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Legal explanations - Law terms Category: Legal Date & country: 25/02/2010, SG Words: 2570

Loss Of Consortium
(n) Loss of Consortium is the loss or deprive of the capability to sexually satisfy the other spouse, arise out of an event or accident leading to such a situation. A spouse is bed-ridden from an accident, then the other spouse can claim damages for his loss of sexual satisfaction as a consequential loss of accident.

Loss Of Use
(n) Loss of Use is the loss on account of deprive in using an article, property, vehicles etc in consequence of a damage or failure or other problems caused to them, arise out of a wrong doing by a person

Lower Court
(n) (n) Lower court is the subordinate court of the Appeals court, the decision of which can be re-opened, re-examined or set aside by the Upper Court. An Appeals or higher Court can be the Lower court of some Upper Court.

Lying In Wait
Hiding awaiting the chance to attack someone.

M. O.
(n) M.O is used to represent 'Modus Operandi' of any operation or actions showing the pattern in which the action or operation is executed. It is used to identify the wrong doers

M'Naughten Rule
(n) M'Naughten Rule provides the test of legal sanity of the person involved in a wrongful activity to find whether he can distinguish between the right or wrong and to judge whether he has done any crime or not

Magistrate
(n) Magistrate is the person authorized to perform the duties of the judge in a court, place of judicial authority or judicial functions specially entrusted on them. In certain statues the administrative executives of a province are also considered as magistrate

Magna Carta
(n) 'Magna Carta' is document accepted by King John of England on June 15, 1215 which contains a series of laws establishing the rights of English barons and major landowners thereby limiting the authority of the King. The Latin word which means 'great charter' is then used as a synonyms of all written citizen's rights and as foundation stones of s...

Mail Box Rule
(n) Mail Box Rule is the provision which acknowledges the delivery of a document as done with in the specified date if it is sent in the mail with postage within that date, unless the contrary is specifically required in that particular case. By Mail Box Rule, a document will be treated as promptly served, if it posted in the mail box within the ti...

Mail Or Telephone Order Rule
"A law that requires companies to ship products within a specified time frame that was advertised. If a shipping time was not provided, then the shipping time is assumed to be thirty days.

Maim
(v) Maim is the inflicting of severe bodily harm to a person by an aggravated assault resulting in injury, mutilation or incapability to do physical functions.

Majority
(n) Majority is the stage or position by which a person or a group of person attains or acquires the capability or a right to perform a legally binding Act. An individual become competent to do a legally binding Act when he attains certain age limit. A majority holding of right legitimate a person to do functions binding the group.

Make
(v) Make is the action by which a new article, right, obligations erstwhile not existing is put in to existence. Eg. Make a will, Make a promise, make a product.

Make One Whole
(v) Make one Whole is the action by which the value of a damaged property is brought back to the original state by compensating the damage or loss occurred to the property or article by his or her fault

Maker
(v) Maker is the person who creates a new article, right, obligations etc erstwhile not existing. Eg. Maker of a will, Maker of a cheque, Maker of a promise, maker of a product.

Malfeasance
(n) Malfeasance is the act of doing something which one should not do or which one is prohibited from doing by a legal or moral obligation, with an intention to do wrong. Eg. Marking attendance without presenting in the office

Malice
We are currently updating our definition for Malice. We hope to have the definition for Malice available within the next few weeks. Please visit us soon

Malice Aforethought
(n) Malice Afterthought is the intention to kill, or assassinate or otherwise inflict sever bodily harm to some person with full consciousness and presence of mind, while doing a wrongful act .Eg. Carrying a loaded gun to stop resistance by killing the opponents while looting a palace.

Malicious Prosecution
(n) Malicious prosecutions is the intended filing of lawsuits, without adequate reason or substances, with sole intention to create problem to the responded. All malicious activities are punitive and the defendant can claim damages if malice intention is established

Malpractice
(n) Malpractice is engaging in some activities or involving in some procedure which are not normally expected from them as a prudent and professionally accepted method. The person doing malpractice is liable for damages. Eg. the attorney pass on the secrete information to the opposite advocate amounts to a malpractice

Malum In Se
(n) Malum In Se are the activities which are wrong by its very nature which does not require any specific detailing or definition in the law to consider them as a crime. Malum In se are the acts which apparently violates the human rights as murder, rape of minors etc. The Latin word (mal-uhm in say) means 'wrong in itself'.

