Abstract of Title | A list of the documents and facts constituting the vendor’s or seller’s title to land and certain interests in land prepared when land is sold. |
Act of bankruptcy | A person cannot be made bankrupt merely because they are insolvent, i.e. cannot pay their debts. A petition to make them bankrupt cannot be presented against them until some act of a public nature has taken place in consequence of the financial difficulties of the debtor. These acts are called ‘acts of bankruptcy.’ The most usual of these acts is failure to comply with a bankruptcy notice, that is, to pay to a creditor who has obtained a judgment from a court the amount due on that judgment when demanded in writing, called a bankruptcy notice. |
Act of God | Also termed ‘viz major’, this is an occurrence that has its origin in the agency of natural forces, for example a great and violent storm. Like an inevitable accident, it constitutes a defence to an action for negligence. One such occurrence declared by the High Court in recent years arose out of claims for damage caused by such a storm in Co. Wicklow. |
Adjudication order | An order of the court following on the petition and receiving order in bankruptcy that makes a debtor bankrupt, and for the first time takes their property away from them and gives it to a trustee to be divided among their creditors. |
Administration action | Any personal representative, i.e. executor or administrator, or beneficiary under a will or intestacy (where no will is made), or any creditor of a deceased person, is entitled to seek the assistance of the court in deciding any question of doubt such as a right to receive a legacy or payment of a debt. |
Affidavit | A sworn statement in writing. |
Affirmation | This is a substitute for the oath used in cases where the person giving evidence, whether verbally or by affidavit, objects to take the oath because the taking of an oath is contrary to their religious beliefs or they have no religious beliefs. In such a case they are said to ‘affirm.’ Instead of saying the words of the oath, ‘I swear by Almighty God that …’, they say, ‘I A.B. do solemnly, sincerely and truly declare and affirm …’. |
Aggravated damages | An increased measure of damages awarded by a court where the defendant’s conduct has been so wanton and reckless as to injure the plaintiff to an exceptional degree. |
Alternative dispute resolution | Procedures for settling disputes by means other than litigation, e.g. arbitration and mediation. |
Appeal | An application to a higher court to revise a decision of an inferior court or tribunal. |
Appearance | A document issued by a defendant in a civil action indicating their intention to defend the action. |
Arbitration | One of the most common ways in which a right of bringing an action is suspended or stayed is by entering into an agreement to arbitrate upon differences that may arise. Where a person has agreed to arbitration, the courts will not permit them to bring an act on the subject of the dispute until the arbitration has been decided. Arbitration hearings are held in private. Arbitration is generally believed to be less expensive than litigation. |
Attorney General | The chief legal adviser to the Government. He/she also represents the public at large when their interests are at stake. |
Attorney, power of | A written authority given by one person to another to act legally in their name. |
Bailee | A person with whom property is pledged or deposited, e.g. a pawnbroker. The transaction is said to be a ‘bailment’; the person to whom the goods belong is called the ‘bailor’. |
Brief | The written instructions prepared by solicitors for barristers prior to trial. |
Certiorari | The writ ordering the removal of a trial from one court to another, e.g. from an inferior to a higher court. If the application is successful, the court may quash the order made by the inferior court or tribunal. |
Case stated | A statement of facts prepared by a court in order to get the opinion of a higher court on a point of law. |
Caveat | A written notice requesting that nothing be done regarding the estate of a deceased person without notice being given to the person who issued the caveat or their solicitor. |
Contempt of court | Conduct offensive to a court or prejudicial to the administration of justice, e.g. publication of an accused person’s previous convictions before the jury pronounces its verdict or doing something such as picketing in defiance of a court order. |
Copyright | The exclusive right to make copies of an original work. |
Counsel | Barristers, including senior counsel and members of the Junior Bar. |
Criminal libel | A libel so grave or so dangerous in character that it is the fit subject of criminal proceedings. High Court approval must be sought before a writ for criminal libel can be issued. |
Damages, general | Such damages as the law presumes to have resulted from a civil wrong (a tort) without the plaintiff having to prove special injury. |
Damages, special | Direct loss and damage as the plaintiff can prove they suffered as a consequence of the defendant’s wrongful conduct. |
Damages, exemplary | An amount of damages that is so great or heavy as to make an example of a defendant. |
Damages, punitive | An award of heavy damages to punish a defendant in a civil action whose conduct has been of a flagrant nature and a gross infringement of the plaintiff’s right. The reason for this is that it is the function of the civil courts to compensate and the function of the criminal courts to punish. |
Defamation | The publication of words injurious to another person’s character or reputation. There are two kinds, libel and slander. |
Discovery | A legal proceeding in the Circuit Court or High Court by which a party to a civil action may voluntarily or by court order disclose under oath any documents in their possession or procurement bearing on the issues in dispute. |
Emergency care order | An order placing a child in the care of the Health Service Executive for a maximum period of eight days if the court is satisfied there is a serious risk to the child’s health or welfare. |
Ex parte | Proceedings conducted on behalf of one party to a civil action in the absence of the other. |
In camera | A court hearing in which the public is excluded from attending. |
Intra vires | Within the power of. |
Injunction | A court order directing a party to do, or to refrain from doing, something. An injunction can be ad interim (temporary), interlocutory (continuing) or perpetual (permanent). There are different kinds of injunctions, including a mareva injunction, which bars a defendant from removing their assets from the jurisdiction until the trial of an action for a debt due. |
Libel | A permanent representation, such as writing, the effect of which is to injure a person’s good name by holding them to public ridicule, hatred or contempt. |
Notary public | A solicitor who witnesses the signing of documents or makes copies of them to verify their authenticity. |
Mandamus | A writ issued by the High Court ordering a lower court to perform some duty. |
Mediation | A form of alternative dispute resolution that aims to assist two (or more) disputants in reaching an agreement. Whether an agreement results or not, and whatever the content of that agreement, if any, the parties themselves determine it rather than accepting something imposed by a third party. |
Mortgage suit | A proceeding to recover a debt by forcing a sale of property available to the holder of security on that property. |
Plenary summons | The document which commences certain proceedings in the High Court, e.g. damages for personal injuries and libel. |
Prima facie | On first view. |
Slander | Defamatory words spoken by mouth. |
Specific performance | An order of the court directing a defendant to perform a contract in the plaintiff’s favour. |
Sub judice | The term used when legal proceedings have been commenced, whether civil or criminal, when public comment is forbidden and breach of it can constitute contempt of court. |
Subpoena | A summons addressed to a witness ordering their attendance in court for the hearing of an action. |
Ultra vires | Beyond the power of. |
Without prejudice | The term used in relation to a letter written or an admission made during negotiations, on the understanding that it will not be used against the party making it in the event of a court action. |
Adapted with permission from Going to Court: A Consumer’s Guide by Damien McHugh (Dublin, First Law: 2002).