internally displaced person. A person who has been forced to migrate within a national territory because of threats to life, limb, or freedom, and who cannot establish a new residence because of continuing threats. • Internally displaced persons flee for the same reasons as refugees — fear of persecution, human-rights abuses, civil war, natural or […]
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living will. An instrument, signed with the formalities statutorily required for a will, by which a person directs that his or her life not be artificially prolonged by extraordinary measures when there is no reasonable expectation of recovery from extreme physical or mental disability. • Most states have living-will legislation. — Also termed declaration of
executory interest. A future interest, held by a third person, that either cuts off another’s interest or begins after the natural termination of a preceding estate. Cf. REMAINDER. [Cases: Estates in Property 1. C.J.S. Estates §§ 2–5, 8, 15–21, 116–128, 137, 243.] “What is an executory interest? Here is a pretty good definition: An executory
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rescue doctrine. Torts. The principle that a tortfeasor who negligently endangered a person is liable for injuries to someone who reasonably attempted to rescue the person in danger. • The rationale for this doctrine is that an attempted rescue of someone in danger is always foreseeable. Thus, if the tortfeasor is negligent toward the rescuee,
dyathanasia (dI-ath-[schwa]-nay-zh[schwa]), n. The act of permitting death to occur naturally by withholding, terminating, or not offering life-prolonging treatments or intervention. — Also termed passive mercy killing. See EUTHANASIA.
Patents. One of the five types of patentable statutory subject matter, consisting of com-binations of natural elements whether resulting from chemical union or from mechanical mixture, and whether the substances are gases, fluids, powders, or solids. • This classification includes chemical compounds such as drugs and fuels, physical products such as plastics and particleboard, and
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