Legal dictionary
Available entries: 385 entries
Entries: 385
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Legal dictionary
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Unfair dismissal
Used to describe a situation where an employer dismisses an employee in breach of employment law, which may give rise to legal proceedings for reinstatement and/or compensation for dismissal. Legal dictionary
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Unilateral contract
An agreement where one person promises to do something or to refrain from doing something if the other person does something, but the other person makes no promise to do or refrain from doing anything so that no enforceable obligation has been given by the other person. Legal dictionary
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Unlawful
When applied to promises, agreements or contracts, the term denotes that such agreements have no legal effect. The law disapproves of such conduct because it is immoral or contrary to public policy. Unlawful does not necessarily imply criminality, although the term is sufficiently broad to include it. Legal dictionary
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Uphold
To declare that a challenged law is valid or to state officially that a decision or fact is correct. Legal dictionary
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Usufruct
The right to use and derive profit from a piece of real property belonging to another, provided the property itself remains undiminished and undamaged in any way. There is no transfer of legal title and a usufruct can be granted for the holder’s lifetime or a shorter term. Legal dictionary
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Valuable consideration
Anything of value promised to another when making a contract. It can take the form of money, physical objects, services, promised actions, abstinence from a future action, and many other forms. Legal dictionary
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Vandalism
Action involving the deliberate destruction of or damage to public or private property. It includes the use of graffiti and defacement directed towards any property without the permission of the owner. Legal dictionary
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Veracity
Describes the truthfulness or honesty of what is said by someone. Legal dictionary
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Vexatious litigant
A person who brings a legal action regardless of its merits, solely to harass or subdue an opponent. It may take the form of a single case or repetitive filing of cases. Filing vexatious litigation is considered to be an abuse of the judicial process and may result in sanctions against the offender. Legal dictionary
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Vicarious liability
A strict form of secondary liability that arises under the doctrine of agency – the responsibility of the superior for the acts of their subordinate, or, more broadly, the responsibility of any third party that had the right, ability or duty to control the actions of a violator. Legal dictionary
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Waiver clause
A clause in a contract that expressly states under which conditions the rights in the contract can be relinguished. Legal dictionary
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Walking possession
The temporary possession of a debtor’s assets, without actually removing them, taken by a court official until the assets can be sold to satisfy the debt owed to another party. Legal dictionary
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Wardship
The fact of being in charge of a child or young person under the protection of a guardian or of the court; the power of a court to take on the responsibilities of a parent in the interests of a child or young person. Legal dictionary
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Warranty
A guarantee or promise which provides assurance by one party to the other party that specific facts or conditions are true or will happen. The factual guarantee may be enforced regardless of materiality which allows for a legal remedy if that promise is not true or is not followed. Although a warranty in its simplest form is an element of a contract, some warranties run with a product so that a manufacturer makes the warranty to a consumer with which the manufacturer has no direct contractual relationship. Legal dictionary
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Whistleblower
A person who exposes misconduct, alleged dishonest or illegal activity occurring within an organisation. The alleged misconduct may be a violation of the law, rule, regulation and/or a direct threat to the public interest, such as fraud, health and safety violations, and corruption. Whisleblowers may make their allegations internally (to other people within the accused organisation) or externally (to regulators, law enforcement agencies, to the media or to groups concerned with the issues). Legal dictionary
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