Glossary

ACAS
Advisory Conciliation and Arbitration...
Abandonware
Software which is no longer being maintained, released or supported by the...
Abet
To counsel, procure or command someone to commit a...
Absolute Discharge
This is when a court takes no further action against an offender, although their offence and discharge will appear on their criminal...
Absolute Interest
The entitlement to the item of property which is not limited by any other person’s...
Abstract of Title
This is a summary of all legal documents which relate to a...
Abuse of Process
This is "something so unfair and wrong that the court should not allow a prosecutor to proceed with what is in all other respect a regular proceeding" (Hui Chi-Ming v...
Acceptance
The unconditional agreement to an...
Accused
The person who has allegedly committed a criminal...
Acknowledgement of service
This must be filed by a defendant if they are unable to file their defence within a specified period or if they wish to dispute the jurisdiction of a...
Acoustic Shock
This is where a sudden burst of sound can temporarily or even permanently damage the eardrum and cause excruciating...
Acquisition
This is the purchase of one company by another without a merger...
Acquittal
The discharge of a defendant following a verdict or direction of "not...
Act
Act of Parliament - primary legislation enacted by...
Action
Proceedings issued in the County or High Court. (Now known as...
Actus Reus
The act of committing a...
Address for Service
This is where one party will accept the delivery or service of legal...
Adjournment
The temporary suspension of the hearing of a...
Adjudication
Judgment or decision in a...
Administration order
This is a court order which requires a debtor to pay money to the court, which then distributes it amongst any...
Administrative Court
Part of the High Court which deals with Judicial...
Administrator
A person appointed by the Court to manage the estate of a deceased...
Admissible
(Evidence) which is allowed to be used in a...
Adoption Order
The court order when a child is...
Adversarial
The system of justice used in British courts for trying to get at the truth, based upon argument between two...
Adverse Possession
This is the process which results in the acquisition of legal title of land, without actually paying for...
Advocate
Someone (generally a Barrister or Solicitor) who represents a party in a Court...
Affidavit
A written statement which is confirmed on oath or by...
Affirm
Alternative to swearing a document on oath to promise that it is...
Agency Agreement
This is an agreement which allows one party (the Agent) to sell products (goods or services) on behalf of another (the Principal) in return for commission...
Agent
Someone who is appointed to act on behalf of another party, the...
Allocation questionnaire
This is issued to all parties after a defence has been filed, and is used to decide which track the case will be allocated...
Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR)
This is the collective term for the ways in which parties can settle civil disputes without the need for a formal court...
Ambulatory Will
A will which can still be changed because the settlor is...
Annual General Meeting (AGM)
A company must hold a meeting of shareholders once each calendar...
Annul
To declare no longer...
Anton Piller Order
This requires a defendant to allow a claimant’s solicitors to search the defendant's premises and remove all items covered by the order. These are now known as Search...
Appeal
An application to a higher court for a review of the decision of a lower...
Appellant
Person who instigates an...
Applicant
The person who is bringing the proceedings to...
Arbitration
The process of using an independent third party, agreed by both sides, to settle disputes without going to...
Articles of Association
A document which is required to incorporate a UK...
Asbestosis
Exposure to cancer-causing asbestos (in the...
Assent
A formal document which is required when transferring ownership to a person who is entitled to the property following the death of the...
Assets
Any property or rights which do not inlclude land or interest in...
Assisted Person
A party to legal proceedings who is receiving legal...
Attachment of Earnings
An order which directs a Debtor's employer to regularly deduct an amount from their earnings for payment to the...
Author
The programmer (or their employer) of a software...
Authorised Share Capital
Shares which are available to be...
Award
The amount of damages assessed by a...
BSD Licence
Berkeley Software Distribution Licence - a type of Open Source software licence with few...
Bail
A Defendant's release from custody pending their next appearance in...
Bailiff
County Court Officer who can serve Court documents and execute...
Bankrupt
A debtor who, either upon voluntary petition or one invoked by their creditors, is judged legally...
Bankruptcy
The state of being...
Bankruptcy Search
A search on behalf of the lending insitution to ensure you are not bankrupt....
Bar
The body to which all Barristers...
Barrister
Legal professionals who have rights of audience before all...
Basic Charges
General charges incurred for legal...
Basic Disclosure
Some forms of employment require a Criminal Conviction Certificate, which will show all convictions held at national level which are not...
Bench Warrant
A warrant issued by a judge for a defendant who is missing which requires them to be arrested and brought before...
Beneficiary
A beneficiary is someone who stands to gain as a result of a bequest made in a will or who receives something from an...
Bequest
A gift of Chattels or Assets by...
Bill Of Indictment
A written statement of the charges against a defendant who is sent for trial to the Crown...
Bill of Costs
A detailed statement of a party's...
Binary
Executable program or a data...
Bind Over
A court order which requires a person to carry out some...
Bona Fide
In good...
Breach of Contract
This occurs when a party to a contract fails to abide by the agreed...
Breach of Employment Contract
The employer or employee act in contravention to the contract...
Break Clause
This is a clause which allows a tenant to end a lease at specific times during the period of the...
Brief
Written instructions and history of a case which is sent to a...
Bullying
This occurs when someone tries to intimidate, humiliate or undermine another...
Burden of Proof
The standard of proof which must be shown in order to win a...
Business Name
Sole Traders and Partnerships can either trade under their own names or have a separate name, known as a Business...
Calderbank Letter
This is a letter making an offer of settlement prior to the case going to hearing, similar to a Part 36...
Capital Gains Tax
A tax that is payable by individuals and Personal Representatives where they have made a financial gain on sale of an asset and sometimes when an asset is given away. Usually the taxpayer will be entitled to an annual exemption. The rate of tax varies...
Carbon Monoxide Poisoning
Some people have encountered problems with gas applicances on holiday - which can lead to illness and even...
Care Order
This is an order which places a child in the care of the local...
Carpal Tunnel Syndrome
This occurs, often in the workplace, when the median nerve, which runs from the forearm into the hand, becomes pressed or squeezed at the...
Case Number
A unique reference number which is allocated to each...
Caution
Warning given by a Police...
Caveat Emptor
This essentially means "buyer beware" - a principle which still stands in property...
Certificate of Title
This is a document which certifies the legal ownership of...
Chambers
Offices used by a barrister. Alternatively, a private Court from which the public are excluded in which a Judge may conduct certain...
Chancery Division
A section of the High Court, divided between Chancery Chambers and Bankruptcy and Companies...
Charge
Security for the payment of a debt upon sale of a...
Charge Certificate
see land certificate (below)...
Charging Order
This is a charge imposed by the court on the debtor's property to secure payment of the sum that is due and also An order directing that a charge be registered at the Land Registry on property owned by a...
Chattel
This refers to any property except freehold...
Chattels
This covers such items as personal effects furniture jewellery, motor cars etc...
Child Maintenance
Money due from a non-resident parent to the parent with whom the child...
