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Available entries: 418 entries
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Pro bono
Latin for ‘public good’. Used to describe professional work undertaken voluntarily and without payment or at a reduced fee as a public service. It is service that uses the skills of professionals to provide services to those who are unable to afford them. Legal dictionary
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Defamation
Damaging the reputation of a person or a group of people by publishing or saying bad things about them that are not true. More specifically, saying words which amount to defamation is slander and defamation in other forms, such as printed words or images, is libel. Legal dictionary
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Tort
French for wrong, a civil wrong or a wrongful act, whether intentional or accidental, from which injury occurs to another. Although crimes may be torts, the cause of legal action is not necessarily a crime, as the harm may be due to negligence which does not amount to criminal negligence. The victim of the harm can recover damages by bringing court proceedings. Torts include defamation, product liability and copyright infringement. Legal dictionary
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Locus standi
The ability of a party to demonstrate to a court sufficient connection to and harm from court proceedings that makes their involvement in those proceedings essential to the fair and proper outcome of those proceedings. Legal dictionary
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Constructive dismissal
Occurs when an employee resigns as a result of the employer creating a hostile work environment. Since the resignation was not truly voluntary, it is in effect a termination giving rise to the employee acquiring the right to make claims against the employer for compensation. The employee may resign over a single serious incident or over a pattern of incidents. Generally, the employee must resign soon after the occurrence of the serious incident or the pattern of incidents. Legal dictionary
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Modus operandi
A Latin phrase meaning the method of operation. Most commonly used in criminal cases, it is sometimes referred to by its initials, M.O. The prosecution does not have to prove any modus operandi, but identifying and proving it can help the prosecution to prove that it was the defendant that committed the crime charged. Proving a modus operandi does not require the crimes to be identical, but the prosecution must make a strong and persuasive case of similarity between the crime charged and the other crimes. The prosecution may introduce evidence from prior or subsequent crimes to prove modus operandi only if the other crimes share particular and distinctive features with the crime charged. The features must be uncommon and rarely seen in other crimes, and they must be so distinct that they can be recognised as the handiwork of the same person. Legal dictionary
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وكيل نيابة
شخص يملك صفة قانونية للتصرف في القضايا والمحاضر والإدعاء أمام المحاكم الجنائية بأنواعها من الجنايات والجنح والمخالفات بصفته ممثل الدولة أو الادعاء. يتعامل وكيل النيابة مع الجمهور مباشرةً بصفته عضو في السلطة القضائية، وهو الذي يمارس التحقيق في الوقائع ليسبغ عليها التكييف القانوني قبل تقديمها إلى رئيس النيابة؛ كأن يضيف تقارير الاتهام وقوائم الأدلة والاثباتات قبل إحالة المتهم إلى المحكمة. Legal dictionary
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Beneficial interest
Profit, benefit or advantage resulting from a contract, or a right in something (property or an estate) as opposed to having actual legal title (legal ownership) to the thing. Legal dictionary
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Jurisdiction
The power and authority constitutionally conferred upon (or constitutionally recognised as existing in) a court or judge to pronounce the sentence of law, or award the remedies provided by the law, upon a state of facts, proved or admitted, referred to the court or tribunal for decision, and authorised by the law to be the subject of investigation or action by that court or tribunal, and in favour of or against persons who present themselves, or who are brought, before the court or tribunal in some manner sanctioned by law as proper and sufficient. Legal dictionary
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Statutory declaration
Commonly used to allow a person to declare something to be true for the purposes of satisfying some legal requirement or regulation when no other evidence is available. They are made under statutory authority before a justice of the peace or a commissioner for oaths and may in certain circumstances be substituted for a statement on oath, such as an affidavit or sworn statement. Legal dictionary
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Due diligence
Is the investigation of a business or person prior to signing a contract. A common example of due diligence in various industries is the process through which a potential buyer evaluates a target company or its assets for an acquisition. Legal dictionary
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Stalking
Unwanted or obsessive attention by an individual or group towards another person. It is related to harassment and intimidation and may include following the victim in person or monitoring them. Legal dictionary
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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. 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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Henceforth
Imports a continuity of action or condition from the present time forward, but excludes all the past. Legal dictionary
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