A:

Abatement    :         reduction in some amount that is owed, usually granted by the person to whom the debt is owed.

 Abbacinare  :         A barbaric form of corporal punishment meted out in the middle ages where persons would be permanently blinded by the pressing of hot irons to the open eyes.

 Abduction     :         To take someone away from a place without that person's consent or by fraud.

 Abet              :         The act of encouraging or inciting another to do a certain thing, such as a crime.

 Ab initio       :          Latin: from the start; from the beginning.

Absolute      :           Final, perfected, complete and unconditional.

Absolute Privilege:        An absolute defence to an otherwise defamatory statement because of the venue or context which the statement was made.

Acceleration clause:    A clause in a contract that states that if a payment is missed, or some other default occurs (such as the debtor becoming insolvent), then the contract is fully due immediately.

Acceptance :    One of three requisites to a valid contract under common law (the other two being an offer and consideration).

Accord and Satisfaction: A term of contract law by which one party, having complied with its obligation under a contract, accepts some type of compensation from the other party (usually money and of a lesser value) in lieu of enforcing the contract and holding the other party to their obligation.

Accretion        :        The imperceptible and gradual addition to land by the slow action of water.

Acquiescence:        Action or inaction which binds a person legally even though it was not intended as such.

Acquittal        :        A decision by a judge that a person accused of a crime is not guilty.

Act                 :        A bill which has passed through the various legislative steps required for it and which has become law

Act of God    :     An event which is caused solely by the effect of nature or natural causes and without any interference by humans whatsoever.

Actus reus    :     the prohibited act.

Actus reus non facit reum nisi mens sit rea:        Conviction of a crime requires proof of a criminal act and intent.

Ad colligendum bona:    When a person dies and there is no apparent executor or administrator, a person can be appointed by Court order and for the limited and sole purpose of collecting, inventorizing and preserving the assets of the deceased until an appropriate full-fledged administrator can be found or appointed. 

Ad damnum    :    Latin: refers to the parts or sections of a petition that speaks to the damages that were suffered and claimed by the plaintiff. The ad damnum part of a petition will usually suggest an amount in dollars that the plaintiff asks the court to award.

Addendum      :    An attachment to a written document.

Ademption     :    When property identified in a will cannot be given to the beneficiary because it no longer belonged to the deceased at the time of death.

Adhesion contract:A fine-print consumer form contract which is generally given to consumers at point-of-sale, with no opportunity for negotiation as to it's terms, and which, typically, sets out the terms and conditions of the sale, usually to the advantage of the seller. 

Ad hoc        :       Latin: for this purpose; for a specific purpose. 

Ad infinitum:       Latin: forever; without limit; indefinitely. 

Ad litem:               Latin: for the suit 

Administrative law:    Administrative law is that body of law which applies for hearings before quasi-judicial or quasi-judicial organizations or administrative tribunals supplement the rules of natural justice with their own detailed rules of procedure. 

Administrative tribunal:    Hybrid adjudicating authorities which straddle the line between government and the courts. 

Administrator:   A person who administers the estate of a person deceased. 

Admiralty       : Law or judicial body having to do with, or jurisdiction over, shipping and use of the sea. 

Adoption        : To take as one's own.

ADR                :  Abbreviation for alternative dispute resolution. 

Adultery        : Voluntary sexual intercourse between a married person and another person who is not their married spouse. 

Adverse possession:  The possession of land, without legal title, for a period of time sufficient to become recognized as legal owner.

Adverse Witness: The right of a party calling a witness to show that the witness made a prior inconsistent statement. 

Affidavit        :  A statement which before being signed, the person signing takes an oath that the contents are, to the best of their knowledge, true. 

Affirmative Action:  A reverse discrimination law, program or activity that has as its object the amelioration of conditions of individuals who are socially or economically disadvantaged. 

Affray          :  A fight between two or more persons in a public place so as to cause terror to the public. 

Affreightment: A transportation contract whereby a transportation company, shipowner or operator agrees to carry goods in return for a sum of money, the sum being paid called freight.

Agency Law: The law of agents and their principals as between themselves and third-parties. 

Agent        :    A person who has received the power to act on behalf of another, binding that other person as if he or she were themselves making the decisions.

Age of Majority: An age generally specified by statute, at which time, upon an individual is given the full gamut of legal rights and responsibilities generally available to an adult of sound mind. 

Aggravated damages: Damages awarded by a court to reflect the exceptional harm done to a plaintiff of a tort action. 

