The Lawsplain

Here’s a curated list of legal jargons with their meanings and usage examples to help enhance your legal knowledge.

LEGAL GLOSSARY
Term	Meaning	Example
Ab initio	From the beginning	The contract was void ab initio due to misrepresentation.
Acquittal	Legal finding of not guilty	The defendant received an acquittal after the trial.
Actus reus	Guilty act	The prosecution must prove both actus reus and mens rea.
Ad hoc	For this specific purpose	An ad hoc committee was formed to handle the case.
Affidavit	A written sworn statement of fact	She submitted an affidavit to support her claim.
Alibi	Proof of being elsewhere when a crime occurred	He had an alibi showing he was out of town.
Alimony	Financial support to ex-spouse	He was ordered to pay alimony after the divorce.
Amicus curiae	Friend of the court	An amicus curiae brief was filed to assist the court.
Amortization	Gradual repayment of debt	The loan was repaid through monthly amortization.
Annexure	Attached document	The affidavit included an annexure of receipts.
Anticipatory bail	Pre-arrest protection	He applied for anticipatory bail fearing arrest.
Appeal	Request for a higher court review	She filed an appeal against the judgment.
Arbitration	Dispute resolution outside courts	The contract included a mandatory arbitration clause.
Assent	Express agreement	The contract was signed with clear assent.
Bail	Temporary release from custody	He was released on bail the next day.
Bailment	Transfer of possession but not ownership	The valet service created a bailment relationship.
Bankruptcy	Legal status of insolvency	The firm filed for bankruptcy after incurring massive debts.
Bar	The legal profession	He was called to the bar last year.
Bar association	Legal professional body	She’s a member of the Delhi Bar Association.
Battery	Physical harm to another person	He was charged with battery after the fight.
Bench	The judges or the court	The bench reserved its verdict.
Bona fide	In good faith	They entered the agreement bona fide.
Breach	Violation of a law or contract	The company was sued for breach of contract.
Brief	Written legal argument	The lawyer submitted a 20-page brief.
Burden of proof	Obligation to prove allegations	The burden of proof lies with the prosecution.
Case law	Law established by judicial decisions	The decision set new case law precedent.
Caveat emptor	Let the buyer beware	Under caveat emptor, the buyer takes the risk.
Causation	Link between an action and result	The lawyer argued there was no causation between the act and injury.
Cause of action	Grounds for lawsuit	The tenant had a cause of action for breach of contract.
Chattel	Personal property	The furniture was considered chattel.
Civil law	Law dealing with rights and duties	Civil law covers contracts and torts.
Class action	Lawsuit filed by a group	A class action was brought against the company by affected customers.
Coercion	Use of force or threats	The confession was invalid due to coercion.
Cognizable offence	Crime where police can arrest without a warrant	Theft is a cognizable offence under law.
Common intention	Shared intention to commit a crime	They were held liable due to common intention.
Common law	Law derived from court decisions	The UK follows a common law system.
Competency	Legal ability to stand trial or give testimony	The witness was declared competent.
Complainant	Person who files a complaint	The complainant testified against the accused.
Compoundable offence	Offence that can be settled	Defamation is a compoundable offence.
Confession	Admission of guilt	He gave a written confession to the police.
Consideration	Something of value exchanged	A contract requires valid consideration.
Conspiracy	Secret plan to commit unlawful act	They were arrested for criminal conspiracy.
Constitution	Fundamental legal principles	The constitution guarantees freedom of speech.
Contempt of court	Disrespecting the court	He was jailed for contempt of court.
Contract	Legally binding agreement	The parties signed a lease contract.
Conveyancing	Legal process of property transfer	He hired a solicitor for the conveyancing process.
Corpus delicti	Body of the crime	The prosecution must prove corpus delicti.
Cross-examination	Questioning a witness by opposing lawyer	The defense began cross-examination of the witness.
Curative petition	Last resort to correct judicial error	He filed a curative petition in the Supreme Court.
Custody	Legal right or responsibility for a person or property	The child’s custody was granted to the mother.
Damages	Monetary compensation	The plaintiff was awarded damages.
Damnum	Actual damage or loss	The damnum was clear from the financial reports.
Damnum sine injuria	Damage without legal injury	Losing business to competition is damnum sine injuria.
De facto	In fact, but not by law	He was the de facto manager of the business.
De jure	By law	She is the de jure owner of the property.
Declaratory judgment	Court statement of legal rights	The court issued a declaratory judgment on property ownership.
Default judgment	Judgment due to no response	A default judgment was entered against the absentee defendant.
Defamation	False statement damaging reputation	He sued the newspaper for defamation.
Deposition	Sworn out-of-court testimony	Her deposition was recorded before the trial.
Discovery	Exchange of legal information	They requested emails during discovery.
Dissenting opinion	Disagreeing judicial opinion	The judge wrote a dissenting opinion.
Domicile	Permanent legal residence	His domicile was established in London.
Double jeopardy	Tried twice for same crime	Double jeopardy is prohibited by law.
Due diligence	Reasonable investigation	The investor performed due diligence before buying.
Due process	Fair legal procedure	The accused was denied due process.
Easement	Right to use another’s land	The road includes a public easement.
Embezzlement	Fraudulent taking of property	He was charged with embezzlement.
Entrapment	Being lured into a crime by officials	The case was dismissed due to police entrapment.
Entrustment	Giving responsibility for property or duty	The employee was charged with criminal breach of trust due to wrongful entrustment.
Equity	Fairness in law	The court ruled based on equity.
Escrow	Third-party held asset	Funds were placed in escrow until closing.
Estoppel	Preventing contradictory claims	The defendant was estopped from denying the lease.
Ex parte	Without other party present	The court granted an ex parte injunction.
