Legal Dictionary of Pakistan
Quick lookup for English, Urdu, and Latin legal terms used in Pakistani jurisprudence.
Automobile guest statute
see guest statute.
Dead person,s statute
.see dead mans statute.
Gloucester, Statute of
Hist. A statute that allowed a successful plaintiff to recover costs in addition to damages. ( The statute was enacted in Gloucester. 6 Edw. I, ch. 1 (1278).
Printers Ink Statute
A model statute drafted in 1911 and adopted in a number of states making it a misdemeanor to print an advertise- ment that contains a false or deceptive statement.
Roy West lie per ascun statute, si il ne soit expressement nosme
The king is not bound by any statute, if he is not expressly named.
Statute
A law passed by a legislative body. -Abbr. s. stat. "[W]e are not justified in limiting the statutory law to those rules only which are promulgated by what we commonly call 'legislatures.' Any positive enactment to which the state gives the force of a law is a 'statute,' whether it has gone through the usual stages of legislative proceedings, or has been adopted in other modes of expressing the will of the people or other sovereign power of the state. In an absolute monarchy, an edict of the ruling sovereign is statutory law. Constitutions, being direct legislation by the people, must be included in the statutory law, and indeed they are examples of the highest form that the statute law can assume. Generally speaking, treaties also are statutory law, because in this country, under the provisions of the United States Constitution, treaties have not the force of law until so declared by the representatives of the people." William M. Lile et al., Brief Making and the Use of Law Books 8 (3d ed. 1914).
Statute of Accumulations
Hist. A statute forbidding the accumulation, beyond a certain period, of property settled by deed or will. 39 & 40 Geo. 3, ch. 98 (1800).
Statute of Allegiance de Facto
Hist. A statute requiring subjects to give allegiance to the actual (de facto) king, and protecting them in so doing. 11 Hen. 7, ch. 1. Statute of Amendments and Jeofails(jefaylz) Hist. One of several 15th- and 16thcentury statutes allowing a party who acknowledges a pleading error to correct it. 1 Hen. 5, ch. 5 (1413); 32 Hen. 8, ch. 30 (1540); 37 Hen. 8, ch. 6 (1545). See JEOFAIL.
Statute of Anne
Hist. 1. The Copyright Act of 1709, which first granted copyright protection to book authors. 8 Anne, ch. 19 (1709). 2. The statute that modernized the English bankruptcy system and first introduced the discharge of the debtor's existing debts. 4 Anne, ch. 17 (1705).
Statute of Elizabeth
Hist. The Bankrupts Act of 1705, which contained provisions against conveyances made to defraud creditors. 13 Eliz., ch. 5.
Statute of Frauds and Perjuries
See STATUTE OF FRAUDS (1).
Statute of Gloucester
Hist. A statute providing for the award of costs in legal actions. 6 Edw., ch. 1 (1278).
Statute of Uses
Hist. An English statute of 1535 that converted the equitable title held by a cestui que use (i.e., a beneficiary) to a legal one in order to make the cestui que use liable for feudal dues, as only a legal owner (the feoffee to uses) could be. ( This statute was the culmination of a series of enactments designed by the Tudors to stop the practice of creating uses in land that deprived feudal lords of the valuable incidents of feudal tenure. The statute discouraged the granting of property subject to another's use by deeming the person who enjoys the use to have legal title with the right of absolute ownership and possession. So after the statute was enacted, if A conveyed land to B subject to the use of C, then C became the legal owner of the land in fee simple. Ultimately, the statute was circumvented by the courts' recognition of the use of equitable trusts in landconveyancing. See CESTUI QUE USE; GRANT TO USES; USE (4). "The Statute of 27 H.8. hath advanced Uses, and hath established Surety for him that hath the Use against the Feoffees: for before the Statute the Feoffees were Owners of the Land, but now it is destroyed, and the cestuy que use is the Owner of the same: before the Possession ruled the Use, but since the Use governeth the Possession." William Noy, A Treatise of the Principal Grounds and Maxims of the Laws of This Nation 73 (4th ed. 1677; repr. C. Sims ed., 1870).
Statute of Westminster the First
See WESTMINSTER THE FIRST, STATUTE OF.
Statute of Winchester
See WINCHESTER, STATUTE OF.
Statute of York
See YORK, STATUTE OF.
Statutes at Large
An official compilation of the acts and resolutions that become law from each session of Congress, printed in chronological order.
Uses Statute of
See STATUTE OF USES.
Westminster the First, Statute of
Hist. An English statute divided into 51 chapters (later correlating to separate acts of Parliament), including provisions (1) protecting the property of the church from the violence and spoliation of the Crown and nobles; (2) providing for the freedom of popular elections; (3) enforcing the rules contained in Magna Carta against excessive fines; (4) enumerating and correcting the abuses of tenures (esp. concerning marriages of wards); (5) regulating the levying of tolls; (6) correcting and restraining the powers of the royal escheator and other officers; (7) amending the criminal law (esp. by classifying rape as a most grievous, though not capital, offense); and (8) making criminal and civil procedures more expeditious and less costly. 3 Edw. (1275).
Winchester, Statute of
Hist. A statute passed in the 13th year of the reign of Edward I, requiring every man to provide himself with armor to keep the peace, recognizing and regulating the offices of high and petty constables, organizing the police, and enforcing the old Saxon police laws. ( It was repealed in 1827 by the Criminal Statutes (England) Repeal Act. St. 7 & 8 Geo. 4, ch. 27.
