A balancing test for determining whether conduct has created an unreasonable risk of harm, first formulated by Judge Learned Hand in United States v. Carroll Towing Co., 159 F.2d 169 (2d Cir. 1947). • Under this test, an actor is negligent if the burden of taking adequate precautions against the harm is outweighed by the […]
public law. 1. The body of law dealing with the relations between private individuals and the government, and with the structure and operation of the government itself; constitutional law, criminal law, and administrative law taken together. Cf. PRIVATE LAW(1). 2. A statute affecting the general public. • Federal public laws are first published in Statutes
A governmental restriction on speech or publication before its actual expression. • Prior restraints violate the First Amendment unless the speech is obscene, is defamatory, or creates a clear and present danger to society. [Cases: Constitutional Law 90(3). C.J.S. Constitutional Law §§ 502, 542, 546–550.]
A loan offered by a door-to-door solicitor, usu. for home repairs at a high interest rate and under misleading or fraudulent terms. • The term is used primarily in the United Kingdom.
beneficium ordinis (ben-[schwa]-fish-ee-[schwa]m or-d[schwa]-nis). [Latin “privilege of order”] Roman & Scots law. A surety’s right to require a creditor to seek payment from the principal debtor before seeking payment from the surety. See BENEFIT OF DISCUSSION. “Beneficium Ordinis… by the civil law and our own, a cautioner, simply bound as such, is entitled to insist
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mutatis mutandis (myoo-tay-tis myoo-tan-dis). [Latin] All necessary changes having been made; with the necessary changes (what was said regarding the first contract applies mutatis mutandis to all later ones). [Cases: Contracts 159. C.J.S. Contracts § 323.]
adversus (ad-v[schwa]r-s[schwa]s), prep. [Latin] Against. • The first letter of this term was formerly used in law reports in place of the more commonly used v. (“versus”). — Abbr. a.
The amount (currently as much as $10,000) allowed as nontaxable gift income during the calendar year. • The purpose of the annual exclusion is both to serve as an estate-planning mechanism (so that gifts made during the donor’s lifetime remain nontestamentary and nontaxable) and to eliminate the administrative inconvenience of taxing relatively small gifts. For
heir(s) n. (1)法定继承人 严格地说，该词仅指在无遗嘱的情况下继承遗产的人，而不包括根据遗嘱继承遗产的人。在更准确的意义上，1926年以前的英格兰和1965年以前的苏格兰中，该法定继承人仅指根据封建继承规则〔feudal rule of succession〕有权继承死者不动产的人，与继承死者不动产的遗嘱执行人〔executor〕或最近亲者〔next-of-kin〕相对。而所谓的封建继承规则，即以男性优先于女性、男性继承人中的长子继承制〔primogeniture〕以及代位继承〔representation〕为基础而确立的继承规则。1925年后的《遗产管理法》〔Administration of Estates Act〕将之废除，但对1926年以前使用「heir」一词的，仍依其原义。该词在美国也可指法定继承人，因此，它与其他表示法定继承人的词，如「heir at law」或「legal heir」同义，通常，仅该词即可表达法定继承人的意思。一般而言，在某人尚生存期间，并没有法定继承人，但在英文中却有若干术语对这种潜在的法定继承人〔potential heirs〕进行分类，如期待法定继承人〔expectant heir〕、将来法定继承人〔prospective heir〕(包括推定法定继承人〔heir presumptive〕和当然法定继承人〔heir apparent〕)。 (→prospective heir; heir presumptive; heir apparent) (2)继承人 在广泛意义上，指依遗嘱或法律继承死者财产的人〔successor〕。在大陆法上，该词指概括继承人〔universal successor〕,其中由遗嘱所创设的继承人称为「遗嘱继承人」〔testamentary heir〕,无遗嘱的最近亲者〔next-of-kin〕则称为「法定继承人」〔heir at law〕或「无遗嘱继承人」〔heir by intestacy〕,而普通法中的遗嘱执行人〔executor〕则在多方面对应于大陆法中的遗嘱继承人。 (→universal succession) (3)不动产法定继承人 严格言之，该词指无遗嘱时有权继承土地的人；无遗嘱的情况下有权继承动产的人，则称为动产法定继承人〔distributee〕或最近亲者。但此区别即使在一般的律师用语中亦已不再被遵循。
primae impressionis (prI-mee im-pres[h]-ee-oh-nis). [Law Latin] Of the first impression. See case of first impression under CASE.
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