When is Latin hot, and when is it not?
Transcript:
Hello!
Many Latin expressions are used in Legal English. Degrees in Law in Common Law countries do not require students to study Latin, so how do you know when you can or can’t use Latin expressions in a legal context? The answer is easy. I have drawn up a list and if a Latin expression is on my list, then it is hot, otherwise it is not. This list does not consider Latin words used in Criminal Law, but only focuses on areas which correspond to the Latin Civil Law.
Here are the Latin words that are extremely common in the AnlgoSaxon world. If you want to be understood by English speaking people, you should pronounce these with a typical English pronunciation:
| Latin | Meaning |
| Ab initio | from the begining of something |
| Bona fide | in good faith |
| Bona vacantia | goods or an estate belonging to nobody, ownerless property which by law passes to the Crown or State |
| Caveat | a warning |
| Caveat emptor | “buyer beware”. A common law doctrine that places the burden on buyers to reasonably examine property before making a purchase. |
| Commorientes | The commorientes rule states (subject to a court order) that if two or more people die in circumstances where it is not possible to tell who died first, the deaths are presumed to have occurred in order of seniority, so the younger is deemed to survive the elder |
| De facto | really, or in reality |
| Et al | “and others” or “and the other people” and usually follows the name of a person or a list of names and represents the remainder of the group. Please note, NEVER say “et alia,” “et alius,” or “et alii.” because this will confuse people. |
| E.g. | “for example.” Please note, NEVER say “exempli gratia” because this will confuse people. |
| Et seq | and in the following pages’ |
| I.e. | “that is” (cioè). Please note, NEVER say “id est” because this will confuse people. |
| Inter alia | among other things |
| Inter alios | among other people |
| Obiter dictum | obiter dictum = Obiter: A judge’s expression of opinion said in court or in a written judgement, but not essential to the decision and therefore not legally binding as a precedent. |
| Pari passu | “equal footing”. In finance, “pari passu” means that two or more parties to a financial contract are all treated the same. Pari-passu is common in bankruptcy proceedings as well as debts in which each party gets the same amount. Wills and trusts can also assign a pari-passu distribution where all the named parties share the assets equally. |
| Per se | in itself or by itself |
| Per stirpes | describes property divided equally between the offspring. If a parent who is a beneficiary under a will dies and the legacy goes to the children in equal shares, the legacy has been divided per stirpes. |
| Prima facie | at first sight or based on first impression |
| Quid pro quo | (BEWARE: may be a false friend). Please note that the expression is “quid pro quo”, not “qui pro quo”. It means “an exchange of favours” or “a favour in exchange for something else” or an exchange of services. E.g.: In a quid pro quo agreement the baker always exchanged loaves of bread with the butcher for beef. “Quid pro quo” is NOT used in English to mean a misunderstanding. |
| Ratio decidendi | “rationale for the decision”. The chain of reasoning in a case that causes the judge to arrive at the final judgment. |
| Sine die | to a later undefined time. With no date for the restart. E.g.: The meeting was adjourned sine die. |
| Ultra vires | beyond your powers. If a director of a company does something ultra vires, then what has been done is invalid. |
| Verbatim | word by word; exactly |
| Vice versa | the other way around; the contrary |
Thank you very much and see you next time for more Peter’s Pills to improve your Legal English!
You may be surprised to discover that in English speaking counties there is a “Plain English Movement”. This movement tries to get the legal community to abandon Latin and archaic terms for modern plain English. Read more about the Plain English Movement here: “Plain English Movement, The Plain English Movement: Panel Discussion” (.PDF).
Legal English – Sommario delle Lezioni
- Legal English – Peter’s Pills – Lesson 59 – Appurtenent vs In gross
- Legal English – Peter’s Pills – Lesson 58 – Building societies and Banks
- Legal English – Peter’s Pills – Lesson 57 – Valid, void and voidable contracts
- Legal English – Peter’s Pills – Lesson 56 – Rescission
- Legal English – Peter’s Pills – Lesson 55 – Golden expressions
- Legal English – Peter’s Pills – Lesson 54 – Pre-emption right vs Right of first refusal
- Legal English – Peter’s Pills – Lesson 53 – What do we mean by “agent” of a company?
