Meaning and Their Common Use

S.No	Legal Maxim	Meaning	Common Use
1	Actus Non Facit Reum Nisi Mens Sit Rea	Act does not make a person guilty without guilty mind	Criminal law defence
2	Audi Alteram Partem	Hear the other side	Natural justice
3	Nemo Judex In Causa Sua	No one should be judge in his own case	Bias prevention
4	Ignorantia Juris Non Excusat	Ignorance of law is no excuse	General legal principle
5	Res Ipsa Loquitur	Thing speaks for itself	Negligence cases
6	Volenti Non Fit Injuria	No injury to a willing person	Consent defence
7	Ubi Jus Ibi Remedium	Where there is a right, there is a remedy	Civil rights
8	Mens Rea	Guilty mind	Criminal liability
9	Actus Reus	Guilty act	Criminal law
10	Caveat Emptor	Buyer beware	Contract law
11	Caveat Venditor	Seller beware	Consumer protection
12	Injuria Sine Damno	Injury without damage	Legal rights violation
13	Damnum Sine Injuria	Damage without legal injury	No legal remedy
14	Qui Facit Per Alium Facit Per Se	Acts done through others	Vicarious liability
15	Ex Turpi Causa Non Oritur Actio	No action from immoral cause	Illegal contracts
16	Pacta Sunt Servanda	Agreements must be kept	Contract enforcement
17	Prima Facie	At first sight	Initial evidence
18	Sub Judice	Under judicial consideration	Pending cases
19	Bona Fide	In good faith	Honest actions
20	Mala Fide	In bad faith	Fraud cases
21	De Minimis Non Curat Lex	Law does not care for small matters	Minor issues
22	Expressio Unius Est Exclusio Alterius	Express mention excludes others	Interpretation
23	Ejusdem Generis	Same kind/category	Statutory interpretation
24	Noscitur A Sociis	Word known by context	Interpretation
25	Lex Loci	Law of the place	Jurisdiction
26	Lex Fori	Law of the court	Procedure
27	Res Judicata	Matter already judged	Civil procedure
28	Lis Pendens	Suit pending	Property disputes
29	In Personam	Against a person	Civil rights
30	In Rem	Against the world	Property rights
31	Habeas Corpus	Produce the body	Illegal detention
32	Mandamus	We command	Public duty enforcement
33	Certiorari	To be informed	Quash order
34	Prohibition	Stop proceedings	Lower court control
35	Quo Warranto	By what authority	Office validity
36	Ratio Decidendi	Reason for decision	Binding precedent
37	Obiter Dicta	Incidental remarks	Not binding
38	Stare Decisis	Follow precedents	Judicial consistency
39	Ultra Vires	Beyond powers	Invalid acts
40	Intra Vires	Within powers	Valid acts
41	Ab Initio	From beginning	Void contracts
42	Ad Hoc	For specific purpose	Temporary action
43	Inter Alia	Among other things	Legal drafting
44	Sine Qua Non	Essential condition	Causation
45	Mutatis Mutandis	With necessary changes	Adaptation
46	Per Incuriam	Ignorance of law	Weak precedent
47	Casus Omissus	Case omitted	Interpretation gap
48	Actio Personalis Moritur Cum Persona	Personal action dies with person	Tort law
49	Delegatus Non Potest Delegare	Delegate cannot further delegate	Authority limits
50	Salus Populi Suprema Lex	Welfare of people is supreme law	Constitutional law
51	Acta Exteriora Indicant Interiora Secreta	External acts show inner intention		Criminal intention
52	Allegans Contraria Non Est Audiendus	One making contradictory statements is not heard		Evidence law
53	Alibi	Elsewhere		Criminal defence
54	Ambiguitas Contra Stipulatorem Est	Ambiguity against drafter		Contract law
55	Bis Dat Qui Cito Dat	He gives twice who gives promptly		Equity principle
56	Causa Proxima Non Remota Spectatur	Immediate cause considered		Tort law
57	Cogitationis Poenam Nemo Patitur	No punishment for thoughts		Criminal law
58	Consensus Ad Idem	Meeting of minds		Contract formation
59	Contemporanea Expositio Est Optima	Contemporary interpretation is best		Statutory interpretation
60	Delegatus Non Potest Delegare	Delegate cannot further delegate		Administrative law
61	Dura Lex Sed Lex	Law is harsh but it is law		Strict application
62	Equity Looks to Intent Rather Than Form	Focus on intention		Equity
63	Equity Follows the Law	Equity respects law		Equity principle
64	Facta Sunt Potentiora Verbis	Facts stronger than words		Evidence
65	Falsus in Uno Falsus in Omnibus	False in one thing, false in everything		Witness credibility
66	Fiat Justitia Ruat Caelum	Let justice be done though heavens fall		Justice principle
67	Generalia Specialibus Non Derogant	General does not override special		Interpretation
68	In Dubio Pro Reo	Doubt favors accused		Criminal law
69	In Pari Delicto	Equal fault		Contract illegality
70	In Re	In the matter of		Case titles
71	Interest Reipublicae Ut Sit Finis Litium	Litigation must end		Finality of cases
72	Ipso Facto	By the fact itself		Automatic effect
