juratory caution. 1. Maritime law. A court’s permission for an indigent to disregard filing fees and court costs. • A suit upon a juratory caution is the equivalent of a suit in forma pauperis. The right was first recognized in United States admiralty courts in Bradford v. Bradford, 3 F. Cas. 1129 (1878). See IN […]
pontiff. 1. Roman law. A member of the council of priests in ancient Rome. — Also termed pontifex. “The specialists who interpreted the Twelve Tables and the unwritten part of the law were called pontiffs. At first they dealt with both sacred law (how to appease the gods) and secular law (how to secure peace
nomocanon (n[schwa]-mok-[schwa]-non or noh-m[schwa]-kan-[schwa]n). 1. A collection of canon and imperial laws applicable to ecclesiastical matters in the orthodox churches. • The first nomocanon is falsely ascribed to Johannes Scholasticus, patriarch of Constantinople, in 553. Later canons consist primarily of the canons of the Quinisext and the ecclesiastical laws of Justinian. 2. A collection of
prodigal (prod-[schwa]-g[schwa]l), n. Civil law. A person whose affairs are managed by a curator because of the person’s wasteful spending or other bad conduct. • In Roman law, the agnatic family of a prodigal (prodigus) or spendthrift could result in that person’s being prohibited from engaging in certain legal transactions, and the person’s estate being
The obligation designated as the first to be satisfied.
primitive obligation Read More »
chargé d’affaires (shahr-zhay d[schwa]-fair). [French “one in charge of affairs”] A diplomat who is the second in command in a diplomatic mission (hence, subordinate to an ambassador or minister). — Also spelled chargé des affaires. Pl. chargés d’affaires.[Cases: Ambassadors and Consuls 3. C.J.S. Ambassadors and Consuls §§ 15–23.] acting chargé d’affaires. A chargé d’affaires who
nuper obiit (n[y]oo-p[schwa]r oh-bee-it), n. [Latin “lately died”] Hist. A writ available to an heir to establish the equal division of land when, on the death of an ancestor who held the estate in fee simple, a coheir took the land and prevented the other heirs from possessing it. The writ was abolished in 1833.
obsta principiis (ob-st[schwa] prin-sip-ee-is). [Latin] Withstand beginnings; resist the first approaches or encroachments.
consanguinity (kon-sang-gwin-[schwa]-tee), n. The relationship of persons of the same blood or origin. See prohibited degree under DEGREE. Cf. AFFINITY; AFFINITAS AFFINITATIS. [Cases: Incest 5; Marriage 10. C.J.S. Incest § 4; Marriage § 17.] — consanguineous, adj. “In the mode of computing the degrees of consanguinity, the civil law … begins with the intestate, and
partition, n. 1. Something that separates one part of a space from another. 2. The act of dividing; esp., the division of real property held jointly or in common by two or more persons into individually owned interests. — Also termed partition in kind. [Cases: Common Lands 14; Partition 1–10. C.J.S. Common Lands §§ 17–19;