captus mente
KAP-tus MEN-teh
adjectival phrase
Literal translation
of unsound mind; mentally impaired
Legal meaning
This phrase denotes a person who lacks soundness of mind or sufficient mental capacity. In South African legal usage it appears in older authorities and procedural contexts concerning a person’s capacity to litigate, contract, or manage affairs, often overlapping with modern references to mental incapacity. Contemporary legal writing generally prefers clearer statutory or clinical language, but the Latin term may still arise in judgments discussing representation or curatorship.
Examples
- The court considered whether the litigant was captus mente and therefore required assistance in the proceedings.
- Older authorities refer to a person as captus mente when dealing with capacity to act in law.
- A curator may be appointed where a person is alleged to be captus mente and unable to manage his or her affairs.