Self-help
Available entries: 402 entries
Entries: 402
Sort by:
Date (newest first)
Hire a lawyer online
Save time and money. Buy fixed-fee legal services or submit your request and get multiple competitive offers from qualified lawyers.
Popular Q&A
View all Looking for something else?
Ask for advice from a lawyer
Legal dictionary
All countries
Standard directions
Instructions that a court gives to the parties to a case on how to prepare the case for trial. The directions are intended to make sure that everything about the case is known to the court and to all the parties before the full court hearing. Legal dictionary
All countries
Mutatis mutandis
A Latin phrase meaning ‘the necessary changes having been made’ or ‘once the necessary changes have been made’. Legal dictionary
All countries
Charter party
A written, or partly written and partly printed, contract between a ship owner and a merchant, by which a ship is let or hired for the conveyance of goods on a specific voyage, or for a defined period. A vessel might also be hired to carry passengers on a journey. Where the vessel is hired for a single voyage, and the vessel’s owner provides the master, crew, bunker and supplies, the arrangement is known as a voyage charter. Legal dictionary
All countries
Alienation
The capacity for a piece of property or a property right to be sold or otherwise transferred from one party to another. Legal dictionary
All countries
Tribunal
Any person or institution with authority to judge, adjudicate on, or determine claims or disputes, whether or not it is called a tribunal in its title. Legal dictionary
All countries
Common law marriage
A union of two people not formalised in the customary manner as prescribed by law but created by an informal agreement to marry followed by cohabitation. As the union is not legally recognised it does not affect or grant any rights of property ownership, rights of survivorship or spousal benefits as between the parties. Legal dictionary
All countries
مرافعة
ما يقدمه المحامي من أدلة وحجج لإثبات برائة موكله، وبيان الأسانيد القانونية التي تؤيد موقفه أمام الجهات القضائية. وهو حق ممنوح للخصوم بموجب القانون، ويُمنع مقاطعتهم إلا إذا خرجوا عن موضوع الدعوى. Legal dictionary
All countries
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. Legal dictionary
All countries
Slander
Oral defamation in which someone tells one or more persons a lie about another which lie will harm the reputation of the person defamed. Damages for slander may be limited to actual (special) damages unless there is malicious intent. Where malicious intent is proven, the injured party will be entitled to recover general or even punitive damages. Legal dictionary
All countries
Reasonable wear and tear
Commonly used in leases to limit the tenant’s responsibility (and therefore liability to repair and redecorate) upon leaving the premises. It is subjective but the considerations include the length of time of the tenancy (the longer the tenancy the more wear and tear can be expected), the lack of unusual damage such as a hole in the wall or a broken window, and the condition of the premises when the tenant moved in (usually evidenced by a schedule of condition). Legal dictionary
All countries
Uphold
To declare that a challenged law is valid or to state officially that a decision or fact is correct. Legal dictionary
All countries
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
All countries
Feasible
Capable of being carried out or likely to be successful. Legal dictionary
All countries
Without prejudice
Without implied admission of liability; without having any effect on another right or claim. Legal dictionary
All countries
Boilerplate
Standard wording in a contract or other legal document that cannot be renegotiated. Legal dictionary
All countries