Latin Legal Terms

Definitions and South-African-law usage notes for the Latin terms judges, lawyers, and textbooks routinely cite. Free, indexed, and updated as new terms are curated from our source library.

Actio Pauliana Utilis
Action of Paul useful
This phrase refers to a legal principle where, in exceptional cases, an action can be brought forth by someone other than the direct party, with the permission and for the benefit of the actual claimant. It is rooted in
#civil-law#procedure
arrhae sponsalitiae
These payments are not in Latin but are related to the contractual obligations of a husband to his wife.
This phrase is used to describe the legal principle where a husband’s financial support or maintenance obligations towards his wife, which stems from matrimonial and family law principles. Such terms often reflect histor
#family-law#constitutional#civil-law