Malum Prohibitum
(n) Malum Prohibitum are the activities which are considered as crime by their specific introduction or defining in the statute as a crime. For example white collar crimes are not an apparent crime by its nature if we evaluate it with our conventional yardstick of identifying a criminal activity. But it is crime by Malum Prohibitum.

Mandamus
(n) Mandamus is the writ directing a government body, office, agency or authority to adhere to the requirements of the legal provisions which they are bound to follow. Eg. Non-declaring the election schedules when the present term is completed.

Mandate
(n) Mandate is the awarding or assigning of authority to do certain acts or activities for which such mandate is issued.Eg.(1) Mandate issued by appeal court to trial curt to hold new trial. Mandate of the voters to select new body

Mandatory
(adj) Mandatory is the specific requirements which are obligatory on the part of the person to whom such conditions are stipulated. Eg. A mandatory 14 days time need to be given when a shaw cause notice is served.

Mandatory Injunction
We are currently updating our definition for Mandatory Injunction. We hope to have the definition for Mandatory Injunction available within the next few weeks. Please visit us soon

Mandatory Joinder
(n) Mandatory jointer is the order issued by the court to include a person or entity as a party of the law suit when it appears to the court that such an inclusion may better resolve the issues involved in that Law suit

Manifest
(adj) Manifest is the process by which the information, idea, contents, communications are made explicitly apparent to all individuals concerned in them

Mann Act
(n) Mann Act is the statute containing legal provisions connected with state crossing of women, under aged girls or boys for adultery or love-nesting. Mann Act provides punishment up to five years for crimes included in that Act.

Manslaughter
(n) Manslaughter is the killing or cause to death of a person without a pre-meditation or intention to kill or cause death, whether voluntarily or otherwise. In Man slaughter there is no intention or pre-plan to kill but killing or death occurred due to an impulsive act or a careless act. Eg. 1) Killing wife out of a sudden rage when she was found ...

Marital Deduction
(n) Marital Deduction is the provision contained in the estate duty permitting the surviving spouse to get 50% deduction on the estate duty on the estate value of the deceased person.

Marital Property
The property or income that was acquired during marriage and therefore considered to be owned by both spouses equally. Not recognized in all states

Marital Rights
(n) Marital right is the right of a husband to have normal sexual relations with his wife and a general control of management of the household activities.

Maritime Law
(n) Maritime law is the law that governs the activities involved while they are in navigable waters of that country. Usually Federal courts of the countries will have jurisdiction in dealing with Maritime Law

Mark
(n) Mark is the identification made on any document, article, properties etc to prove the concurrence and awareness expected of the of the person who had made the marks.

Marked For Identification
(adj) Marked for identification is used to qualify the documents, testimony, evidence etc presented during a trial as verified for its authenticity and relevance.

Market Value
(n) Market price is the value of a property or article , which it will fetch if sold then, under the circumstances and conditions prevailing in the market. Market value is the normal price a good may get when external influence affecting the salability is not existing.

Marketable Title
(n) A Marketable title is the right on a property, with out any encumbrance like lien, mortgages etc, which can be freely sold or otherwise transferred for a price

Marriage
(n) Marriage is the entering of a formal relationship between a male and female with an intention to live as husband and wife as per the custom existing in the society or the law prevailing in the land

Marriage Certificate
Official document that attests that a marriage occurred

Marriage License
Official document that enables a man and woman to be married

Marshal
(n) Marshal is the law enforcement officer authorized to serve official documents and orders containing court orders or court ordered actions. Marshal is also appointed to deal the property under the will of a deceased person or the bankrupted person.

