Legal Dictionary of Pakistan
Quick lookup for English, Urdu, and Latin legal terms used in Pakistani jurisprudence.
Mute
, n. 1. A person who cannot speak. 2. A person (esp. a prisoner) who stands silent when required to answer or plead. ( Formerly, if a prisoner stood mute, a jury was empaneled to determine whether the prisoner was intentionally mute or mute by an act of God. By the Criminal Law Act of 1827 (7 & 8 Geo. 4, ch. 28), if a prisoner was mute by malice, the officer automatically entered a plea of not guilty and the trial proceeded. If adjudicated to be insane, the prisoner was kept in custodyuntil the Crown determined what should be done.
commuted value
1. In the assessment of damages, the present value of a future interest in property. 2. The value of future payments when discounted to present value.
stand mute
1 (Of a defendant) to refuse to enter a plea to a criminal charge. ( Standing mute is treated as a plea of not guilty. 2. (Of any party) to raise no objections.