praeposita negotiis vel rebus domesticis (pri-poz-[schwa]-t[schwa] ni-goh-shee-is vel ree-b[schwa]s d[schwa]-mes-ti-sis). [Latin] Hist. Set over domestic affairs. • The phrase usu. referred to a wife’s status.
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Hist. An heir who receives property according to the nature of the estate held in fee tail. • Heirs special were said to receive property per formam doni (“by the form of the gift”). — Also termed heir in tail. [Cases: Descent and Distribution 29.]
right to petition. The constitutional right — guaranteed by the First Amendment — of the people to make formal requests to the government, as by lobbying or writing letters to public officials. — Also termed right of petition; freedom of petition. [Cases: Constitutional Law 91. C.J.S. Constitutional Law §§ 461–462, 466, 612–629.]
common disaster. An event that causes two or more persons with related property interests (such as an insured and the beneficiary) to die at very nearly the same time, with no way of determining who died first. See UNIFORM SIMULTANEOUS DEATH ACT ; COMMORIENTES. [Cases: Death 5; Insurance 3485. C.J.S. Death §§ 6, 15; Insurance
contort (kon-tort), n. 1. (usu. pl.) The overlapping domain of contract law and tort law. “I have occasionally suggested to my students that a desirable reform in legal education would be to merge the first-year courses in Contracts and Torts into a single course which we could call Contorts.” Grant Gilmore, The Death of Contract
right of entry. 1. The right of taking or resuming possession of land or other real property in a peaceable manner. 2. POWER OF TERMINATION. 3. The right to go into another’s real property for a special purpose without committing trespass. • An example is a landlord’s right to enter a tenant’s property to make
initiation of charges. Military law. The first report to the proper military authority of an alleged commission of an offense by a person subject to the Uniform Code of Military Justice. Cf. PREFERRING OF CHARGES. [Cases: Armed Services 47(2); Military Justice 950. C.J.S. Armed Services § 164; Military Justice § 180.]
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Archaic. A lineal descendant of the decedent, excluding a surviving spouse, adopted children, and collateral relations. • The term of art heirs of the body was formerly used to create a fee tail [A conveys Blackacre to B and the heirs of his body]. — Also termed bodily heir. [Cases: Descent and Distribution 25. C.J.S.
House of Lords/H.L. 〈英〉上议院；上院；贵族院 英国议会上议院自中世纪早期产生以来就由神职贵族〔Lords Spiritual〕和世俗贵族〔Lords Temporal〕组成。大不列颠或联合王国所有世袭贵族爵位保有者一直有权作议员，成为议员的贵族必须达到21岁，但外国人、破产者、精神病人或者由于叛国罪或重罪而被剥夺资格的人不能充当议员。1876年英国又产生了司法终身贵族〔judicial life peers〕，即常任上诉法官〔Lords of Appeal in Ordinary〕。自1958年起男女一般皆可被授予贵族爵位。1985年英上议院的组成是：26名大主教〔archbishops〕和主教〔bishops〕、726名世袭贵族〔peers by succession〕(其中有18位女性)、30名初始册封的世袭贵族〔hereditary peers of first creation〕、345名终身贵族〔life peers〕(其中有48位女性)以及20名常任上诉法官。上议院中所有世俗议员都是终身议员，但大主教和主教大约在70岁时退休。上议院实行议员不愿开会即可缺席不到的制度，开会的法定人数仅为3人，通过议案的法定人数也仅为30人。议员不领取薪水，但可以领取一定数额的活动经费。1911年以前，上议院除了受下议院财政特权限制外，拥有不受限制的权力，但1911年的《议会法》〔Parliament Act〕废除了上议院否决「财政筹款法案」〔money bills〕的权力，并规定一般的公法案若由下议院三次会议连续通过并经过两年后，即自动成为法律；1949年的《议会法》则将三次会议减为两次，两年时间减为一年。英上议院主要职能有：１作为最高上诉法院，享有司法职能，既是英格兰、威尔士、苏格兰和北爱尔兰民事案件的最终上诉法院，也是英格兰、威尔士和北爱尔兰刑事案件的最终上诉法院。２作为公共事务的辩论讲坛。此项工作占用上议院全部开会时间的五分之一，特别是星期三。３修订下议院提出的公法案。此项工作占用上议院全部时间的三分之一，为各项职能耗用时间之首。４创议公共立法〔public legislation〕，包括政府法案，特别是那些与党派争论无关的技术性法案以及有关法律改革的法案。５审议委任立法。上议院对此享有全部权力。对议案的技术性审查由联合委员会负责。６监督行政部门的各项活动。７审查私法案〔private legislation〕。对此上议院与下议院具有同等的权力和任务。８建立特别委员会〔select committees〕。直到19世纪，上议院与下议院的工作程序在许多方面都是相似的，但自那以后，它们开始分道扬镳。不过上议院的工作程序并没有发生剧烈变化。相对而言，上议院议事规则较少，它的活动规则规定在《议事规则指南》〔Companion to Standing Orders〕之中。
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slayer rule. The doctrine that neither a person who kills another nor the killer’s heirs can share in the decedent’s estate. — Also termed slayer’s rule.