal cases continued to be 'reserved' for full discussion by all the common law judges until the nineteenth century." A.KR. Kiralfy, Potter's Outlines of English Legal History 202-04 (5th ed. 1958). 2. A court created by statute in 1357 to hear appeals from the Court of Exchequer. 3. A court created by statute in 1585 to hear appeals from the King's Bench. 0 This court consisted of all the justices of the Common Pleas and the Barons of Exchequer who were serjeants. At least six judges were necessary to render a judgment. "Parliament was only occasionally summoned in the sixteenth century; and as Parliament was the only court which could amend errors of the King's Bench, the want of a court which could hold regular sessions was much felt. To supply this want a new court of Exchequer Chamber was created in 1585 for the purpose of amend- ing the errors of the King's Bench." 1 William Holdsworth, A History o/ English Law 244 (7th ed. 1956). 4. A court charged with hearing appeals from the common-law courts of record. 0 This court was created in 1830 by combining the courts created by the statutes of 1357 and 1585. Appeals from one common-law court were heard by judges from the other two courts. "This complicated system of appellate courts was abolished in 1830, when a new Court of Exchequer Chamber was set up as the court of error from each of the three common law courts. It was composed of the judges of the two common law courts other than those of the court appealed from. At the same time the right of the King's Bench to hear error from the Common Pleas was abolished. From the judgment of this new court a further appeal still lay to the House of Lords. This court was thus, until the Judicature Act, 1873, a court of intermediate appeals. Its jurisdiction after the Judicature Act passed to the Court of Appeal which was then created." W.J.V. Windeyer, Lectures on Legal History 144 (2d ed. 1949).
Court of Star Chamber
See STAR CHAMBER (1).
Dismemberment
Archaic. Int'l law. 1. The disappearance of a country as a result of a treaty or an annexation, whereby it becomes part of one or more other countries. 2. The reduction of a country's territory by annexation or cession, or the secession of one part. 3. The extin-guishment of a country and the creation of two or more new countries from the former country's territory.
Ember Days
Eccles. law. The days - which the ancient church fathers called quatuor tempora jejunii - that are observed on the Wednesday, Friday, and Saturday following (1) Quadragesima Sunday (the first Sunday in Lent), (2) Whitsuntide, or Holyrood Day, in September, and (3) St. Lucy's day, about the middle of December. ( Almanacs refer to the weeks in which these days fall as Ember Weeks; they are now chiefly noticed because, by tradition, the Sundays following Ember Days are used to ordain priests and deacons, although the canon allows bishops to ordain on any Sunday or holiday.
Embezzlement
n. The fraudulent taking of personal property with which one has been entrusted, esp. as a fiduciary. 0 The criminal intent for embezzlement - unlike larceny and false pretenses - arises after taking possession (not before or during the taking). - Also termed defalcation; peculation. - embezzle, ub. See LARCENY; FALSE PRETENSES."In many states today, common-law dower and curtesy have been wholly replaced by statutes that make the surviving spouse an 'heir' of the deceased spouse and fix a minimum percentage of the decedent's estate (real and personal) to which the survivor will
Exchequer Chamber
An English court of intermediate appeal from the common-law courts, namely, the Court of King's Bench, the Court of Common Pleas, and the Court of Exchequer. ( It was established in 1822.
Imbezzle
Archaic. See EMBEZZLE.
King's Chambers
In the United Kingdom, waters lying within an imaginary line drawn from headland to headland around the coast of Great Britain.
Lambeth degree
Hist. A degree conferred by the Archbishop of Canterbury, rather than by a university, as authorized under the Ecclesiastical Licenses Act of 1533 (25 Hen. 8, ch. 21).
Lord Chamberlain
The second officer of the royal household in ngland, who serves as a peer, a privy councilor, and a member of the ruling government. - Also termed lord chamberlain of the household.
MBE
See Multistate Bar Examination under BAR EXAMINATION.
Member
Military law. A person assigned to a court-martial to determine guilt and punishment.
Member bank
a bank that is a member of the federal reserve system. - also termed reserve bank see federal reserve system.
Nonmember bank
a bank that is not a member of the federal reserve system. See federal reserve system.
