actus legitimus
ˈak.tus leˈɡi.ti.mus
noun phrase
Literal translation
lawful act
Legal meaning
Actus legitimus refers to a formal legal act that the law recognises as valid in itself and that traditionally cannot be made subject to a condition or term. In South African private-law and procedural writing, the phrase is used mainly in Roman-Dutch and historical doctrinal discussion rather than in everyday modern pleading. It can arise when distinguishing completed juristic acts from agreements or dispositions that may be conditional.
Examples
- The writer treated acceptance of an inheritance as an actus legitimus that could not be qualified by a suspensive condition.
- Counsel referred to the Roman-Dutch notion of actus legitimus in arguing that the procedural step was final once validly performed.
- In historical private-law analysis, an actus legitimus is contrasted with juristic acts that may be subject to dies or condicio.