Circuit Judge
Circuit judges must be lawyers who have held a 'right of audience' for at least ten years, and must also have served either part-time as a recorder on criminal cases or full-time as district judges on civil cases before they can be...
Civil
Matters concerning private rights as opposed to offences against the...
Civil Partner
A member of a same-sex...
Civil Procedure Rules
rules governing proceedings in the small claims, county and high courts...
Civil Procedure Rules
rules governing proceedings in the small claims, county and high courts...
Claim
Proceedings issued in the County or High Court. Previously known as an...
Claim Form
Form on which a Claim is issued (previously known as a...
Claimant
Person issuing a Claim (previously known as the...
Clean break
This is where financial matters are agreed by the parties in full and final settlement and there is no ongoing financial arrangement between them either in terms of income or...
Click-Wrap Licence
This is a licence for software either downloaded from a website or loaded from disk, where the licence terms are accepted on screen by following a "click to accept"...
Closed Source
Software which does not allow its code to be manipulated by...
Co-Respondent
A person joined as a party to...
Co-ownership
If more than one person buys a property then there has to be an agreement as to the percentage of ownership and what happens when either party dies unless the survivor of the co-owners is to take the property, the agreement is called the declaration of...
Co_habitation
Couples who are living together who are not married to each other...
Codicil
A codicil is an addition or amendment to an existing...
Coexistence Agreement
Trademark coexistence describes a situation in which two different enterprises use a similar or identical trademark to market a product or service without necessarily interfering with each other’s...
Collaborative Law
A form of dispute resolution in which family lawyers and their clients agree in writing to reach a settlement without court...
Collective Agreement
An agreement reached through negotiations between a trade union and an...
Comfort Letter
A document which is issued to back up an agreement but which does not have any contractual...
Commissioner of Oaths
Solicitors authorised by the Lord Chancellor to administer oaths and affirmations to a statement of...
Committal
The procedure of directing the case to the Crown Court to be dealt with, following examination by the Magistrates of a case involving an indictable or either way...
Committal Order
An order of the Court placing someone in...
Common Hold
A form of freehold land ownership, as an alternative to long leasehold...
Common Law
Law established by precedent from judicial...
Common Law Partner
A partner who you live with but to whom you are not...
Commons Registration Search
A search at the local authority to check that the property is not registered as common...
Community Punshment Order
A sentence which requires a young person to complete unpaid community work for a period of 40-240...
Community Rehabilitation Order
This is equivalent to a Supervision Order, but it's for young people aged...
Company Voluntary Agreement (CVA)
This is a deal between an insolvent company and its...
Compensation
Sum of money paid in respect of loss, breakage, hardship, inconvenience or personal...
Completion
When the buyer of a property becomes the new owner of the...
Compromise Agreement
This is an agreement which is entered into by an employee and employer, preventing an employee’s right to a claim against their...
Conciliation
This is where disputing parties attempt to reach an agreement out of...
Concurrent Sentance
A direction by a Court that a number of sentences of imprisonment should run at the same...
Concurrent User Licence
A software licence which depends upon the number of people who use the software at any one...
Concurrent Writ
This is a duplicate of an original...
Conditional Discharge
A discharge of a convicted defendant without sentence on condition that they do not re-offend within a specified period of...
Conditional Fee Agreements
See No Win No...
Conditions
Conditions form the basis of a contract - if one of them fails or is broken, the contract is...
Conduct Money
Money paid to a witness in advance of the hearing of a case as compensation for time spent attending...
Confidentiality agreement
An agreement made to protect confidential information in case it needs to be disclosed to another...
Conjoined Appeal
This is when appeal claims are joined in...
Consecutive Sentance
This is an order for a subsequent sentence of imprisonment to commence as soon as a previous sentence...
Consent Order
An order which is negotiated and agreed by both parties and sanctioned by the...
Consideration
Something which must be given by either side in a...
Constructive Dismissal
When an employee is forced to resign because of an employer's...
Contact Order
An order of the court stipulating the terms upon which a child will see either mother or father or any other person...
Contempt of Court
Disobedience or wilful disregard to the judicial...
Contingency Fee Agreement
in a claim for money, an agreement under which the solicitor charges nothing if the clients' claim fails but takes a percentage of the money won by the client if the claim succeeds...
Contingent Will
A will which will only become effective if some condition is...
Contract
This document will be signed by the person selling and the person buying the property and will be sent to their...
Contract Of Service
A contract under which a person agrees to consider themselves an...
Contract for Service
A contract with a person who is...
Contract of Employment
The agreement between the employer and employee about the terms of employment...
Contributory Negligence
Partial responsibility of a claimant for the injury in respect of which they claim...
Convenants
Things the owner of the property must or must not do. Those the owner must do include repairs. See also Restrictive Convenant....
Conveyance
The legal work which needs to be undertaken when buying or selling a...
Conviction
To be found in violation of a law by a judge or...
Copyleft
This term describes the practice of using copyright law to remove restrictions on distributing copies and modified versions of a work for others and requiring that the same freedoms be preserved in modified...
Copyright
This protects material, such as literature, art, music, sound recordings, films and broadcasts from being copied without...
Corroboration
Evidence by one person confirming that of another or supporting...
Costs orders
An order in court proceedings determining who should pay for each party’s...
Counsel
A...
Count
An individual offence set out in an...
Counterclaim
A claim made by a defendant against a claimant in an...
County Court
Court dealing with civil...
County Court Judgment CCJ
This is a judgment of a county court which orders a defendant to pay a sum of money to a...
Court
Body with judicial...
Court Order
The recorded decision of a judge, once he has heard and considered the evidence from all parties in the...
Court Room
Place where cases are...
Court of Appeal
The second highest court in the land, after the House of...
Court of Protection
The branch of the High Court with jurisdiction over the estates of people mentally incapable of handling their own financial...
Covenant
A formal agreement or a contract which constitutes an obligation to perform an...
Creditor
A person to whom money is owed by a...
Creditors Voluntary Liquidation
The most common type of...
Criminal Injuries Compensation Authority (cica)
A body set up by the government and funded to compensate injured victims of crime CSA Child Support AgencyThe government Department regulating financial support for children...
Cross Examination
Questioning of a witness in trial by opposing...
Crown Court
The Crown Court deals with all crime committed for trial by Magistrates Courts. It also acts as an appeal Court for cases heard and dealt with by the...
Custidial Sentence
Sentence which involves locking up the...
Custody
See...
DDA
Disability Discrimination...
DRM
Digital Rights Management - a system designed to prevent illegal copying of...
Damages
An amount of money claimed as compensation for physical or material...
Debenture
Formal debt...
Debtor
Person owing money to another...
Declaration
Court order setting out the rights of a party in the form of a...
Declaration of Trust
See co-ownership....
Declaration of Trust
See...
Decree
An order of the Court in proceedings commenced by...
Decree Absolute
A court order which dissolves a...
Decree Nisi
This is a document which is issued once the court is satisfied that the grounds of divorce are...
