“Casus improvisus …. This phrase is of frequent occurrence, and admits of varied illustration. Thus, if an Act of Parliament has been passed for the removal of some inconvenience, or the suppression of some evil, and specifies the circumstances or cases in which it is to have application, and a case occurs which is not specified by the Act, in which, nevertheless, the application of the Statute would be beneficial, this is a casus improvisus, and neither the procedure nor the provisions of the Act can be applied to it. The Statute cannot be strained so as to be made applicable to a case for which it does not provide. Statutes, however, which are purely remedial are construed liberally, and are often extended to cases similar to those mentioned in the Act, although such cases do not fall within the letter of the enactment.” John Trayner, Trayner’s Latin Maxims 70 (4th ed. 1894).
casus improvisus
casus improvisus (kay-s[schwa]s im-pr[schwa]-vI-z[schwa]s). [Latin] Hist. An unforeseen case; a case not provided for.