Alibi    :    An alibi is the plea or mode of defense under which a person on trial for a crime proves or attempts to prove that he was in another place when the alleged act was committed; as, to set up an alibi; to prove an alibi. The Criminal Law Deskbook of Criminal Procedure states: "Alibi is different from all of the other defenses...it is based upon the premise that the defendant is truly innocent.". In the Latin language "alibi" means "somewhere else."

Alimony    :     An amount given to one spouse to another while they are separated. 

Alliance    :  A military treaty between two or more states, providing for a mutually-planned offensive, or for assistance in the case of attack on any member. 

Alien         :An individual citizen of a state but so characterized by and while in transit, working, residing or otherwise in the territory of another state.

Alienate  :   To sell or give completely and without reserve; to transfer title to somebody else. 

Allodial    :   A kind of land ownership that is unfetterred, outright and absolute. 

Allonge    : A piece of paper which has been attached to a contract, a check or any promissory note, on which to add signatures because there is not enough room on the main document. 

Alternative dispute resolution: Also known as 'ADR'; methods by which legal conflicts and disputes are resolved privately and other than through litigation in the public courts, usually through one of two forms: mediation or arbitration.

Amalgamation: The merging of two things together to form one such as the amalgamation of different companies to form a single company.

Ambassador: A citizen that has been officially asked by their country to live in another country in order to legally represent it. 

Ambulatory: something which is not cast in stone; which can be changed or revoked, such as a will.  

Amend

To change, to revise, usually to the wording of a written document such as legislation. - (see definition)

Amicus curiae:    Latin: friend of the court. - 

Anarchy          :    Absence of law. 

Ancillary Relief: Secondary relief claimed by a litigant which is subordinate or subservient to a principal claim. 

And/Or :        And/or means any combination of two options; one, the other (either), or both. 

Animus contrahendi: Latin: an intention to contract. 

Annulment:   To make void; to cancel an event or judicial proceeding both retroactively and for the future. 

Antedate:    To date back; retroactively. To date a document to a time before it was written. 

Antenuptial: An event or document which pre-dates a marriage. 

Anti-trust:     (USA) 'Anti-trust' legislation is designed to prevent businesses from price-setting or other secret collaboration which circumvents the natural forces of a free market economy and gives those engaging in the anti-trust conduct, a covert competitive edge. 

Apostacy    :    The ancient criminal offence of not being Christian or atheism. 

Appeal        :     To ask a more senior court or person to review a decision of a subordinate court or person. 

Appearance: The act of showing up in court as either plaintiff, defendant, accused or any other party to a civil or criminal suit.

Apportionment:The division and distribution of something into proportionate parts; to each according to their share. 

Appurtenance: Something that, although detached, stands as part of another thing. 

Arbitration: An agreement to submit a dispute for a hearing and binding decision by a third-party, an arbitrator(s), who is neither a judge or a Court 

Armchair Rule:  A rule of interpretation that a judge, called upon to interpret an otherwise unclear legal document, shall take into account the circumstances in which the document was created. 

Arraignment:In USA criminal law, the formal appearance of an accused person to hear, and to receive a copy of, the charge against him or her, in the presence of a judge, and to then enter a plea of guilty or not guilty. 

Arrears : A debt that is not paid on the due date adds up and accumulates as 'arrears'. 

Arson   :  Some countries define 'arson' as the intentional setting of a fire to a building in which people live; others include as 'arson' the intentionally setting of a fire to any building. 

Assault   :  The touching of another person with an intent to harm, without that person's consent. 

Assign    :   To give, to transfer responsibility, to another. 

Association: A form of organizational structure which is institutionally operated on a cost recovery basis, for which incorporation is extended by the government or, in some jurisdictions, as an unincorporated association of individuals, for a set of purposes set out in statute such as religious, scientific, social, literary, educational, recreational or benevolent purposes, and generally operated as nearly as possible at cost.  

Assumpsit : Medieval era action for breach of contract. 

Attorn or Attornment: To consent, implicitly or explicitly, to a transfer of a right. 

Attorney :  An alternate word for lawyers or barrister and solicitor, used mostly in the USA. 

Audi alteram partem    :    Latin; literally 'hear the other side'. - 

Autrefois acquit:  French word now part of English criminal law terminology. 

A vinculo matrimonii: Latin: of marriage. 

Avulsion      :     Land accretion that occurs by the erosion or addition of one’s land by the sudden and unexpected change in a river stream such as a flash flood. 

Avunculus:    Latin: a mother's brother. 'Avuncular' refers to an uncle.