Deed
A formal document signed and witnessed or...
Deed of Separation
A written agreement setting out agreed terms for separation often prior to a divorce...
Deeds
The ownership document relating to a property is known as a "Title...
Default Judgment
Obtained by the claimant as a result of the failure of a defendant to comply with the requirements of a...
Defendant
The party against whom proceedings are...
Deponent
Person giving evidence by...
Deposition
A statement of evidence written down and sworn on oath or by...
Design Right
A free, automatic right which is bestowed on the creator following the creation of an original...
Detailed Assessment (of costs)
Where costs are dealt with by the drawing of a bill of...
Determination
Act of scrutinising a bill of costs in criminal proceedings to see if the work done and amount claimed is...
Dilapidations
An assesment of a tenant's liabilities under repairing covenants in a...
Direct Discrimination
This is where an employee or prospective employee is less favourably treated because of their race, sex, marital status, religion, sexual orientation or gender...
Direct Examination
The questioning of a witness by the party who called...
Directions
Instructions given by a judge to proceed the case once he has considered the facts presented by the...
Disbursement
Payments made by a solicitor or barrister other than those covered by the Basic...
Discharge
See Absolute Discharge or Conditional...
Disciplinary Procedure
There is a statutory disciplinary procedure which must be followed by all employers and...
Disclaimer
A document which denies legal...
Disclosure
Providing information to both the court and to the other...
Discontinuance
Notice given by the Court, on instruction by the claimant, that they no longer wish to proceed with the...
Discovery of documents
Mutual exchange of evidence and all relevant information held by each party relating to the...
Discretionary Trust
This is a trust where the beneficiaries and/or their entitlements to the trust fund are not fixed, but are instead determined by the criteria set out in the trust instrument by the...
Discrimination
Less favourable treatment of one or more members of a specified...
Dismissal
To make order or decision that a claim be...
Dissolution
See...
Distribution Agreement
This is an agreement which regulates the commercial terms whereby one party, the Supplier supplies goods and/or services to another party, the Distributor, for resale in a specified...
District Judge
Judges whose duties involve hearing applications made within proceedings and final...
Dividend
The profit of trading divided among the members in proportion to their shares and in accordance with their rights as...
Divorce
The court procedure bringing an end to a marriage...
Dock
Enclosure in the Criminal Court for the defendant on...
Domicile
The country in which a person is normally...
Due Dilligence
An investigation undertaken to assess the strengths and weaknesses of an intellectual property...
Duty of Care
A duty to take reasonable care not to cause physical, psychiatric or economic loss or...
EPA
Equal Pay...
EPO
European Patent Office - the patent granting authority for...
EULA
End User Licence Agreement - an agreement which restricts the use of a computer program by the end...
Easement
An interest in land owned by a different party which entitles its holder to a specific use or...
Easements
Rights that your property enjoys over other properties or other properties ejoy yours, eg rights to access....
Effective Date of Termination
This is the date on which an employee's notice of dismissal...
Either Way Offence
An offence for which the accused may elect the case to be dealt with either summarily by the magistrates or by committal to the Crown Court to be tried by...
Emergency Protection Order
This is made when a child is deemed to be in immediate danger and may have to be taken away from home...
Employee Status
This is a requirement for the exercise of most employment rights...
Employers' Liability
A claim for personal injury arising from injuries sustained as a result of employment...
Employment Appeal Tribunal
This court deals with appeals from Employment...
Employment Rights
Set out especially in the 1996 Employment Rights Act and the various...
Employment Tribunal
Initial court which hears employment law disputes (previously known as Industrial...
Encroachment
When a portion of a building, wall or fence extends beyond the land of the owner and intrudes upon that of an adjoining...
Encumbrance
An obligation affecting a property, generally in a negative...
End User
The person who uses a computer...
Enforcement
This is a method of pursuing a civil action after judgment has been made in favour of a...
Engrossment
The final version of a...
Enhanced Disclosure
Some forms of employment require an Enhanced Criminal Record Certificate, which includes information from local police records on minor convictions, cautions and non-conviction...
Entry of Judgment
Decision of the Court in favour of one or other of the...
Environmental Search
A search which is carried out on the property to check whether there is any record suggesting that the property may be affected by...
Equity
In property terms, normally used to describe the difference between the outstanding mortgage and the value of a...
Estate
The assets of a person at the time of their death, less any outstanding...
European Court of Justice
The highest court in the European...
Eviction
Removing a tenant from their rented...
Ex parte
Meaning 'on behalf of only one...
Exchange of Contracts
When the buyer and seller formally exchange the contract and become legally bound to complete and move out on an agreed...
Exclusion Clause
Clause in a contract which is intended to exclude one party from liability if a stated circumstance...
Execution
Seizure of debtors goods following non payment of a Court...
Executor
An executor (or executrix in the case of a female) is the person (or people) who have been appointed in a will to deal with the testator's affairs after their...
Exemption Clause
Clause in a contract that attempts to restrict the liability of the party that writes...
Exhibit
Item or document referred to in an affidavit or used as evidence during a Court trial or...
Expedtion Fee
A fee which can be paid to the Land Registration to speed up registration of a...
Expert Witness
Person employed to give evidence on a subject in which they are qualified or have...
Express Terms
Terms and provisions of a contract that are expressly written and on which the parties specifically...
Extradodinary General Meeting
Any meeting of shareholders which is not an...
Extradodinary Resolution
Company resolution that usually does not require any notice of its proposal, but must be passed by a majority of at least three quarters of...
FOSS
Free and Open Source software - software which is liberally licensed to grant the right of users to study, change, and improve its design through the availability of its source...
Fair Dealing
This term refers to a doctrine of limitations and exceptions to copyright - which allows limited copying without permission provided it is fair and the commercial interests of the rights holder are not...
Fast Track
This refers to the type of action for claims between £5,000 and...
Fee Earner
A solicitor who is carrying out specific...
Filing
Documents sent to the court for sealing and...
Financial Dispute Resolution (FDR)
This is designed to enable parties to discuss and negotiate a final settlement of the matrimonial...
First directions appointment (FDA)
This allows a Court to see if any agreement can be reached between the parties or identify any further steps which need to be...
Fixture
This refers to a permanently fixed piece of furniture or equipment on a...
Fixtures and Fittings Form
A questionnaire which indicates what item the seller at the property is taking and leaving, and somtimes what items he wishes to sell....
Floating Charge
A form of security for a Debt - generally goods or assets rather than...
Force Majeure
An event which cannot be foreseen (eg. lightning) - liability for which is often excluded from...
Forfeiture
A clause in a lease giving a landlord the right to forfeit the lease and re enter the property i.e. take possession of land because of a breach by the tenant of a clause/s (covenant). normally enforced by court proceedings...
Franchise Agreement
This is an agreement for a person or organisation (the Franchisor) who wishes to grant the right to another person or organisation (the Franchisee) to operate an outlet of the Franchise business within a particular...
Free Software
See...
Freehold
When one has absolute title on a...
