NOTE: I am not a lawyer, just someone who is making sense of the law for people who don’t understand it. Do not use this as legal advice.
Law is defined by many precedents, mostly through previous cases that created rulings. These cases create a framework of philosophical thought that forms a legal maxim over time. Most attorneys tend to learn these maxims and doctrines in law school, thereby reinforcing its culture.
Even in a fledgling nation, many lawyers will consult other nations that wrestled with the same issues instead of starting from scratch.
Human nature is relatively unchanging, so laws seem to always have some overlap, even across vastly different cultures. It is worth indicating, however, that some of these doctrines are actually unethical in many situations.
It’s also worth indicating that there are many situations where opposing doctrines overlap, meaning precedent makes way for the judge’s personal opinion.
Broad Maxims
Boni judicis est ampliare jurisdictionem – A good judge will enlarge his jurisdiction (i.e., remedial non-binding authority)
Furiosis nulla voluntas est – A madman has no will
Furiosis furore suo puiner – A madman is best punished by his madness
Furious absentis loco est – A madman is like someone absent
Actio personalis moritur cum persona – A personal right of action dies with the person
Pacta sunt servanda – Agreements must be kept
Actus non facit reum nisi mens sit rea – An act does not make one guilty unless it is accompanied by a guilty mind
Actus me invito factus non est mens actus – An act done by me against my will is not my act
Pacta sunt servanda – Agreements must be kept
Volenti non fit injuria – Damage suffered by consent gives no cause of action
Lex non a rege est violanda – Even the king must not violate the law
Everything which is not forbidden is allowed
- More specific times: Everything which is not allowed is forbidden
Falsus in uno falsus in omnibus – False in one thing, false in everything
Audi alteram partem – Hear the other side
Ignorantia facit doth excusat, Ignorance juris non-excusat – Ignorance of fact is an excuse, but ignorance of the law is no excuse
Fraus est celare fraudem – It is a fraud to conceal a fraud
Interest reipublicae ut sit finis litium – It is in the republic’s interest that there be an end to litigation
Justice delayed is justice denied
Justitia nemini neganda est – Justice must be denied to nobody
Necessitas non habet legem – Necessity knows no law
Nemo dat quod non habet – Nobody can give what they don’t have
Nemo debet locupletari ex aliena jactura – Nobody should grow rich from another’s loss
Nullum crimen sine lege, nulla poena sine lege – No crime without written law, no punishment without written law
Nemo moriturus praesumitur mentire – No dying person presumes they can lie (implies dying declarations have weight)
Nemo iudex in causa/propria sua – No one is the judge in their cause
Nemo Potest esse tenens et dominus – No person of a property can be both tenant and landlord
Nemo plus luris ad allum transferre potest quam ipse habet – One cannot transfer to another more rights than they have
Qui facit per alium facit per se – One who acts through another does the action themself
Qui peccat ebrius luat sobrius – One who does wrong while drunk must be punished while sober
Qui sentit commodum, sentire debet et onus – One who receives the advantage must also bear the burden
Res inter alios acta, aliis nec nocet nec prodest – Something done between some can’t harm or benefit others
Actori incumbit onus probandi – The burden of proof is on the plaintiff
Potior est conditio possidentis – The condition of the possessor is better
Rex non protest peccare – The king can do no wrong
Salus populi est suprema lex – The people’s welfare is the supreme law
De minimis non curat lex – The law does not govern unimportant things
Communis hostis omnium – They are common enemies of all
Violenti non fit injuria – To a willing person, injury is not done
Ubi jus ibi remedium – Where there is a right, there is a remedy
General Law Doctrines
Absolute liability (tort and criminal law) – an entity is liable for an action irrespective of their intent, views, or feelings
Actio libera in causa (civil and common law) – Latin for “action free in its cause”, even if someone wasn’t free to choose the course of action that violated a law or contract, they can still be held responsible if they voluntarily created a condition (“cause”) for the offending action
Actionable per se – The very act is punishable, and no proof of damage is required
Ademption by satisfaction – aka “satisfaction of legacies”, when someone gives part of their inheritance to their trustee before they die, it’s considered an advance payment
Administration of justice – every government gives its judges authority under several possible systems:
- Civil law – going back to Roman law, a code passed by a legislature that judges interpret
- Common law – the judges’ decisions determine the source of the laws
- Religious law – a religious system or document is the legal source, typically for a monotheistic religion
- A hybrid combination of the above
Alternative liability – even when one defendant may be at fault, the plaintiff can shift the burden of proving causation of their injury to multiple defendants
