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 on focuses on areas which correspond to the Latin Civil Law. Continua a leggere →

Default

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Hello!

Default has quite a few meanings and some may be new for you. It can be used to mean:

• failure to pay:

He defaulted in payment and the bank foreclosed on (ha pignorato) his car.

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Company Agent

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Hello!

Be careful of how you perceive and translate “Agent”.

Agent, or a Company Agent or an Agent of the Company all mean the same thing (mandatario) and can be used interchangeably.

An agency relationship is a relationship between two parties called a Principal (mandante) and an Agent (mandatario). In this relationship the function of the agent is to create one or more contracts between the principal and third parties or to act as the representative of the principal in other ways.

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Injunction (often a false friend)

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Make sure you understand how injunction is commonly used in Legal English.

In legal terms an injunction almost always has a negative implication. Fundamentally an injunction is a restrictive court order. It is an order to abstain from doing something or an order NOT TO DO something in the present or the future. For example, in real estate a court may impose an injunction (diffida; ordine di non fare) for the sale of the property to the third-party if a selling party agrees to sell a parcel of land to an individual and subsequently accepts and pursues an offer from a thirdparty purchaser.

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Mortgage

Transcript:

Hello!

Be careful of how you translate “Mortgage”. We use it to mean at least four different things like:

1. A loan (prestito; mutuo): We ask the bank for a mortgage when we want to buy a new home, e.g. (i) The bank granted her a mortgage of £200,000. (ii) She has to repay a mortgage of £200,000;

2. An agreement (Il contratto per il mutuo): It is a contract made between the bank that is lending money and the borrower. The mortgage agreement will specify the amount of money that the borrower receives, interest to be paid, and will state that the lender receives a lien (pegno) on the property. e.g. The mortgage will be signed tomorrow in the Regent Street branch of the bank;

3. A lien (pegno; vincolo): The mortgage is the lien over the real estate which the borrower grants to the lender. e.g. The bank has a mortgage over that home and must be repaid before title can pass to the new owner;

4. An instrument (strumento): The instrument by which rights are transferred. A civil-law hypotheca is the equivalent to an English mortgage by legal charge.

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Freehold, Leasehold and Commonhold estates

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Hello!

Technically speaking all land in the UK is ultimately owned by the Crown and the most that anyone else can have is called an estate in the land. “Estate in land” means the rights which a person has to control and use the land. An estate owner is often said to have ownership (proprietà) of the land but legal specialists prefer to use the term “tenure” to express the way people “hold” land.

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Transferor, Transferee, Transmittee

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Hello!

Transferor, Transferee and Transmittee are important words when speaking about the shares owned in a company. Make sure that the difference is clear to you.

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Tax evasion, tax mitigation and tax avoidance

Transcript:

Hello!

Today we look at the differences in meaning of tax evasion, tax mitigation, and tax avoidance.

Tax Evasion is an illegal way of escaping (sottrarsi al) tax payment. It is the deliberate hiding (occultamento) or non declaration of information from the tax authority. It is unlawful and usually a criminal offense (reato) in most jurisdictions. The verb is “to evade taxes” and it has a criminal connotation.

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Numbers

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Hello!

Let’s look at some ways to deal with numbers in English.

Writing numbers:

• Numbers from 1 to 10 are often written as words, e.g.: three people; seven files;
• Numbers from 11 on are almost always written al numbers, e.g.: 27 clients; 350 members.

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Ordinary resolutions vs special resolutions

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When companies hold general meetings, they pass resolutions (approvare delibere). Remember, companies can hold two types of general meetings: The Annual General Meeting once a year, while any other general meeting for urgent business is called an Extraordinary General Meeting (See Peter’s Pills 29). There can be two types of resolutions passed at any general meeting: ordinary resolutions or special resolutions.

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AGM vs EGM

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There are two types of General Meetings that companies have. Students of Legal English should take great care with these two concepts as they may be very different from meetings in your jurisdiction. Continua a leggere →

A going concern

Transcript:

Hello!

In Company Law we use the expression “a going concern” to refer to a business entity (entità imprenditoriale) that we believe will continue to operate into the foreseeable future without the need for intervention of the court or of management to liquidate the entity or to significantly reduce its operational activities.

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Company meeting words

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Hello!

Today we will have a test of company meeting words. In order to this mini test, you will have to stop the video and get a pen and paper to write down your answers. Stop the video now and get ready with your pen and paper. If you are ready, start the company meeting multiple choice test now.

Test

1. What do we call a proposal that someone would like to discuss at a company meeting?

(A) A motion
(B) An emotion
(C) A resolution
(D) A movement
(E) A and C
(F) C and D

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Mortgagor vs. mortgagee

Transcript:

Hello!

In Legal English you will come across many nouns that have the same roots but are two opposites. The first one will end with the suffix “-er” or “-or”, while the second will end with the suffix “-ee”.. Continua a leggere →

Fixed charges vs Floating charges

Transcript:

Hello!

Today we look at the difference between fixed charges and floating charges, but first of all we need to understand what a charge is. Continua a leggere →