Freeware
This is proprietary software made available free of...
Frustration
An unexpected or unintentional event that makes fulfilment of a contract...
GNU
General Public License (aka GPL) - it is a widely used free software...
Gangmaster
A gangmaster is someone or some organisation which supplies workers to the agricultural and food-processing...
Garnishee Order
A summons issued by a plaintiff, against a third party, for seizure of money or other assets which belong to the...
General Damages
The compensation (usually in a personal injury action) for the actual Injuries sustained...
Genuine Occupational Requirement
This is useful in cases where an employer would otherwise be seen to be discriminatingb (such as an actress needing to be a...
Going Concern
This is an accounting concept which assumes that a company will continue to operate in the foreseeable...
Grant of Probate
This is a legal document which allows the person or persons named in it to collect in and distribute the...
Grant of Representation
A legal document which confirms that the executor has the authority to deal with a deceased person's...
Grievance Procedure
This is the procedure under which an employee dissatisfied with a disciplinary decision can apply to a higher...
Gross Misconduct
An act by an employee which allows their employer to dismiss them...
Ground Rent
Money that needs to be paid under...
Guarantee
A secondary agreement by which one person promises to honour the debt of another if that debtor fails to...
Guarantor
Someone who promises to pay money to creditors in case it isn't paid by a...
Guardian
A person appointed to safeguard,protect and manage the interests of a child or mentally disabled...
HSC
Health and Safety Commission - now part of the...
HSE
Health and Safety Executive - body responsible for maintaining health in the...
Habitable
Property which is suitable and fit for a person to live...
Habitual residence
The place of a person’s home or...
Hand-Arm Vibration Syndrome
Formerly known as Vibration White Finger, this is where symptoms in fingers, hands and arms are caused by vibrating...
Harassment
Unwanted conduct which offends someone's dignity at...
Heads of Agreement
See Heads of...
Heads of Terms
These set out the terms of a commercial transaction which has been agreed in...
Her Majesty's Land Registry
Government Department that holds information regarding property ownership...
High Court
A Civil...
Highway Act
Law governing road traffic...
Holdover Tenancy
A tenancy which arises because someone remains in possession of a property after the expiration of the previous...
House of Lords
The highest court in the...
Implied Terms
Terms and clauses implied in a contract by law or custom and practice without actually being stated in the...
Incorporate
Inclusion or adoption of some term or condition as part of a...
Incorporation
The formal creation of a...
Indemnity
This is a promise by a third party to pay a debt owed, or repay a loss caused, by another...
Indenture
A deed or other document binding two or more...
Index Map Search
A search to establish if the title to the property is a registered property or if it is unregistered at the Land Registary....
Indictment
A written statement of charges made against a defendant who is sent for trial to the Crown...
Indirect Discrimination
This is where the effect of certain requirements, conditions or practices imposed by an employer has an adverse impact disproportionally on a certain...
Individual Voluntary Agreement
This is an arrangement between the debtor and their creditors to repay a percentage of the debt over the life of the...
Industrial Disease
A disease or illness developed as a result of working...
Industrial Injuries Disablement Benefit
This is available to any employee who has been disabled as a result of an accident arising out of and in the course of his employment or as a result of an industrial disease due to the nature of that...
Infant
A person under 18 years of...
Inheritance Tax (IHT)
This is a tax imposed on the privilege of receiving property by inheritance or legal...
Injunction
An order by a Court either preventing or requiring someone to carry out a certain...
Inquisitorial
This system of justice aims to get at the truth without the "conflict" part of the Adversarial...
Insolvency
See...
Inspection of Documents
Arrangements made to allow mutual exchange and copying of documents, following disclosure of...
Instruction
Job given to a...
Intellectual Property
This refers to a product of creative or intellectual endeavour, including an innovation, design, trading style, artistic work or literary...
Intellectual Property Assets
Business assets derived from intellectual property...
Intellectual Property Right
A legal right to protect a form of intellectual property - such as a patent right, design right, trade mark right or...
Interim Care Order
This places a child in the care of the local authority on an interim basis whilst the family is assessed and until the court can make a final...
Interim Hearing
A court hearing which does not reach a final...
Interim Order
An order during the course of court proceedings which is not the final...
Interim Payments/Damages
A payment made as a result of a court order or as offered by an opponent before the case is...
Interlocutory
Interim or pending a full...
Intestacy
This refers to the situation where a person who has died has not made a valid...
Intestacy Rules
These set out the list of the Beneficiaries who will be entitled and who will be the Administrators...
Intestate
A person who dies without a Will...
Intfringement
This refers to an unauthorised use of intellectual...
Invention
This is a new device, method, or process developed from study and...
Issue
To initiate legal proceedings in pursuit of a...
Issued Shares
This refers to shares that have been allotted and issued and held by...
Joint Property (Land)
Either held as joint tenants where on death the property passes automatically to the survivor/s irrespective of what the deceased's Will says or tenants in their own share through his/her Will...
Joint Tenants
Where people jointly own assets or property. The ownership passes to the survivor on the death of the other...
Joint Venture Agreement
This can be used where two or more existing businesses agree to co-operate and combine their resources with a view to...
Joint and Several Liability
Where two or more people enter into an obligation together, joint and several liability allows that the lender or creditor to recover debt from any one of...
Joint tenancy
(see Co-ownership) where, on the death of a co-owner, the entire property will pass to the survivors(s)...
Judge
An officer appointed to administer the law and who has authority to hear and try cases in a Court of...
Judgment
The final decision of a Court A Judge’s final decision ...
Judicial Review
The review of decisions of lower courts and public bodies by the High...
Judicial Separation
A decree short of divorce, under which a couple remains legally married but their normal marital obligations cease and they no longer have to go on living...
Jundgment Dept
Debt plus interest and cost awarded to the claimant in respect of its claim...
Jurisdiction
The area and the matters over which a Court has legal...
Juror
A person who has been summoned by a Court to be a member of the...
Jury
Body of jurors sworn to reach a verdict according to the evidence in a...
Jury Summons
Order to attend jury...
Justice of the Peace
A lay person who is appointed to administer judicial business in a Magistrates...
Juvenile
Person under 17 years of...
LOLER
Lifting Operations and Lifting Equipment Regulations 1998 - this regulates heavy lifting at...
Land Certificate
The certificate supplied by the Land Registry proving ownership of a property registered at the land registry. If your property is subject to a charge or mortgage, a charge certificate is issued instead, which will be kept by your lender. See also Registered...
Land Charges Search
A search at the Land Charges Registry to determine whether the property is registered and to find out if any mortgages or interests are listed against the...
Land Registry
A body that maintains records of who owns property and what conditions relate to the...
Land Registry
The Central and District goverment registries where details of registered titles are kept....
Land Registry Fee
A fee payable to the goverment for registering you as the owner of the property at the land registry, and also for registering any other transactions related to registered land....
Land Registry Search
A search to establish that there are no additional entries on the register of title since the date of issue of an official copy....
