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

Animus manendi denotes the intention to remain in a place and is used in South African law primarily when determining domicile or ordinary residence. It refers to the mental element that, together with physical presence,

In Roman-Dutch and South African legal usage, bonis interdictum refers to an interdiction against a person's estate or property, historically restricting that person from administering or dealing with their assets. It is

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, con

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

In South African criminal law, culpa incapax refers to the rebuttable presumption that a child of a certain age lacks criminal capacity and cannot be held criminally responsible unless the State proves capacity. The conc

A curator ad litem is a person appointed by a court to represent and protect the interests of a minor, unborn person, or someone under a legal disability in specific litigation. In South African law, the appointment is p

A curator bonis is a person appointed by a court to administer and safeguard the property or financial affairs of another person who is unable to do so, such as a person lacking capacity or otherwise under legal disabili

A curator personae is a person appointed by a court to care for and make decisions concerning another person's personal welfare, as distinct from managing that person's property. In South African law, the appointment is

Lex domicilii refers to the law of the place where a person is domiciled. In South African private international law, it is used as a connecting factor, especially in questions concerning personal status, capacity, and c

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

This maxim expresses the common-law presumption that a child born within a valid marriage is presumed to be the child of the husband. In South African law, it has historically been relevant in questions of legitimacy, pa

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