Martial Law
(n) Martial Law is the law prevailing in the land, when it is subjected to military activities or when it is under a military rule arising out of a situation like war, calamities, disasters, emergencies etc. In Military rule constitutional or fundamental rights of the citizens are temporarily withdrawn and commanders or head of the rule acquire dic...

Massachusetts Trust
Massachusetts Trust is the trust formed by shareholders of a business entity by transferring their right in the business to the trust in lieu of a certificate form the trust, authorizing the trust so formed to participate in the management of the business on behalf of them . A massachusetts trust is similar to a limited partnership such that the ma...

Master
(n) Master is the employer, or the expert who is responsible for all the actions of the person employed by him or assisting him by virtue of his authority, while doing such acts entrusted to them

Master And Servant
(n) Master And Servant is the relationship between two individuals or entities by which one is responsible for the action of the other while the latter is carrying the directions of the former.

Material
(adj) The term 'Material' is used to denote the significance or relevance of any article, action or value with respect to the population of the article, effects of the action or total value involved to have an effect on the outcome

Material Representation
(n) Material representation is the statements, information or explanation given to a person to persuade him in taking a decision which he otherwise would not have taken. This is an external influence to make an agreement or contract as void

Material Witness
(n) Material witness is the person who can give worthy information or significant evidence about the subject matter of the law suit, which have important bearing on the outcome of the trial. Eg. Eye witness of the incident.

Matter Of Record
(n) Matter of record is the documented proceeding in a law suit consisting of recordings by the court clerk, testimony, evidence, arguments, ruling etc connected with the suit. Matter of records are documents forming part of the legal process

Maturity
(n) Maturity is the reaching of the specified time or point to convert a process, obligation, provision, ability etc ripe for execution or existence. Eg. Maturity date for return of deposit. Eg. Maturity age for entering in to valid contract

Maxims
(n) Maxims are the clichés, formula, or line of believes used as a thumb rule by the judges and attorneys to reach a conclusion based on the existing circumstances or evidences. Eg of Maxims are "He who takes the benefit must bear the burden." "Between rights otherwise equal, the earliest is preferred." "No man is re...

May
We are currently updating our definition for May. We hope to have the definition for May available within the next few weeks. Please visit us soon

Mayhem
(n) Mayhem is the act of disfigurement or defacement inflicted on a person by an intentional act or on a fight with such person. Mayhem is also termed as aggravated assault .

Mcnabb-Mallory Rule
(n) Mcnabb-Mallory Rule protect a defended from using the discriminatory statement made by them when they are held in custody beyond the legally accepted period of custody. Now the courts allow presence of personnel lawyer while questioning or permit the accused to keep silent, hence the rule is seldom operative

McNaghten Rule
(n) McNaghteen Rule applies to a person who cannot identify or understand the right or wrong classification of an event or action while doing an act involving crime, showing the insanity of their mind at the time of crime

Mechanic's Lien
(n) Mechanic's lien is the right of the contractor, craftsman, architect etc to have a lien on the property or materials connected to the work lying with him, to use them to recover the payment for his services.

Mediation
(n) Mediation is the process of settling a dispute by intervention of a third party, to reach an amicable solution for the dispute, considering the stance and validity of claims of the parties, extend up to which each of the party is ready to oblige or compromise etc. Mediator do not have judicial authority of an arbitrator as the process is a conc...

Mediator
(n) Mediator is the person who intervene in a dispute between two parties, to reach an amicable solution for the dispute, considering the stance and validity of claims of the parties, extend up to which each of the party is ready to compromise or accept. It is a voluntary activity with or without a request from the parties, the success depends on t...

Medicaid
State government run federal program that provides health care for individuals with low-income

Medicare
Federal program that makes health insurance programs available to people over the age of 65 and disabled persons who qualify. Medicare Part A provides hospital insurance and Medicare Part B provides medical insurance

Meet And Confer
(n) Meet And Confer is the phrase used to represent the meeting of lawyers to discuss the issues related to the Law suit, points of conflict, motions proposed etc to appraise the parties about their position so as to avoid unwanted arguments and lengthy legal procedures.