Landlord
Property owner who rents it out to a...
Law
The system made up of rules established by legislation, custom or...
Law Lords
The judges who sit in the House of...
Lay Magistrate
A Magistrate who is not legally...
Lease
The letting of land for a prescribed...
Leasehold
Where property is owned for a limited...
Legacy
See...
Legal Aid
Money paid by the Government for legal expenses of people who are deemed not able to afford it Government help for those who cannot afford legal representation ...
Legal Executive
Solicitor’s "unadmitted"...
Legal Expense Insurance
Sometimes included in motor and household policies to provide legal expenses in the case of a...
Legionnaire's Disease
This is a form of severe pneumonia which can be contracted from exposure to poorly maintained air conditioning...
Legitimate Interest
Where an employer has a right to have certain interests protected by...
Letter before action
This is a formal letter setting out any debts before going to court, usually sent as a final...
Letter of Administration
This is the authority given by the Probate Registry to deal with the affairs of a deceased person who has not left a valid...
Letter of Claim
Letter containing all required information to the defendant to assess the value and extent of a claim made against...
Letter of Consent
A formal letter consenting to the use and/or registration of another party's trade...
Letter of intent
See Heads of...
Levy
The process of a bailiff asserting a claim to...
Libel
A written and published statement or article which causes harm to...
Licence
A privelege to copy or use a...
Lien
A legal right to withhold goods or property until payment is made by a...
Life Tennant
The person under either a will or under a trust who is entitled to the income (interest) form the Trust Fund...
Limitation
Period of time available to a claimant to bring an action against a...
Limitation Clause
This sets a maximum on the amount of damages a party may have to pay if there is a failure of some part of the...
Limited Liability
This generally refers to limited companies where the owners' liability to pay the debts of the company is limited to the value of their...
Limited Liability Patnership
A Limited Liability Partnership (LLP) is a recognised legal entity by virtue of the Limited Liability Partnerships Act 2000, which has some features of a limited company and some of a...
Liquidation
This refers to the process by which a company (or part of a company) is brought to an...
Litigation
Legal...
Living Will
This is a document setting out in advance what types of medical treatment the maker of the will does or does not wish to receive in specific circumstances should he or she be incapable of giving or refusing...
Local Authority Search
An enquiry carried out to determine if there are any potential circumstances that could affect...
Local Search
A search with the local authority to establish their views on such issues as roads, darins, planning and general development in the local area....
Lodging
The process of delivering documents to a...
Lord Chancellor
The cabinet minister who acts as speaker of the House of Lords and oversees the hearings of the Law...
Lord Chief Justice
Senior judge of the Court of Appeal (Criminal Division) who also heads the Queens Bench Division of the High Court of...
Lord Justice of Appeal
Title given to certain judges sitting in the Court of...
Loss of Use
This is where a property cannot be used in the normal way for some...
Lump sum order
Order for the payment of a capital sum from one party to...
MIT License
This is a free software license originating at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology...
Madrid Protocol
The system which offers a trademark owner the possibility to have his trademark protected in several countries by simply filing one application directly with his own national or regional trademark...
Magistrate
A civil officer with the power to administer and enforce law in a Magistrates...
Magistrates Court
A Court where criminal proceedings are conducted before Justices of the Peace - who either deal with the case themselves or commit to the Crown...
Maintenance
A sum of money paid by one party to support the other...
Maintenance pending suit
A maintenance order for a sum of money made before the final order in...
Master of the Rolls
Senior judge of the Civil Division of the Court of...
Maternity Rights
All employees are entitled to some maternity leave and most employees will be entitled to maternity pay...
Mediation
The process through which separating couples seek to reach an...
Medical Negligence
A case when a medical professional has been negligent in their duties, often resulting in...
Memoranda of Understanding
See Heads of...
Memorandum of Association
A document which is required to incorporate a UK...
Mens Rea
The intention to commit a...
Mental Incapacity
The state of being deemed not able to make...
Merger
This is a combination of two companies to form a new...
Mesne Profits
Sum of money claimed by the owner of property against someone not legally entitled to be in...
Mining Search
A search undertaken to check whether a property has been affected by any coal mining...
Minor
Someone below 18 years of...
Misrepresentation
This is where one party to a contract makes a false statement of fact to the other party which is relied...
Mitigation
Reasons submitted in proceedings on behalf of the defendant in order to minimise the...
Monopoly Right
This refers to an Intellectual Property...
Mortgage Offer
The offer of a loan of finance to you by your lending institution. this becomes a Loan Agreement when the offer is accepted....
Mortgagee
The person to whom the mortgage is...
Mortgagor
The person who makes the...
Motion
An application by one party to the High Court for an order in their...
Motors Insurers Bureau (MIB)
a body set up by the insurance industry and funded to compensate people injured in motor accidents by uninsured or "hit and run" motorists...
Multi Track
This refers to the type of action for claims over...
Named User Licence
This type of licence requires every individual who is going to use the software to be granted a...
Negligence
Negligence is omission to do something, which a reasonable and prudent person would do, or doing something, which a reasonable and prudent person would not do. Negligence is simply neglect of some care, which we are bound to exercise towards somebody. e.g....
Next Friend
A person representing a minor or person deemed to lack mental capacity, who is involved in legal...
Next of Kin
This term is used to describe a person's closest living...
Nil Rate Band
The amount of Inhertitance Tax for which you are not...
No Win No Fee
This is when a solicitor agrees to undertake a case in which they will only be paid if they win. This is particularly common in PI...
No Win, No Fee
see Conditional Fee Agreement...
Nominal Maintenance
A maintenance order which consists of a very small amount that it is not anticipated will be paid (simply to retain keep maintenance...
Non Molestation Order
An order within an injunction to prevent one person physically attacking...
Non-Executive Director
A director who does not participate in the day-to-day management of the...
Norwalk Virus
An infectious illness causing sickness and diarrhoea, which can be passed around quickly when in close proximity with others eg. on a cruise...
Notary Public
Someone who is authorised to swear oaths and certify the execution of...
Notice
Advance notification by either party that a contract is about to...
Notice Application
A document (application) issued in the courts by one party (claimant or defendant) which sets out what that party wants the court to decide on and make an order requiring the receiving party to attend a hearing giving the receiving party opportunity to...
Notice Pay
All employees are entitled to notice of dismissal which increases with length of service...
Notice of Issue
Notice sent by a Court to a claimant which gives notification of the case number allocated to their action and any details of fees...
Notice of application
The document by which proceedings are brought to a...
Notice to Quit
Gives prior notice, when served in possession proceedings, of termination of a...
Notifiable Offence
An offence considered serious enough to be recorded by the...
Nuisance
Public and private nuisance. Public nuisance is an act, which interferes with enjoyment of persons, right which all members of community are entitled to e.g. right to air. Private nuisance is wrongful disturbance or interference with a persons enjoyment use...
OHIM
Office for Harmonisation in the Internal Market - the trademark and industrial designs registry for the internal market of the European...
