Latin Legal Terms

Actio iniuriarum is a Roman-law action received into South African law to protect personality interests, especially dignity, reputation, and bodily integrity against intentional infringement. In modern South African law

Boni mores denotes the legal convictions of the community and functions as a normative standard in South African law. It is used especially in delict and contract to assess wrongfulness, public policy, and whether conduc

This phrase denotes the totality of the marital consortium: the shared life, society, companionship, affection, and reciprocal support that arise from marriage. In South African law it is most often used in family-law an

In South African law, contumelia refers to the injury to a person's dignity, self-respect, or reputation caused by an insulting or humiliating wrongful act. It is a recognised form of non-patrimonial harm in the law of d

The nasciturus fiction is the rule that an unborn child is deemed already born whenever this benefits the child, provided the child is later born alive. In South African law it is used chiefly in succession and benefits

In South African law, solatium refers to monetary compensation awarded for non-patrimonial harm, especially injured feelings, pain, suffering, or loss of amenities of life. The term is commonly encountered in delict and

Stuprum is a Roman-law term referring to unlawful or disgraceful sexual intercourse, historically used to denote illicit sexual conduct falling short of rape but still recognised as an injury or wrong. In South African l