Meeting Of Creditors
Meeting where a bankruptcy trustee's studies the debtor's filing for bankruptcy and questions the debtor under oath. All of the debtor's creditors are invited to attend the meeting and can ask questions, although they rarely attend

Meeting Of The Minds
(n) The phrase 'Meeting of the mind' is used to represent the state of mind of the parties that the parties involved are thinking and understanding a situation, provision or stipulations etc in the correct and similar meaning.

Memorandum
(n) Memorandum is the written statement containing the particulars about which such document are prepared, in a summarized way for communication of the information in a clear and distinctive method. Eg. Memorandum of requests submitted by the union.

Memorandum Decision
Summarization of a court case's results

Mens Rea
(n) Mens Rea is the guilty state of mind of the accused person while doing or planning to do the guilt or criminal activity.

Mental Anguish
(n) Mental Anguish is the mental suffering like fear, anxiety, depression, grief etc faced by a person during an event, period , action or situation. A person can claim damages for mental anguish if it was logically connected to the incident. Eg. Seeing the killing of a loved one.

Mental Competency
(n) Mental competency is the measure of mental ability of a person to do any act enter in to any contract with required presence of mind. An agreement is void if it is executed with an external influence like coercion, threatening, lunacy, affects of alcohol, narcotics etc, on any of the parties. So mental competency means the state of mind without...

Mental Cruelty
(n) Mental cruelty is the action by which a person inflicts mental harassment on the other by directly or indirectly attacking his or her self esteem, pride, honor, privacy social status etc. Such cruelty happens when the persons involved are connected by a relationship like marriage, employee and employer, Master and servant etc. Eg. When the boss...

Mental Suffering
(n) Mental suffering is the feeling of hurt occurred to a person when his pride, honor, privacy social status etc are attacked or otherwise affected. Example 1) scolding in public 2) Asking to do an act which is contradictory to his believes.

Mercantile Law
(n) Mercantile law is the section of law which deals with commercial activities like contracts, sale of goods, Trade practices, transportation etc.

Merchantable
(adj) Merchantable is the classification of goods or articles which can be sold or otherwise transferred for a consideration through a generally accepted sales practice. Merchandisable implies that the goods are ready for sale.

Merger
(n) Merger is the process by which one corporation or business entity unifies its activities into that of another corporation or business activity where by its operations are continued as that of the merged corporation or business entity.

Mesne
(adj) Mesne (pronounced as mean) is used to qualify a situation in between the two extreme positions. Mense profit is used to represent average profit

Mesne Profits
(n) Mesne profit are the averaged or assumed profit expected to be received by a person in possession of the property. Mesne profit is worked out when a claim is forwarded to recover the accruals from a property illegitimately held by a person. Eg. If a person wrongly hold a property mesne profit is used to refer the profit arises out of that prope...

Metes And Bounds
We are currently updating our definition for Metes And Bounds. We hope to have the definition for Metes And Bounds available within the next few weeks. Please visit us soon

Military Law
(n) Military law is the law, rules and regulations that governs military personnel's in barracks and special regulations and orders issued to military staff in actions, military operations or such other situations.

Mineral Rights
A claim to the legal rights to the minerals contained in a piece of land

Mining Claim
(n) Mining claim is the right to excavate the metal ore or minerals available in the identified landed property for the specified period

Ministerial Act
(n) Ministerial Act is the execution or implementation of any statute, directions, instructions, procedures etc which one person is authorized or instructed to carryout without any arbitrary authority or personnel decision making.

Minor
(n) A minor is the person who has not attained the age fixed for entering in to a legal contract or for making himself legally liable for his actions. The age of majority is generally accepted as 18 years except for certain specific instances like marriage, consumption of alcohol etc

Minority
(n) Minority is the group of persons in a population which cannot muster enough votes or voting rights as a group to control the affaires of that population. A minority is a relative term with respect to that particular population. A minority at one place can very well become a majority in another place or it can even change from case to case withi...

Minutes
(n) Minutes is the written record of the proceedings of any meeting of an association of persons, legal authority constituted for any special purpose recorded by the secretary and authenticated by the chairman with or without the consent of all the members present in that meeting or proceedings.