73	Jus Cogens	Compelling law		International law
74	Jus Naturale	Natural law		Legal philosophy
75	Jus in Personam	Right against person		Civil law
76	Jus in Rem	Right against world		Property law
77	Lex Non Cogit Ad Impossibilia	Law does not compel impossible		Defence
78	Lex Posterior Derogat Priori	Later law prevails		Conflict of laws
79	Locus Standi	Right to be heard		Maintainability
80	Mala Fide	Bad intention		Fraud cases
81	Modus Operandi	Method of operation		Criminal investigation
82	Nemo Dat Quod Non Habet	No one gives what he doesn’t have		Property transfer
83	Nemo Debet Bis Puniri Pro Uno Delicto	No double punishment		Criminal law
84	Nemo Moriturus Praesumitur Mentire	Dying person doesn’t lie		Dying declaration
85	Nullum Crimen Sine Lege	No crime without law		Criminal law
86	Nullum Poena Sine Lege	No punishment without law		Criminal law
87	Omnia Praesumuntur Rite Esse Acta	Acts presumed lawful		Presumption
88	Pari Materia	On same subject		Interpretation
89	Pendente Lite Nihil Innovetur	Nothing new during litigation		Property disputes
90	Per Se	By itself		Legal reasoning
91	Post Mortem	After death		Medical/legal
92	Pro Bono	For public good		Free legal work
93	Pro Rata	Proportionately		Financial division
94	Res Gestae	Things done		Evidence law
95	Sic Utere Tuo Ut Alienum Non Laedas	Use property without harming others		Tort law
96	Status Quo	Existing condition		Interim relief
97	Sui Generis	Unique in nature		Interpretation
98	Ubi Jus Ibi Remedium	Right implies remedy		Civil law
99	Ut Res Magis Valeat Quam Pereat	Interpretation to uphold validity		Statutory law
100	Vigilantibus Non Dormientibus Jura Subveniunt	Law helps the vigilant		Limitation law
101	Actio Personalis Moritur Cum Persona	Personal action dies with person		Tort law
102	Actus Dei Nemini Facit Injuriam	Act of God harms no one (no liability)		Natural disaster defence
103	Boni Judicis Est Ampliare Jurisdictionem	Good judge enlarges justice		Judicial discretion
104	Cessante Ratione Legis Cessat Ipsa Lex	Reason ends, law ends		Interpretation
105	Clausula Rebus Sic Stantibus	Things remaining same		Contract change
106	Corpus Delicti	Body of offence		Criminal proof
107	Delegata Potestas Non Potest Delegari	Delegated power cannot be re-delegated		Administrative law
108	Dies Non Juridicus	Non-working day		Court procedure
109	Ex Abundanti Cautela	By abundant caution		Drafting
110	Ex Gratia	Out of kindness		Compensation
111	Ex Parte	One-sided		Court orders
112	Ex Post Facto	After the act		Constitutional law
113	Fieri Facias	Cause it to be done		Execution of decree
114	Fraus Est Celare Fraudem	Concealment is fraud		Fraud cases
115	In Limine	At the threshold		Preliminary stage
116	In Loco Parentis	In place of parent		Guardianship
117	In Toto	Completely		Legal drafting
118	Incognito	Unknown identity		Criminal cases
119	Interest Reipublicae	Public interest		Constitutional law
120	Inter Vivos	Between living persons		Property transfer
121	Invito Beneficium Non Datur	Benefit not forced		Contract law
122	Jus Tertii	Rights of third party		Property disputes
123	Laches	Delay defeats equity		Equity law
124	Lex Talionis	Law of retaliation		Criminal law theory
125	Malum in Se	Wrong in itself		Criminal law
126	Malum Prohibitum	Wrong because prohibited		Statutory offence
127	Mens Rea	Guilty mind		Criminal liability
128	Modus Vivendi	Way of living		Settlement
129	Mortis Causa	In contemplation of death		Gift law
130	Non Est Factum	It is not my deed		Contract defence
131	Non Sequitur	Does not follow		Argument flaw
132	Novus Actus Interveniens	New intervening act		Break chain of causation
133	Obiter	By the way		Judicial remark
134	Onus Probandi	Burden of proof		Evidence law
135	Pari Passu	Equal footing		Insolvency
136	Per Capita	Per head		Distribution
137	Per Curium	By the court		Judicial decision
138	Plenum Dominium	Full ownership		Property law
139	Prima Facie	At first glance		Evidence
140	Pro Forma	As a matter of form		Procedure
141	Quantum Meruit	As much as earned		Contract payment
142	Qui Tacet Consentire Videtur	Silence implies consent		Contract
143	Res Nullius	Nobody’s property		Ownership
144	Res Communis	Common property		Public rights
145	Scienter	Knowingly		Fraud cases
146	Sub Silentio	Without notice		Precedent
147	Sui Juris	Legally competent		Legal capacity
148	Uberrimae Fidei	Utmost good faith		Insurance law
149	Ultra Vires	Beyond powers		Invalid acts
150	Volenti Non Fit Injuria	Consent removes injury		Defence in tort

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150 LEGAL MAXIMS

Meaning and Their Common Use

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