- Legal English – Peter’s Pills – Lesson 52 – Voting at a meeting
- Legal English – Peter’s Pills – Lesson 51 – Contracts vs Deeds
- Legal English – Peter’s Pills – Lesson 50 – Executive and Non-Executive Directors
- Legal English – Peter’s Pills – Lesson 49 – Transfer of shares vs transmission of shares
- Legal English – Peter’s Pills – Lesson 48 – They, them, their for singular nouns
- Legal English – Peter’s Pills – Lesson 47 – Jointly and severally
- Legal English – Peter’s Pills – Lesson 46 – Invoice words
- Legal English – Peter’s Pills – Lesson 45 – Quotation
- Legal English – Peter’s Pills – Lesson 44 – Gazumping and Gazundering
- Legal English – Peter’s Pills – Lesson 43 – English words that the English do not understand
- Legal English – Peter’s Pills – Lesson 42 – Easement vs Profit à prendre
- Legal English – Peter’s Pills – Lesson 41 -er, -or and -ee names
- Legal English – Peter’s Pills – Lesson 40 – The Objects Clause
- Legal English – Peter’s Pills – Lesson 39 – When is Latin hot, and when is it not?
- Legal English – Peter’s Pills – Lesson 38 – Default
- Legal English – Peter’s Pills – Lesson 37 – Company Agent
- Legal English – Peter’s Pills – Lesson 36 – Injunction (false freind)
- Legal English – Peter’s Pills – Lesson 35 – Mortgage
- Legal English – Peter’s Pills – Lesson 34 – Freehold, Leasehold and Commonhold estates
- Legal English – Peter’s Pills – Lesson 33 – Transferor, Transferee and Transmittee
- Legal English – Peter’s Pills – Lesson 32 – Tax evasion, tax mitigation and tax avoidance
- Legal English – Peter’s Pills – Lesson 31 – Numbers
- Legal English – Peter’s Pills – Lesson 30 – Ordinary resolutions vs special resolutions
- Legal English – Peter’s Pills – Lesson 29 – AGM vs EGM
- Legal English – Peter’s Pills – Lesson 28 – A going concern
- Legal English – Peter’s Pills – Lesson 27 – Collocations: Violate, breach, break, disobey and infringe
- Legal English – Peter’s Pills – Lesson 26 – Company meeting words
- Legal English – Peter’s Pills – Lesson 25 – Mortgagor vs Mortgagee
- Legal English – Peter’s Pills – Lesson 24 – Fixed charges vs Floating charges
- Legal English – Peter’s Pills – Lesson 23 – Doctrine
- Legal English – Peter’s Pills – Lesson 22 – Construe
- Legal English – Peter’s Pills – Lesson 21 – Sign vs Execute
- Legal English – Peter’s Pills – Lesson 20 – The closing statement
- Legal English – Peter’s Pills – Lesson 19 – Writing Business Emails
- Legal English – Peter’s Pills – Lesson 18 – Limited companies
- Legal English – Peter’s Pills – Lesson 17 – Annual Accounts
- Legal English – Peter’s Pills – Lesson 16 – Meetings
- Legal English – Peter’s Pills – Lesson 15 – Attorney-at-law vs Attorney-in-fact
- Legal English – Peter’s Pills – Lesson 14 – Here and there compounds
- Legal English – Peter’s Pills – Lesson 13 – Subject Matter
- Legal English – Peter’s Pills – Lesson 12 – The clear days rule
- Legal English – Peter’s Pills – Lesson 11 – Shareholder, Member or Holder of shares?
- Legal English: Peter’s Pills – Lesson 10 – Competition Law
Legal English – Peter’s Pills – Lesson 39 – When is Latin hot, and when is it not?
ultima modifica: 2022-09-28T09:55:07+02:00
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AUTORE
Peter Liebenberg è uno specialista nella formazione delle persone nella conoscenza della lingua inglese. Ha creato molti corsi nel campo dell’inglese per professionisti, tra cui English for banking, English for business e English for Insurance, ma ha sempre avuto un debole per l’inglese legale. Altri corsi che ha creato comprendono Phrasal Verbs I e II. Quando Peter non fa formazione, corre a Parco Sempione, crea arte nel suo studio sulla Martesana e fa volontariato.