Miranda Warning
(n) Doctrine of Miranda warning pre-supposes the rights of a person before he or she is subjected to arrest or interrogation, like right to remain silent, right to legal counsel and right to be informed that his/her statement will be used against him/her in the court. This rights were derived from the US supreme court ruling in Miranda v. Arizona (...

Mirror Wills
(n) Mirror Wills are the term used to compare two separate wills executed by the spouses naming the other spouse as the executor

Misadventure
(n) Misadventure is an action done in good faith, without criminal negligence or violation of the law of land but which has resulted in an unanticipated accident or loss to any party. Here the accident occurs without any criminal negligence but as an act of God. Eg. Injury cased to participants while ropewalking due to an unexpected wind.

Misappropriation
(n) Misappropriation is the wrong application or utilization of funds allocated for any specific purposes, by illegally diverting the money, forging the documents or otherwise misleading the beneficiaries and owners of the fund. Misappropriation is a felony crime punishable by imprisonment

Misdemeanor
(n) Misdemeanor is the lower degree crimes like petty theft, simple assaults, driving with alcohol, traffic violations, public nuisance etc, which dose not warranty severe action and punishments but are dealt with fine and punishment for smaller term.

Misfeasance
(n) Misfeasance is the unintended, accidental errors, mistakes taken place while managing the business, office or other responsibilities entrusted on a person, causing loss or damage or unfortunate situations out of such mistakes. A misfeasance become a malfeasance when the act was performed with an intention to cause loss.

Misjoinder
(n) Misjoinder is the combining of various parties with diversified interest, causes with unrelated actions, agreements and contracts that are unrelated etc into a single law suit. A misjoinder is against the statute but resorted when defendants are involved in multiple allegation to show the gravity of their actions.

Misnomer
(n) Misnomer is a wrong name affixed or assigned to an entity, group, association, article , product, actions etc especially when they are classified by its functional structure.

Misprision Of A Felony
(n) Misprision Of A Felony is the concealment of felonies or crimes from the law enforcement authorities by hiding the facts, misrepresenting, suppressing or destroying of evidences etc. Misprision Of A Felony is a wrong activity stopping the enforcement of law hence it is considered as a crime

Misrepresentation
(n) Misrepresentation is the wrongful presentation of facts with an intention to mislead a person, or authority there by drawing undue advantage from him or them ,which he is not otherwise eligible. Ex. Collecting donation in the pretext of charity.

Mistake
(n) Mistake is the wrong acceptance of the meaning of a word, statement, facts, law etc by a misinterpretation of its meaning, oversight, confusion, incapability etc . Occurrence of a mistake can be corrected later by the parties involved as mistake cannot be treated as the intention, the essence of any dealing.

Mistrial
(n) Mistrial is the declaration by a judge terminating or otherwise discontinuing the trial for any reasons by which the trial could not be continued in that court. Mistrial is ordered when the court fail to conclude the case within the allotted time, procedural errors, prejudication buy judge, attorney etc.

Mitigating Circumstances
(n) Mitigating Circumstances are the situations or conditions which compelled or influenced a person in doing a crime. Though such situations does not absolve the liability or relives the accused, it influence the judge while ordering the punishment. Eg of mitigating circumstances are killing a person who continuously molest the culprits girlfriend...

Mitigation Of Damages
(n) Mitigation of Damages is the responsibility of the sufferer of a crime, misdoing or accident to take steps to stop or reduce further or consequential loss which may occur to them as a result of the crime, accident or wrongdoing to which he was subjected. Eg. In an accident, one is expected to secure the salvaged goods saving them from further l...

Modification
(n) Modification is the altering of an existing document, order, statement etc warranted because of a change in circumstances or unearthing of any errors in the original which requires alteration to show the correct intention.

Modus Operandi
(n) Modus Operandi is the pattern in which an action or operation is executed by a person or entity as a matter of habits, traits or procedures. Modus operandi of crime or activity helps to identify the culprit or the person behind such crime or activity as most of the individuals have their own way of doing things. The Latin Word (mode-us ah-purr-...