Legal Dictionary

Refers to the refusal to perform a duty or obligation owed to the other party to a contract. Further, anticipatory repudiation is an act or declaration before performance is due under a contract that indicates that a party will not perform his or her obligation on the future date specified in the contract.

Repudiatory breach

A breach of contract that is so fundamental that it permits the injured party to terminate the performance of the contract, in addition to entitling that party to sue for damages.

Res ipsa loquitur

Latin phrase meaning ‘the facts speak for themselves’. It is a doctrine that infers negligence from the very nature of an accident or other outcomes, even without any direct evidence as to how the defendant behaved. Usually, in accident cases, it is necessary to prove the elements of negligence, namely, the duty of care, breach of that duty, causation and injury. Where res ipsa loquitur applies, the duty of care, breach and causation are inferred.

Res judicata

Latin for ‘a thing adjudicated’. A legal principle that once a matter is adjudged by a court having jurisdiction, it is finally decided and cannot be adjudicated again, except by way of an appeal.

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Restrictive practice

Either a trade agreement that is against the public interest, or actions that limit the rights or freedom of workers or employees.

Revocation

The recall of some power, authority or thing granted; or destroying or making void a deed that had existence until the act of revocation made it void. It may be either general, covering all acts done before, or special, revoking a particular act.

Right of first refusal

A contractual right that gives the holder the option to enter a business transaction with the owner of something, according to specified terms, before the owner is entitled to enter into that transaction with a third party. It is similar to a call option.

Rights of audience

The right of a lawyer to appear and conduct proceedings in court on behalf of their client.

Road rage

Aggressive or angry behaviour by a driver of a car or other road vehicle towards the driver of another vehicle or someone involved in controlling road traffic or a pedestrian, including rude gestures, verbal insults, deliberately driving in an unsafe or threatening manner or making threats. It can lead to altercations, assaults and collisions that result in injuries and even death.

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Rule against perpetuities

The principle that no interest is valid unless it vests in a person not later than twenty one years (plus any period of gestation for an unborn child) after the life of the person that existed at the time of the creation of the interest. The rule was introduced to restrict a person’s power to control perpetually the ownership and possession of his or her property after death and to ensure transferability of property.

Rule of law

Is the legal principle that law should govern a nation, as opposed to being govern by arbitrary decisions of individual government officials, in contrast to an autocracy or dictatorship where the rulers are held above the law. It primarily refers to the influence and authority of the law within society, particularly as a constraint upon behaviour, including the behaviour of government officials.

Sabotage

Deliberate action aimed at weakening an organisation through subversion, obstruction, disruption or destruction. In a workplace setting, it is the conscious withdrawal of efficiency generally directed at causing some change in workplace conditions.

Sanctions

Penalties or other means of enforcement used to provide incentives for obedience with the law, or with rules or regulations. Criminal sanctions take the form of serious punishment, such as imprisonment or severe fines, whilst civil sanctions are usually monetary fines levied against a party to court proceedings or his/her legal representative for violating rules of procedure, or for abusing the judicial process.

Seditious

An overt act, such as speech and organisation, that tends towards insurrection of the established order. It often includes subversion of a constitution and incitement of discontent against a lawful authority.

Repatriation

Reprimand

Repudiation