Legal Dictionary of Pakistan

Assize of northampton

Hist. A decree issued in 1176 by henry ii as an expansion and reissue of the assize of clarendon, instructing judges esp. On questions of tenure, relief, and dower.3. The procedure provided for by such an enactment. 4. The court that hears cases involving that procedure. 5. A jury.

Autonomic law

the type of enacted law that has its source in various forms of subordinate and restricted legislative authority possessed by private persons and bodies of persons. 0 examples are corporate bylaws, university regulations, and the rules of the international monetary fund.

Autonomous tariff

see tariff (2).

Autonomy

n. 1. The right of self-government. 2. A self-governing state. -autonomous (aw-tahn-a-mas), adj.

Blackstone lawyer.

Slang. 1. A lawyer with a broad knowledge of blackletter principles. 2. A self-educated lawyer (esp. in antebellum America) whose legal training consists primarily of reading Blackstone's Commentaries.

Boston interest

Interest computed by using a 30-day month rather than the exact number of days in the month. - Also termed New York interest.

Bracton

Bracton, Henry de. De Legibus et Consuetudinibus Angliae. G.E. Woodbine ed.; S.E. Thorne transl. 4 vols. Cambridge, Mass.: Harvard University Press, 1968.

Bruton error

The violation of a criminal defendant's constitutional right of confrontation by admitting into evidence a nontestifying codefendant's confession that implicates a defendant who claims innocence. Bruton u. United States, 391 U.S. 123, 88 S.Ct. 1620 (1968).

Catoniana regula

[Latin "rule attributed to Cato"] Roman law. The principle that the lapse of time does not cure something void at the outset. ( It was typically used to set aside a bequest in which the testator did not have the requisite power or capacity when executing the will.

Clayton Act

A federal statute - enacted in 1914 to amend the Sherman Act - that prohibits price discrimination, tying arrangements, and exclusive-dealing contracts, as well as mergers and interlocking directorates, if their effect might substantially lessen competition or create a monopoly in any line of commerce. 15 USCA §§ 12-27. Cl. Ct. abbr. CLAIMS COURT, U.S.

De morte hominis nulla est cunctatio Tonga.

When the death of a human being is concerned, no delay is long.

Hilton doctrine.

Civil procedure. The rule that in a dispute between parties to an oil-and-gas lease, royalty owners who would lose their rights if the defendant's lease were terminated are regarded as indispensable parties to a proceeding challenging the lease. Hilton u. Atlantic Refining Co., 327 F.2d 217 (5th Cir. 1964).

Lamb-Weston rule

Insurance. The doctrine that, when two insurance policies provide coverage for a loss, and each of them contains an other-insurance clause - creating a conflict in the order or apportionment of coverage - both of the other-insurance clauses will be disregarded and liability will be prorated between the insurers. Lamb-Weston, Inc. u. Oregon Auto. Ins. Co., 341 P.2d 110 (Or. 1959).

Noerr-Pennington doctrine

The principle that the First Amendment shields from liability (esp. under antitrust laws) companies that join together to lobby the government. 0 The doctrine derives from a line of Supreme Court cases beginning with Eastern R.R. Presidents Conference v. Noerr Motor Freight, Inc., 365 U.S. 127, 81 S.Ct. 523 (1961), and United Mine Workers v. Pennington, 381 U.S. 657, 85 S.Ct. 1585 (1965).

Pinkerton rule

C.'rimrnal laic. The doctrine imposing liability on a conspirator for all offenses committed in furtherance of the conspiracy, even if those offenses are actually performed by coconspirators. Pinkerton v. United States, 328 U.S. 640, 66 S.Ct. 1180 (1946).

Protonotary

See PROTHONOTARY.

Tombstone

Securities. An advertisement (esp. in a newspaper) for a public securities offering, describing the security and identifying the sellers. ( The term gets its name from the ad's traditional black border and plain print. - Also termed tombstone advertisement; tombstone ad. Cf. PROSPECTUS.

Ton

A measure of weight fixed at either 2,000 pounds avoirdupois or 20 hundredweights, each hundredweight being 112 pounds avoirdupois.

Tonnage

1. The capacity of a vessel for carrying freight or other loads, calculated in tons. 2. The total shipping tonnage of a country or port. 3. TONNAGE DUTY.

Tontine

n. 1. A financial arrangement in which a group of participants share in the arrangement's advantages until all but one has died or defaulted, at which time the whole goes to that survivor. 2. A financial arrangement in which an entire sum goes to the contributing participants still alive and not in default at the end of a specified period.

Wharton rule

. Criminal law. The doctrine preventing conspiracy prosecution for a crime that necessarily involves the participation of two or more persons, such as illegal gambling. ( But if an additional person participates so as to enlarge the scope of the agreement, all the actors may be charged with conspiracy. The doctrine takes its name-from the influential criminal-law author Francis Wharton (1820-1889). - Also termed Wharton's rule; concert-of-action rule.

autonomous tariff

A tariff set by legislation rather than by commercial treaty.

dowle stones

Rocks used as land boundaries.

duty of tonnage

A charge imposed on a commercial vessel for entering, remaining in, or leaving a port.

half-tongue.