Oath
A verbal promise by a person with religious beliefs to tell the truth in...
Oath for Administrator
This is the paper that is sworn before A Commissioner for Oaths in order to obtain Letters of Administration to the estate of a person dying Intestate (without a Will) ...
Oath for Executors
This is the formal Court paper to apply to the Court for a Grant of Representation where there is a will ...
Occupancy
Holding or possessing...
Occupation Order
This decides who should live in a home after there has been violence or...
Offender
Someone convicted of a...
Offer
An offer to contract must be made with the intention to create a legal relationship upon...
Office Copy Entries
(sometimes shortened to office copies) The original copy of a Land or Charge Certificate obtained from Land Registry. office Copies of individual documents can usually be obtained....
Official Receiver
A civil servant who manages insolvency...
Official Solicitor
A solicitor or barrister appointed by the Lord Chancellor and working in the Lord Chancellor's...
On Notice
When the other party is given notice of, and served with, an...
Open Source Software
See...
Open correspondence
Correspondence between solicitors which is not marked “without...
Oral Examination
A method of questioning a person under oath before an officer of the Court to obtain details of their financial...
Order
A direction by a...
Ordinary Resolution
A resolution passed by a simple majority of members at a company...
Ouster
An order within an injunction to force a person to leave a...
Outsourcing Agreement
This is an agreement designed for a person or organisation (the Service Provider) who intends to take over the provision or production of non-core operations for another person or organisation (the...
PAYE
Pay As You Earn - the system whereby employers pay tax on behalf of their...
PUWER
Provision of Use of Work Equipment Regulations - these serve to protect people from injury as a result of using various equipment in the...
Parent Company
A company which owns more than 50% voting rights in another...
Parental Responsibility Order
An order of the court or written agreement, required by a father of a child, who is not married to the child's mother...
Part 36 Offer
This is essentially a settlement...
Particular of Claim
Document detailing the claim, which is usually filed with the claim form when commencing proceedings in the court. It must comply with the civil procedure rules ...
Particulars
Details relevant to a...
Partnership
A partnership consists of two or more people formed with the aim of carrying on a business with a view to...
Party
Any of the participants in a Court action or...
Party Cited
A person is brought into divorce proceedings, with whom the Respondent is alleged to have committed...
Party Wall
A wall dividing two separate premises - the joint responsibility of both...
Passing Off
This prevents one person from misrepresenting their goods or services as being the goods and services of another party where this is not actually the case This is when someone tries to sell their products using the name or trade mark of another...
Patent
This is an exclusive right assigned to an inventor which protects their invention from being replicated, user or sold without their...
Patent Agent
Someone who has the qualifications necessary for representing clients in obtaining patents and acting in all matters and procedures relating to patent...
Patent Application
The process of finding out if an invention is actually...
Patent Attorney
Someone who is fully qualified to act before the European Patent...
Paternity
Establishing who is the father of the child...
Patient
A person who is deemed incapable of handling their own affairs by reason of mental...
Penal Notice
A court warning notifying the recipient that a breach of the order will result in committal to...
Pension attachment
This allows the Court to make an Order directing Pension Trustees to pay a percentage of the lump sum or pension on maturity to the person named in the Order (previously knoan as...
Pension sharing
The transfer of a specified amount from one party’s pension into a pension scheme of the other party’s...
Periodical Payments Order
An order of the court making a regular payment to a wife or child...
Personal Application
Application made to the Court without legal...
Personal Injury Claim
a claim for compensation made by someone injured in an accident, which was not his or her fault...
Personal Injury Protocol
Rules governing the procedure of Personal Injury...
Personal Representives
Executors and Administrators...
Personal Service
Personal delivery of a claim, summons or...
Petition
A method of commencing divorce...
Phishing
This is a fraudulent method which aims to acquire sensitive information, such as usernames, passwords and credit card details, by masquerading as a trustworthy entity in an electronic...
Plaintiff
Person issuing a Claim (now known as...
Planning permission
When the Local Authority approval the building, extension or change of use of a...
Plea
A defendant's reply to a charge put to the by a...
Pleading
Documents setting out a claim or defence of parties involved in civil...
Police Protection Order
This is where the police place a child under police protection if they think that the child is in immediate...
Possession Proceedings
Legal proceedings by a landlord to recover land or...
Post Nuptial Agreement
This is essentially a Pre Nuptial Agreement which is entered into during or after the...
Potentially Exempt Transfer (pet)
This is a gift, which may or may not be taxable depending on whether the person making the gift (the Donor) survives 7 years...
Power of Arrest
An order attached to some injunctions to allow the police to arrest a person who has broken the terms of an...
Power of Attorney
This is a deed which gives power to a person to act on someone else's behalf in a legal or business...
Pre Nuptial Agreement
An agreeement before marriage takes place, as to how assets should be split if a marriage breaks down - it is generally not enforced by British...
Pre-trial Review
A preliminary appointment to consider the issues before the Court and fix the timetable for the...
Precedent
The decision of a case which established principles of law that act as an authority for future cases of a similar...
Premises
A building or part...
Private Limited Company
An entity incorporated by registration whose members have a limited liability towards their...
Probate
This is the official verification of a will by the Probate...
Probatea
Grant of Probate is to enable an Executor to prove his/her right to deal with the testate's i.e. deceased's assets, which pass under the Will and/or Codicil. The Grant of Probate is issued by the Court (Probate Registry). The Court checks the Will. Not all...
Proceedings
Any claim proceeding through the courts (must comply with the civil procedure rules)...
Process
The document commencing a claim or subsequent...
Prohibited Steps Order
This is a court order prohibiting the person specified in the order from taking a certain step - eg. to prevent a parent removing a child from the court's...
Property Information Form
A questionnaire to be completed by a seller to give details of matters whish affect the property, eg, boundary ownership, disputes, guarantees, occupiers and planning....
Proprietary Software
This is computer software with restrictions on use or private modification, or with restrictions judged to be excessive on copying or publishing of modified or unmodified...
Prosectution
The institution or conduct of criminal proceedings against a...
Protected Act
Unfavourable treatment of an employee will be regarded as unlawful victimisation if it is as a result of the employee doing or intending to do a "protectected act" - which is essentially an action pertaining to the Race Relations...
Protected Disclosure
This is a disclosure of information which is protected by the Whistleblowers...
Protective Award
This is made by an Employment Tribunal in favour of individuals who have been made redundant if their employer failed to arrange for elections of employee representatives or failed to consult with appropriate representatives of affected employees about...
Provisional Damages
A court award based upon what the injuries are 'worth' at the time of...
Proxy
This is a person who acts on behalf of another for a specific...
Public Domain
Intellectual property which has no current "owner" is considered to be in the Public...
Public Funding
(Popularly known as legal aid) a means tested system in which in certain circumstances the Government will pay or subsidise the legal costs of a person involved in a court case...
Public Limited Company
A company whose constitution must state it is a public company and which must satisfy requirements as to the minimum amount of its share...