York, Statute of
Hist. An English statute passed in York in the twelfth year of Edward II's reign, and including provisions on the subject of attorneys, witnesses, and the taking of inquests by nisi prius.
affirmative statute
A law requiring that something be done; one that directs the doing of an act. Cf. negative statute.
against the form of the statute
contrary to the statutory requirements. ( this formal phrase, which traditionally concludes an indictment, indicates that the conduct alleged contravenes the cited statute and therefore constitutes a criminal offense. in modern context, the full conclusion often reads: "against the form of the statute in such case made and provided." the phrase is a translation "f the law latin contra formam statuti.
antilapse statute
wills & estates. a statute that passes a bequest to the heirs of the beneficiary if the beneficiary dies before the testator dies. - also termed lapse statute; nonlapse statute.
antitakeover statute
a state law designed to protect companies based in the state from hostile takeovers.
borrowed-statutes doctrine
The principle that if one state adopts a statute identical to that of another state, any settled judicial construction of that statute by the courts of the other state is binding on the courts of the state that later enacts the statute.
borrowing statute
A legislative exception to the conflict-of-laws rule holding that a forum state must apply its own statute of limitations. A borrowing statute specifies the circumstances in which a forum state will apply another state's statute of limitations.
codifying statute
A law that purports to be exhaustive in restating the whole of the law on a particular topic, including prior caselaw as well as legislative provisions. ( Courts generally presume that a codifying statute supersedes prior caselaw. Cf. consolidating statute.
compiled statutes
Laws that have been arranged by subject but have not been substantively changed; COMPILATION. Cf. revised statutes. "The term 'compiled statutes' is properly applied to a methodical arrangement, without revision or reenactment, of the existing statutes of a State, all the statutes on a given subject being collected in one place. The work is usually performed by private persons; and the former statutes, as they were before the compilation, remain the authority." Frank Hall Childs, Where and How to Find the Law 12 (1922).
consolidating statute
A law that collects the legislative provisions on a particular subject and embodies them in a single statute, often with minor amendments and drafting improvements. ( Courts generally presume that a consolidating statute leaves prior caselaw intact. Cf. codifying statute. "A distinction of greater importance in this field is that between consolidating and codifying statutes. A consolidating statute is one which collects the statutory provisions relating to a particular topic, and embodies them in a single Act of Parliament, making only minor amendments and improvements. A codifying statute is one which purports to state exhaustively the whole of the law on a particular subject (the common law as well as previous statutory provisions) .... The importance of the distinction lies in the courts' treatment of the previous case law, the existence of special procedural provisions with regard to consolidating statutes and the existence of a presumption that they do not change the law." Rupert Cross, Statutory Interpretation 5 (1976).
creature of statute
A doctrine, governmental agency, etc. that would not exist but for a legislative act that brought it into being.
criminal statute
A law that defines, classifies, and sets forth punishment for specific crimes. - Also termed criminal code.
dead man's statute
A law prohibiting the admission of a decedent's statement as evidence in certain circumstances, as when an opposing party or witness seeks to use the statement to support a claim against the decedent's estate. - Also termed dead person's statute.
death statute
A law that protects the interests of a decedent's family and other dependents, who may recover in damages what they would reasonably have received from the decedent if the death had not occurred. Cf. SURVIVAL STATUTE.
declaratory statute
A law enacted to clarify prior law by reconciling conflicting judicial decisions or by explaining the meaning of a prior statute.
direct-action statute
A statute that grants an injured party direct standing to sue an insurer instead of the insured tortfeasor. 0 Under Rhode Island's direct-action statute, for example, an injured party may bring a direct action against an insurer when good-faith efforts to serve process on the insured are unsuccessful. These statutes exist in several states, including Alabama, Arkansas, Louisiana, Minnesota, New York, Pennsylvania, and Wisconsin.
directory statute
A law that indicates only what should be done, with no provision for enforcement. Cf. mandatory statute.
disabling statute
A law that limits or curbs certain rights.
disentailing statute
A statute regulating or prohibiting disentailing deeds. See disentailing deed under DEED.
doing-business statute
A state law defining the acts that constitute undertaking business there, usu. for the purpose of establishing the circumstances under which the state's courts may exercise personal jurisdiction over a nonresident. See MINIMUM CONTACTS; LONG-ARM STATUTE.
door-closing statute
A state law closing or denying access to local courts unless a plaintiff meets specified conditions; esp., a statute requiring a foreign corporation to "qualify" before doing business in the state, including registering with the secretary of state, paying a fee or tax, and appointing an agent to receive service of process.
enabling statute
A law that permits what was previously prohibited or that creates new powers; esp., a congressional statute conferring powers on an executive agency to carry out various delegated tasks. - Also termed enabling act.
equity-of-the-statute rule
In statutory construction, the principle that a statute should be interpreted according to the legislators' purpose and intent, even if this interpretation goes beyond the literal meaning of the text. a Under this little-used rule, for example, if a statute defines jury-tampering to include a party's "giving a juror food or drink," the giving of cigars to a juror would also fall within that definition. Cf. GOLDEN RULE; MISCHIEF RULE; PLAIN-MEANING RULE.
estate by statute staple
An estate in a defendant's land held by a creditor under the statute staple until the debt was paid. See STATUTE STAPLE.
evolution statute
Hist. Legislation that forbids the teaching of the theory of evolution in schools. ( Such statutes were held unconstitutional as violative of the Establishment Clause in Epperson v. Arkansas, 393 U.S. 97, 89 S.Ct. 266 (1968).
expository statute
A law enacted to explain the meaning of a previously enacted law.
family-expense statute
1. A state law that permits a charge against the property of aspouse for family debts such as rent, food, clothing, and tuition. 2. A federal tax-code provision providing that a person may not deduct expenses incurred for family, living, or personal purposes. IRC (26 USCA) ยง 262.
federal statute
See FEDERAL ACT.
general statute
See STATUTE.
guardian by statute.
See statutory guardian. guardian de son tort. See quasi guardian.