Nuremberg defense
The defense asserted by a member of the military who has been charged with the crime of failing to obey an order and who claims that the order was illegal, esp. that the order would result in a violation of international law. ( The term is sometimes used more broadly to describe situations in which citizens accused of committing domestic crimes, such as degradation of govern- ment property, claim that their crimes was justified or mandated by international LAW;-
Star Chamber
1 Hist. An English court having broad civil and criminal jurisdiction at the king's discretion and noted for its secretive, arbitrary, and oppressive procedures, including compulsory self-incrimination, inquisitorial investigation, and the absence of juries. 0 The Star Chamber was abolished in 1641 because of its abuses of power. - Also termed Court of Star Chamber. 2. (usu. l.c.) Any secretive, arbitrary, or oppressive tribunal or proceeding.
Unencumbered
adj. Without any burdens or impediments <unencumbered title to property>.
bumbershoot insurance
See INSURANCE.
chamber business.
A judge's official business that is conducted outside the courtroom.
chamber of accounts. French law
A court responsible for adjudicating disputes concerning public-revenue collection. Cf. COURT OF EXCHEQUER.
chamber of commerce
An association of merchants and other business leaders who organize to promote the commercial interests in a given area and whose group is generally affiliated with the national organization of the same name.
chamberlain
A treasurer; originally, the keeper of the royal treasure chamber. ( The term has been used for several high offices in England, such as the Lord Great Chamberlain, Lord Chamberlain of the Household, and Chamberlain of the Exchequer.
chamberlaria
[Law Latin] Chamberlainship; the office of chamberlain.
docket number
A number that the court clerk assigns to a case on the court's docket.
enlisted member
Military law. A person in an enlisted grade; a person in military service below the grade of officer or warrant officer.
gas chamber
A small, sealed room in which capital punishments are carried out by strapping the prisoner into a chair and releasing poisonous fumes.
imbecile
A person afflicted with severe mental retardation. Cf. IDIOT.
in chambers
See IN CAMERA (1).
incumbent
n. One who holds an official post, esp. a political one. - incumbency, n. - incumbent, adj
judge's chamber
1. The private room or office of a judge. 2. Any place that a judge transacts official business when not holding a session of the court. See IN CAMERA.
key-number system
A legal-research indexing system developed by West Publishing Company (now the West Group) to catalogue American caselaw with headnotes. ( In this system, a number designates a point of law, allowing a researcher to find all reported cases addressing a particular point by referring to its number.
lower chamber
In a bicameral legislature, the larger of the two legislative bodies, such as the House of Representatives or the House of Commons.
member bank
See BANK.
member firm
Securities. A brokerage firm with at least one director, officer, or general partner who holds a seat in an organized securities exchange. - Also termed (if organized as a corporation) member corporation.
member of Congress
An elected official who sits in either the U.S. Senate or the House of Representatives. ( The official may be appointed to fill an unexpired term. - Abbr. MC.
member of Parliament
A person with the right to sit in one of the two houses of Parliament. - Abbr. MP.
member of a crew
Maritime law. Under the Jones Act, a person who is attached to a navigating vessel and assists or aids in navigation; SEAMAN.
nonmember bank
See BANK.
number lottery
See Genoese lottery under LOTTERY.
numbers game
A type of lottery in which a person bets that on a given day a certain series of numbers will appear from some arbitrarily chosen source, such as stock-market indexes or the U.S. Treasury balance. ( The game creates a fund from which the winner's share is drawn and is subject to regulation as a lottery.
rutius est rei incumbere quam personae
It is safer to rely upon a thing than upon a person.( Real security is safer than personal security.
timber easement
An easement that permits the holder to cut and remove timber from another's property.
timber lease
See LEASE.
timber rights
See timber easement under EASEMENT.
title member
See name partner under PART. NER.
upper chamber
In a bicameral legislature, the smaller of the two legislative bodies, such as the Senate or the House of Lords.
veniremember
A prospective juror; a member of a jury panel. - Also termed venireman;
vice-chamberlain
Hist. A great officer under the lord chamberlain. ( In the lord chamberlain's absence, the vice-chamberlain would control and command the officers attached to the part of the royal household called the "chamber."