Public Trustee
Official who can act as an executor or administrator of an estate of a deceased person, or as a...
Puisne Judge
Refers to any judge of the High Court other than the heads of each...
Quantum
In a damages claim the amount to be determined by the...
Quash
To declare no longer...
Queen's Counsel (QC)
Senior...
Queens Bench Division
Division of the High...
Quiet Enjoyment
These are the implied obligations of a landlord to ensure that their tenant is not disturbed in their...
Quorum
The minimum number of people required at a business meeting for decisions to be...
RIDDOR
Reporting of Injuries, Diseases and Dangerous Occurrences Regulations - this makes it mandatory to report accidents at...
RRA
Race Relations...
RSI
Repetitive Strain Injury - often caused as a result of bad ergonomics, poor posture, stress, and repetitive...
Race Discrimination
All workers are entitled to protection against race discrimination...
Ratification
This is the acceptance or confirmation of an act or agreement that has already been...
Realty
Land...
Reasonable Doubt Beyond
The required standard of proof in criminal courts in the...
Reasonable Wear and Tear
Damage to a property as a result of normal...
Receiver
Person appointed by the Court of Protection to act on behalf of a...
Receivership
This is a type of bankruptcy a company enters when a receiver is appointed to run the...
Recorder
Members of the legal profession who are appointed to act in a judicial capacity on a part time...
Recruitment
Employers must avoid discrimination in recruitment practices...
Redemption of Shares
A company can redeem shares which are issued as redeemable shares by repaying the nominal value to the shareholder, whereupon the shares are...
Redemtion Statement
Details of monies owed to your financial institution which will need to be repaid on completion of sale or re-mortgage....
Redetermination
An application by a solicitor or barrister to reconsider amounts assessed by...
Redundancy
Where employment is terminated because the position no longer...
References
Employers are under no obligation to provide references but must ensure that any references that are written are accurate and fair...
Registered Design
This bestows a monopoly right for the look of a product, protecting both the shape and the pattern or...
Registered Land
A title which is centrally filed at the Land Registry on which all details are kept of matters which affect the property including easements, charges, restrictive covenants and who owns the property. the land certificate or charge certificate are copies of...
Registered Office
The official address of a company as stated on the register at Companies...
Registration
System by which the ownership of estates in land is recorded and...
Remainderman
A person who will ultimately receive the Capital from a Trust fund after the death of the life tenant...
Remand
To order an accused person to be kept in custody or placed on bail pending further Court...
Remedy
Payments or other actions ordered by a court in order to settle a...
Remuneration
Pay or reward for services...
Reposession
Taking possession of a property, usually due to lack of payment of rent or...
Repudiation of Contract
Where one party to a contract refuses to comply, amounting to a breach of contract. Also, where a contract was made by a minor (person under the age of 18) who then repudiates it at or shortly after the age of...
Repudiatory Breach
A serious breach of contract (by either employee or employer) which entitles the other party to terminate the contract without giving...
Rescission
The possibility to end a contract if it is entered into as a result of a...
Residence
This refers to where and with whom a child...
Residual Beneficiary
The Beneficiary of the Residual...
Residuary Estate
The remainder of the estate after payment of all debts, legacies, taxes and...
Respondent
The party against whom proceedings are...
Restitution
When a Warrant of Restitution must be...
Restrictive Covenant
Restrictions imposed on a property effectively being things you are not allowed to do, eg, not alter the appearance of the property or build in the garden....
Restrictive covenant
An agreement which prevents a property purchaser from building on or using the property in a certain...
Retention of title
This is a clause which ensures that where goods are supplied on credit, if the buyer subsequently goes into bankruptcy, the seller can repossess the...
Reversionary Interes
A person will be entitled to an interest under a trust when the person who receives the income from the Trust fund ceases to be entitled to the income e.g. dies...
Revoke
Cancellation of a...
Right of Audience
Entitlement to appear before a Court in a legal capacity and conduct proceedings on behalf of a party to the...
Rights of Audience
The right to conduct legal proceedings in a...
SDA
Sex Discrimination...
SMP
Statutory Maternity...
SSP
Statutory Sick...
Satisfaction
The payment of a debt or settling an obligation by an act or...
Secured periodical payments
Where periodical payments are secured by the investment of a capital...
Serve
To give notice of a Court action to another party to the proceedings by sending or handing to them personally the documents...
Service contract
Contracts sometimes given to directors and officers of a company instead of an employment...
Settlement
See...
Settlor
The creator of a...
Sex Discrimination
All workers are protected against sex discrimination ...
Sexual Harassment
Harassment on the basis of...
Share
A unit of economic value of a company to which are attached rights to vote and to participate in dividends and capital distributions of the...
Share Certificate
This is issued by a company when a person is entered onto the register of members as the holder of the shares in the...
Shareholders Agreement
An agreement which can be used where two or more parties wish to carry on business together as a limited company and wish to regulate the relationship between shareholders and determine actions in the event of...
Shareware
Software which has a limited licence, generally with the aim of allowing a time-specific...
Sheriff
An officer of the Crown whose duties include the enforcement of High Court writs of...
Sickness Absence
Most employees will be entitled to statutory sick pay...
Silk
Queens...
Slander
Spoken words which have a damaging effect on a person's...
Small Claims Track
The path to which defended claims of a lower value are...
Sole Trader
A sole trader operates as an individual without the use of a company structure or partners and has sole responsibility for the actions of the...
Solicitor
Member of the legal profession chiefly concerned with advising clients and preparing their cases and representing them in some...
Source Code
This refers to a sequence of statements or declarations written in some human-readable computer programming...
Special Damages
Fixed and quantifiable losses associated with a claim for personal injury...
Special Guardianship Order
An order which gives the holder parental responsibility for a child and which allows them to use that to the exclusion of any other person with parental...
Specified Claim
A type of claim which is issued for a fixed amount of money allegedly owing. Previously known as a liquidated...
Spouse
Husband or Wife...
Squatter
A person occupying land or property without the owners...
Stamp Duty
A goverment tax payable by the buyer, on moving if the price of the property exceeds a certain figure - currently £120,000,00....
Stamp Duty
A charge applicable to a conveyance, transfer or a lease of land where the instrument was executed prior to 1 December...
Standard Disclosure
Some forms of employment require a Criminal Record Certificate, which will provide details of spent convictions and of cautions as well as of unspent...
Statement
Written account of an incident by a...
Statement of Affairs
This is a form of financial statement setting out the debtor's assets and...
Statement of Arrangements
A form setting out the details of arrangements for the children after the...
Statement of Claim
Same as particulars of claim but it is a term used for actions brought in the high court...
Statute
An Act of...
Statutory Instrument
Secondary (or delegated)...
Stay
To suspend Court...
Stay of Execution
An order following which judgment cannot be enforced without leave of the...
Stipendiary Magistrate
A legally qualified and salaried Magistrate (now known as District...
