Hi, my name is Elizabeth Douville and I live in Rosemere. I am currently studying in Pure and Applied Science, but I want to change my program to study in law which is why I made my glossary about this field of study. I made this glossary to help the students who might want to study in law to be able to understand the main terms that are used in this field of study. Most of the definitions that I put in my glossary are also important for later, when you become a lawyer or even a judge. I hope this will help.
advocate
noun
A person who publicly supports or recommends a particular cause or policy.
Example: Non-Government Organisations: - Youth advocate Program International, 'The United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child - Issue Summary'.
fr: avocat
attorney
noun
A man of the law.
Example: Huntley and Costanzo (2003) asked jurors systematic questions of their interpretations of the evidence after each attorney had presented their case.
fr: avocat
Bar
noun
The place where witnesses are called to take the oath.
Example: The witness was called to come at the Bar.
fr: Barre
barrister
noun
A lawyer entitled to practice as an advocate, particularly in the higher courts.
Example: The barrister's World and the Nature of Law, Open University Press, 1992 Roberts and Zuckerman: Oral Witness Testimony ex Criminal Evidence, Paul, Oxford University Press, 2004 The Inquest as a Theatre for Police Tragedy, Journal of Law and Society, Volume 12, 1985 Internet Resources Bar Standards Board Code of Conduct, 8th Edition, 2004 Wikiquote - Benjamin Disraeli Cases Cain (1936) 25 Cr.
fr: avocat
charter
noun
A Charter is a legal act signed by several actors.
Example: "Accountability for Human Rights Atrocities in International Law', Ratner & Abrams, 2nd ed., 2001, OUP, p.7 see supra note 5, p. 27 Pursuant to a request of the UN General Assembly on 21 Nov 1947, (res. 177 II), "Formulation of the Principles Recognised at in the charter of the Nuremburg Tribunal".
fr: charte
civil law
noun
The system of law concerned with private relations between members of a community rather than criminal, military, or religious affairs.
Example: The fact that immunity or reduction in respect of fines is granted cannot protect an undertaking from the civil law consequences of its participation in an infringement of Article 81 EC' Commission notice on immunity from fines and reduction of fines in cartel cases (2002 C 45 03) Therefore, 'a third party injured by the cartels actions may commence civil proceedings' against that undertaking before their own national courts and plaintiffs may also 'rely on evidence drawn from the commission in their plea.".
fr: droit civil
Counsel
noun
The lawyer or lawyers conducting a case.
Example: Another argument used by the counsel for the appellant's was that the words 'for purposes related to' in s64(1A) could mean other uses apart from those stipulated within the same section.
fr: Conseil
defend
verb
Conduct the case for (the party being accused or sued) in a lawsuit.
Example: ASBO's avoid Article 6 ECHR as it is not a criminal procedure), opportunities for the defendant to defend themselves (e.g. question hearsay evidence) and the very concept of blurring criminal and civil boundaries.
fr: défendre
executive
adjective
The type of power the law exercises.
Example: This goes against the separation of powers between the executive and the Judiciary.
fr: exécutif
judge
noun
A public official appointed to decide cases in a court of law.
Example: The judge felt his authority was restricted to committals for contempts made in the face of the court.
fr: juge
justice
noun
Defined by equality and fairness.
Example: A literal reading of s.118 was not taken to conflict with the intention of providing the county court with the jurisdiction to protect its witnesses and hence ensure justice within its proceedings.
fr: justice
law
noun
The system of rules which a particular country or community recognizes as regulating the actions of its members and which it may enforce by the imposition of penalties.
Example: It is important to respect the law.
fr: loi
lawyer
noun
A person who practices or studies law; an attorney or a counselor.
Example: This lawyer will defend our case.
fr: avocat
notary
noun
A person authorized to perform certain legal formalities, especially to draw up or certify contracts, deeds, and other documents for use in other jurisdictions.
Example: Voltaire was the son of a notary.
fr: notaire
oath
noun
A solemn promise, often invoking a divine witness, regarding one's future action or behavior.
Example: Similarly it may be argued that clinicians, bound by the Hippocratic oath, are in no better a position to look beyond the individual injustice of the case at hand.
fr: serment
public
noun
People attending the trial.
Example: He then stresses on the facts that fingerprints and samples have limited purpose, are useless unless have fingerprints from crime area for comparison, cannot be made public, and interference with private life is minimal in comparison with the advantages of a large database in the fight against crime.
Thus, Lord Steyn.
fr: public
rights
noun
What legally belongs to everyone.
Example: The Judges while formulating the ratio decidendi focus on the uniform interpretation of Convention rights and advantages of DNA samples as a form of evidence along with their role in facilitating the detection and prevention of criminal activities.
fr: droits
solicitor
noun
The chief law officer of a city, town, or government department.
Example: And later, in a letter to his solicitor he claimed that he had erred and that he held a part of the 50% of his share on trust for his wife.
fr: solliciteur
trial
noun
Event where someone is found guilty or not guilty of a crime.
Example: In his interpretation of the statute, the trial judge was guided by the general presumptions against deprivation of liberty and alteration of the common law [2].
fr: procès
witness
noun
A person who sees an event, typically a crime or accident, take place.
Example: The contempt occurred when the witness was returning from the court.
