Register

Legal Dictionary of Pakistan

Quick lookup for English, Urdu, and Latin legal terms used in Pakistani jurisprudence.

doctrine of parens patriae

See PARENS PATRIAE (2).

parens patriae

. [Latin "parent of his or her country"] 1. The state regarded as a sovereign; the state in its capacity as provider of protection to those unable to care for themselves <the attorney general acted as parens patriae in the administrative hearing>. 2. A doctrine by which a government has standing to prosecute a lawsuit on behalf of a citizen, esp. on behalf of someone who is under a legal disability to prosecute the suit <parens patriae allowed the state to institute proceedings>. * The state ordinarily has no standing to sue on behalf of its citizens, unless a separate, sovereign interest will be served by the suit. - Also termed doctrine of parens patriae.