Fiduciary	Relationship of trust	The lawyer had a fiduciary duty to the client.
Force majeure	Unforeseen events preventing performance	The contract included a force majeure clause.
Forensic evidence	Scientific evidence in court	The court relied on forensic evidence to convict him.
Frivolous lawsuit	Baseless or petty legal claim	The judge dismissed the frivolous lawsuit.
Garnishment	Court-ordered deduction from wages	His salary was garnished to repay debt.
Guardian	Legal caretaker of a minor	She was appointed legal guardian of her niece.
Habeas corpus	Challenge unlawful detention	He filed a writ of habeas corpus.
Hearing	Court session for arguments	The bail hearing is scheduled tomorrow.
Impeachment	Charging a public official	The president faced impeachment.
In camera	Private court session	The testimony was heard in camera due to sensitivity.
Injunction	Court order to do or not do something	The company was under an injunction.
Indemnity	Protection against loss	The contract included an indemnity clause.
Injuria sine damnum	Legal injury without actual damage	Violation of a legal right is injuria sine damnum.
Insanity defense	Claim of mental illness in a crime	He pleaded not guilty using the insanity defense.
Intellectual property	Legal rights to creations	Copyright is a form of intellectual property.
Interrogatories	Written questions for the other party	The plaintiff served interrogatories on the defendant.
Interlocutory order	Temporary court ruling	The judge issued an interlocutory order to maintain status quo.
Joinder	Combining legal issues or parties	The court allowed joinder of claims in one lawsuit.
Jurisprudence	Philosophy of law	She studies jurisprudence at university.
Jurisdiction	Legal authority	The court lacked jurisdiction.
Laches	Delay in asserting a legal right	The claim was barred due to laches.
Legal fiction	Assumption treated as true in law	Corporate personhood is a legal fiction.
Liability	Legal responsibility	He accepted liability for the damages.
Lien	Right to keep possession until debt paid	The mechanic had a lien on the car.
Litigation	Process of taking legal action	The company faced costly litigation.
Malfeasance	Wrongdoing by public official	The mayor was accused of malfeasance.
Mediation	Dispute resolution with neutral party	They resolved the dispute through mediation.
Mens rea	Intention	Mens rea must be proven for conviction.
Mitigating circumstances	Factors reducing severity	The judge considered mitigating circumstances.
Moot	No longer relevant	The issue became moot after the law changed.
Motion	Formal court request	The lawyer filed a motion to dismiss the case.
Nolo contendere	No contest plea	He entered a plea of nolo contendere.
Novation	Replacing an old contract with a new one	The debt was settled through novation.
Objection	Formal protest in court	The lawyer raised an objection to the question.
Parole	Early supervised release from prison	He was released on parole after five years.
Perjury	Lying under oath	She was convicted of perjury for false testimony.
Prima facie	Based on first impression	The court found prima facie evidence of fraud.
Precedent	Prior case guiding future cases	The judge relied on precedent to decide the case.
Pro bono	Legal service for free	The lawyer took the case pro bono.
Quash	Reject or annul	The court quashed the previous order.
Rebuttal	Counter-argument	The prosecutor offered a strong rebuttal.
Recusal	Withdrawal of a judge from a case	The judge recused herself due to conflict of interest.
Remand	Send back a case for reconsideration	The case was remanded to the lower court.
Restitution	Compensation for loss	The thief was ordered to pay restitution.
Slander	Spoken false statement harming reputation	He sued his colleague for slander.
Specific performance	Court order to fulfill a contract	The buyer sought specific performance of the sale agreement.
Statute	A written law passed by legislature	The statute clearly prohibits smoking in public places.
Statutory interpretation	Process of understanding laws	The court applied statutory interpretation to resolve the ambiguity.
Stay order	Temporary halt by court	The builder was stopped by a stay order from the court.
Sub judice	Under judicial consideration	The matter is sub judice, so I can’t comment.
Summons	Legal notice to appear in court	She received a court summons for next week.
Subpoena	Legal order to appear or produce evidence	She received a subpoena to testify in court.
Testimony	Statement given under oath	Her testimony helped prove the accused guilty.
Tort	Civil wrong causing harm	Defamation is a kind of tort.
Tortfeasor	Person who commits a civil wrong	The tortfeasor was liable for the injury caused.
Tribunal	Quasi-judicial body for resolving disputes	The labour tribunal ruled in favour of the worker.
Trust	Legal arrangement where one holds property for another	He created a trust for his children’s education.
Ultra vires	Beyond legal power or authority	The board’s decision was declared ultra vires.
Undertaking	Formal promise to do or not do something	He gave an undertaking not to leave the country.
Unjust enrichment	Illegally gaining benefit at another’s cost	She sued for unjust enrichment after her designs were used without pay.
Void ab initio	Invalid from the beginning	The contract was void ab initio due to forgery.
Vexatious litigation	Unnecessary or abusive legal action	The court fined him for filing vexatious litigation.
Vicarious liability	Responsibility for another’s act	The employer was held vicariously liable for the worker’s actions.
Waiver	Voluntary giving up of a right	He signed a waiver before participating in the race.
Warrant	Legal document authorising action	The police had a warrant to search the premises.
Writ	Formal written order from a court	He filed a writ of mandamus for government action.
Witness	Person giving testimony	The witness identified the accused in court.
Yellow dog contract	Contract preventing workers from unionising	The court struck down the yellow dog contract as unconstitutional.
Young offender	Minor committing a criminal act	The young offender was sent for rehabilitation.
Zoning law	Rules governing land use	The new zoning law bans factories in residential areas.
Zero-hour contract	Employment contract with no guaranteed hours	The worker had a zero-hour contract with flexible shifts.