magistratus minores (maj-[schwa]-stray-t[schwa]s mi-nor-eez). [Latin “lesser magistrates”] Roman law. Magistrates with limited powers. Cf. MAGISTRATUS MAJORES. “The magistratus minores were officials of minor importance, they had no imperium and were vested with a restricted jurisdiction and some functions in specific fields …. The tenure of a minor magistracy opened the way for the quaestorship, the […]
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assize utrum (yoo-tr[schwa]m). [Latin] Hist. A writ to determine whether land claimed by a church was held by lay or spiritual tenure. • This writ is named after its emphatic word, which required the fact-finder to determine whether (utrum) the land belonged to the church. — Also termed (erroneously) assize of utrum; assize de utrum.
independent advice. Counsel that is impartial and not given to further the interests of the person giving it. • Whether a testator or donor received independent advice before making a disposition is often an important issue in an undue-influence challenge to the property disposition. — Also termed proper independent advice.
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Geneva Phonograms Convention. A 1971 treaty requiring signatories to protect phonorecord producers against piracy and the importation of pirated copies, by copyright protection, unfair-competition law, or criminal sanc-tions. • The treaty was drafted by representatives from WIPO and UNESCO to correct weaknesses in the Rome Convention. — Also termed Convention for the Protection of Producers
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duty-free, adj. Of or relating to products of foreign origin that are not subject to import or export taxes.
butlerage. Hist. A duty on wine imported into England, payable to the royal butler. Cf. PRISAGE.
carriage and insurance paid to. A mercantile-contract term allocating the rights and duties of the buyer and the seller of goods with respect to delivery, payment, and risk of loss, whereby the seller must (1) clear the goods for export, (2) procure and pay for insurance against the buyer’s risk of damage while the goods
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diplomatics. The science of deciphering and authenticating ancient writings. • The principles were largely developed by the Benedictine Dom Mabillon in his 1681 work entitled De re diplomatica. — Also termed diplomatic (n.). “Diplomatics, the science derived from the study of ancient diplomas, so called from being written on two leaves, or on double tablets.
void, adj. 1. Of no legal effect; null. • The distinction between void and voidable is often of great practical importance. Whenever technical accuracy is required, void can be properly applied only to those provisions that are of no effect whatsoever — those that are an absolute nullity. — void, avoid, vb. — voidness, n.
judicial activism, n. A philosophy of judicial decision-making whereby judges allow their personal views about public policy, among other factors, to guide their decisions, usu. with the suggestion that adherents of this philosophy tend to find constitutional violations and are willing to ignore precedent. Cf. JUDICIAL RESTRAINT(3). — judicial activist, n. “[I]f to resolve the