Hist. In England, a jury empaneled to try an alien, and composed half of one nationality and half of another. ( The use of this type of jury ended in 1914 with the passage of the Status of Aliens Act.

lence." 4 William Blackstone, Commentaries on the Laws of England 267 (1769).

long ton

Twenty long hundredweight (2,240 pounds), or 1.016 metric tons.

merestone

Archaic. A stone that marks land boundaries. - Also spelled mearstone.

quasi-autonomous nongovernmental organization

A semipublic administrative body (esp. in the United Kingdom) having some members appointed and financed by, but not answerable to, the government, such as a tourist authority, a university-grants commission, a price-and-wage commission, a prison or parole board, or a medical-health advisory panel. ( This term is more commonly written as an acronym, quango (kwang-goh), without capital letters.

register tonnage.

The volume of a vessel available for commercial use, officially measured and entered in a record for purposes of taxation. - Also termed registered tonnage.

registered tonnage

See REGISTER TONNAGE.

regula catoniana

[Latin "rule of Cato"] Roman law. The principle that the lapse of time will not cure something void at the outset. ( The regula catoniana, named for the Roman legal scholar Cato, was usu. used to set aside a bequest in which the testator did not have the power or capacity to make the bequest.

short ton

Twenty short hundredweight (2,000 pounds), or 0.907 metric tons.

skeleton bill

See BILL

skeleton bill of exceptions

See BILL

skeleton bill of exceptions.

A bill of exceptions that, in addition to the formal parts, contains only the court's directions to the clerk to copy or insert necessary documents into the record for appellate review, but does not contain the actual evidence or trial-court rulings. 0 For example, the statement "the clerk will insert the official transcript here" is typically a skeleton bill.

skeleton bill.

A bill drawn., indor-e<l, or ttrcepted in blank.8. A piece of paper money <a $10 bill>. 9. :: promissorv note <;thtcifhtttr ~.i~nucJ ;t hill tun $7,000

ton mile

In transportation, a measure equal to the transportation of one ton of freight one mile.

tonnage duty

A charge or impost for bringing a ship into port, usu. assessed on the basis of the ship's weight. ( U.S. Const. art. I, § 10, cl. 3 prohibits the states from levying tonnage duties. - Also termed tonnage tax; tonnage. See DUTY (4).

tonnage tax

See TONNAGE DUTY

tonnage-rent

A rent reserved by a mining lease or similar transaction, consisting of a royalty on every ton of minerals extracted from the mine.

tonsure

Hist. The shaving of a person's (usu. a cleric's) head. ( Serjeants-at-law supposedly wore coifs to conceal their shaved heads.

tontine policy

An insurance policy in which a group of participants share advantages so that upon the default or death of any participant, his or her advantages are distributed among the remaining participants until only one remains, whereupon the whole goes to that sole participant. ( Under the tontine plan of insurance, no accumulation or earnings are credited to the policy unless it remains in force for the tontine period of a specified number of years. Thus, those who survive the period and keep their policies in force share in the accumulated funds, and those who die or permit their policies to lapse during the period do not. This type of policy takes its name from Lorenzo Tonti, an Italian who invented it in the 17th century. Today, newer and more ingenious forms of insurance have largely made tontine policies defunct. See TONTINE.

wanton

, adj. Unreasonably or maliciously risking harm while being utterly indifferent to the consequences. 0 In criminal law, wanton usu. connotes malice (in the criminallaw sense), while reckless does not. Cf RECKLESS; WILLFUL. "Wanton differs from reckless both as to the actual state of mind and as to the degree of culpability. One who is acting recklessly is fully aware of the unreasonable risk he is creating, but may be trying and hoping to avoid any harm. One acting wantonl "Wanton differs from reckless both as to the actual state of mind and as to the degree of culpability. One who is acting recklessly is fully aware of the unreasonable risk he is creating, but may be trying and hoping to avoid any harm. One acting wantonl

wanton and reckless misconduct

See wanton misconduct under MISCONDUCT.

wanton misconduct

See MISCONDUCT

wanton negligence

See gross negligence.

wantonness

n. Conduct indicating that the actor is aware of the risks but indifferent to the results. ( Wantonness usu. suggests a greater degree of culpability than recklessness, and it often connotes malice in criminal-law contexts. - wanton, adj. Cf. RECKLESSNESS.

willful and wanton misconduct.

Conduct committed with an intentional or reckless disregard for the safety of others, as by failing to exercise ordinary care to prevent a known danger or to discover a danger. - Also termed willful indifference to the safety of others.

willful and wanton negligence

See gross negligence.