Striking Out
Where a court prevents all further proceedings in a case if a party fails to comply with a rule, practice direction or court...
Sub-Letting
The renting of a property by a...
Subject to Contract
Words used on documents exchanged by parties during contract negotiations, denoting that the document is not an offer or acceptance and negotiations have not...
Subpoena
A summons issued to a person directing their attendance in Court to give...
Subsidiary Company
A company which owns less than 50% of its own voting...
Success Fee
an additional amount over and above the normal charges and payable by the client to the solicitor if the client's legal claim succeeds (see also Conditional fee Agreement)...
Suit
Legal proceedings commenced by...
Suitor
Person bringing a suit before the...
Summary Assessment (of costs)
Where the question of costs is dealt with at the conclusion of the...
Summary Dismissal
This occurs when an employee is dismissed without notice or prior warnings due to gross...
Summary Judgment
Judgment obtained by a plaintiff where there is no defence to the case or the defence contains no valid...
Summary Offence
A criminal offence which is triable only by a Magistrates...
Summing-up
A review of the evidence and directions as to the law by a judge immediately before a jury retires to consider its...
Summons
Order to appear or to produce evidence to a Court (also the old name for a claim...
Supervision Order
This is basically a three year sentence with various conditions...
Surety
A person's undertaking to be liable for another's default or non-attendance at...
Survey
A report carried out by a surveyor on the physical state of the property....
Suspended Sentence
A custodial sentence which will not take effect unless there is a subsequent offence within a specified...
Swear
To make a solemn declaration to tell the...
Sworn Statement
A written statement which is sworn and used as...
Taxation of Costs
An examination of a solicitor's bill in civil proceedings by a Court to ensure that all charges against the legal aid fund are fair and...
Technology and Construction Court
Part of the High Court dealing with disputes in the construction...
Tenant
Someone who rents a property from a...
Tenants in common
Where more than one party owns a property but each party has a specified...
Tennancy in Common
Where on death of a Co-owner his/her share of the property passes by will or intestacy, see Co-ownership....
Tenure
The type of property...
Testator
The testator (or testatrix in the case of a female) refers to the person who makes a...
Title
The owner's right to a...
Title Deeds
the documents which prove you own the property....
Title Deeds
Documents which act as evidence of ownership and set out any obligations or rights which affect the...
Tort
A civil wrong committed against a person for which compensation may be sought through a civil...
Trade Mark
These protect signs that can distinguish the goods and services of one trader from those of...
Trade Mark Attorney
Someone who is qualified to act for the owners of trade mark and other intellectual property...
Transfer Deeds
The documents which formally transfers title on registration at the Land Registry from the seller to buyer....
Transfer of equity
A sale or gift of one person's intrest in the property to another, most commonly on divorce or separation where the family home is jointly owned property....
Trespass
Trespass is a wrong. A trespasser is a person who enters on a land without authority. A person/body who continues to remain on land after expiry of his/her/ its authority will be a trespasser. Proceedings can be brought to remove a trespasser and regain...
Trespass
Invasion of private...
Trial
The examination and decision of a matter of law or fact by a Court of law at which the Judge hears evidence and makes a...
Trial Window
A period of time within which the case must be listed for...
Tribunal
A group of people consisting of a chairman, normally a solicitor or barrister, and others who exercise a judicial function to determine matters related to specific...
Trust
These are either created during a person's lifetime or through his/her Will. The person making the gift permanently gives away the asset, which is held by Trustees (usually two) for the benefit ofBeneficiaries e.g. children under 18....
Trust Instrument
Legal document which creates a...
Trustee
A person who holds or administers property in a trust for someone...
UCTA
Unfair Contract Terms Act...
Undertaking
A binding promise to the...
Undue Influence
Where a person has entered into an agreement under such circumstances to show or give rise to a presumption that he has not been allowed to exercise a free and deliberate judgment, on a matter. A court can set such agreement aside e.g. wife agreeing a charge...
Unfair Dismissal
When an employer dismisses an employee without valid or justified reason, or without following the required...
Unfair Terms
Contract terms which are deemed unfair by legislation and will not be enforced by the...
Unregistered Land
A title which is yet to be registered and for which there are a number of documents not yet sorted into a Land Registry file for which a certificate of Title would be issued....
Unspecified Claim
A claim where the amount to be awarded is left to be determined by a...
Vacant Posession
The contract term that state of a property will have been vacated upon completion of the...
Verdict
The decision by a jury as to the guilt of a...
Vested Interest
A right to immediate or future...
Vexatious litigant
Someone who regularly brings court cases which have little chance of...
Vibration White Finger
See Hand-Arm Vibration...
Vicarious Liability
An employer is vicariously liable for negligent acts or omissions by any employee in the course of...
Vice Chancellor
Senior judge and head of the Chancery Division of the High Court of...
Victimisation
This occurs when an employer comes into conflict with an employee for using their workplace complaints procedures or exercising their legal...
Void
A contract which cannot be performed or completed at...
WIPO
World Intellectual Property Organization - the body responsible for the promotion of the protection of intellectual property throughout the...
Walking possession
A signed agreement by a debtor not to remove goods levied by a bailiff and to allow the bailiff access to inspect the goods, in consideration of which the bailiff leaves the goods in the possession of the...
Ward of Court
The title given to a minor who is the subject of a wardship...
Wardship Order
The order ensures that custody of the minor is held by the Court with everyday care of the minor being carried out by an individual or local authority, with all decisions regarding the upbringing of the minor to be approved by the...
Warez
Software or protected electronic copyrighted material which has been illegally "hacked" and unlocked by software...
Warrant of Committal
Method of enforcing an order of the Court whereby the penalty for failing to comply with its terms is...
Warrant of Delivery
Method of enforcing a judgment for the return of goods or value of the goods by which a bailiff is allowed to recover the goods or their value from the...
Warrant of Execution
Method of enforcing a monetary claim whereby a bailiff is authorised, instead of payment, to seize and remove goods belonging to a defendant for sale at public...
Warrant of Restitution
A remedy available following illegal re-entry of premises by persons evicted under a warrant of possession, whereby a bailiff is authorised to evict all occupants found on the premises and re-deliver the premises to the...
Warranties
Promises made in a contract, but which are less important than...
Whiplash
This is generally where the neck muscles, joints and ligaments suffer damage due to a car...
Whistleblowing
This occurs when an employee alerts a higher body of malpractice in the...
Will
A disposition or declaration through which someone provides for the distribution of their estate upon their...
Winding Up
The voluntary or compulsory closure of a company and subsequent realisation of assets and payment to...
Without prejudice
Privileged correspondence between solicitors, not generally admissable in...
Witness
The people who witnessed a will being signed by the...
Witness Summons
Order to appear as a witness at a...
Writ of Summons
A document instituting legal...
Wrongful Dismissal
This occurs when an employee is summarily dismissed in breach of contractual...
Yardstick of Equality
This is a principle applied for sharing the value of the assets left after the needs of the parties for housing, child care and day to day living costs have been...

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