Attribution – aka “Imputation”, a broad family of legal doctrines where a defendant is liable who didn’t actually commit a criminal act (e.g., attempt/conspiracy to commit a crime, even if it wasn’t performed)
- Carltona doctrine (UK law) – the acts of government department officials are the same as the actions of the minister in charge of that department
- Command responsibility – aka “Yamashita standard”, “Medina standard” or “Superior responsibility”, a commanding officer (military) or superior officer (civil) is legally responsible for the war crimes and crimes against humanity committed by their subordinates
- Respondeat superior (common and civil law) – Latin for “let the master answer”, aka “vicarious liability” or “master-servant rule”, where employers/guardians/owners are responsible for the decided acts of their subordinates/dependents/charges
- Enterprise liability – individual entities like legally unrelated corporations or people can be held jointly liable for an action because of being part of a shared enterprise
Beneficium inventarii – literally “benefit of the inventory”, limits liability of heirs when an estate becomes insolvent
- Doctrine of exoneration of liens (common law) – a debt of a property (i.e., a mortgage) is paid with funds from the originating estate and not from the property itself
Bona fide purchaser (common and property law) – Someone who buys property without knowing that someone else different from the seller had rightful ownership of it is entitled to receive it
Chances doctrine – evidence is permitted to show that it is unlikely a defendant would be repeatedly, innocently involved in similar suspicious circumstances
Clean hands doctrine – aka “unclean hands doctrine” or “dirty hands doctrine”, a plaintiff is not entitled to obtain an equitable remedy if the defendant has proof they were acting unethically or in bad faith (e.g., monopolizing)
Commanding precedent – when the facts and issues of a previous case’s ruling are nearly the same, the previous ruling takes precedence
Contra principia negantem non est disputandum – Latin for “against one who denies the principles, there can be no debate”, to debate reasonably about a disagreement there must be agreement about the principles or facts that judge the arguments
Desuetude – a law that’s been valid but unenforced for a long time (e.g., obsolete) doesn’t have much weight in a ruling
Eminent domain – aka “land acquisition”, “compulsory purchase/acquisition”, “resumption”, or “expropriation”, a government is entitled to take private property for public use
Equity – a broad concept developed within the English Court of Chancery meant to provide a remedy where certain situations make the law too inflexible to create a fair resolution to a case (i.e., courts of equity allow for one-off weird situations)
Erga omnes – Latin for “towards all/everyone”, an enforceable right or obligation owed toward everything else
Ex post facto law – Latin for “out of the aftermath”, a law will retroactively change the legal consequences or status of actions that were committed before that law came into existence
Floodgates principle – in certain situations, if a judge were to rule on claims for damages, it would open metaphorical “floodgates” to large numbers of claims and lawsuits
Furiosi nulla voluntas est – Latin for “a madman cannot voluntarily choose”, mentally impaired people cannot validly sign a will, contract, or form a frame of mind necessary to commit a crime.
Homestead principle – when something is unowned, someone gains ownership of it by performing an act of original appropriation
In loco parentis – Latin for “in place of a parent”, a person or organization is sometimes legally responsible to take on some functions and responsibilities of a parent
In pari delicto – Latin for “in equal fault”, when both parties in a civil action are equally at fault or when the plaintiff has greater culpability, the court will not get involved in resolving one side’s claim over the other
- Wagoner doctrine – a claim of defrauding a willing corporation by a third party accrues to the creditors, and not to the guilty corporation
Interpretation rules – there are several ways to interpret laws in a court:
- Plain meaning rule – the statutes should be taken word-for-word and interpreted according to the original meaning of the language, the mechanism for textualism (that the original meaning of the law supersedes) and some parts of originalism (that the original understanding of the law as it was framed applies)
- Mischief rule – the statutes should not only consider the exact wording of a rule, but also the legislators’ intentions for enacting it to determine if a rule applies
- Golden rule – the statute as a textual whole provides context on how a given provision should be interpreted when resolving textual difficulties, can be a “narrow approach” (where the interpretation is really scoped down to specifics) or a “broad approach” (where it simply avoids any absurd results of precise and impractical law)
Jurisprudence constante – French for “stable jurisprudence”, a series of previous decisions that applied a previous legal principle or rule is highly persuasive but not controlling in subsequent cases dealing with similar or identical legal issues
Laches – French for “latches”, if a plaintiff has “slept on its rights” and there is an unreasonable delay to change circumstances to make it harder for the plaintiff to prove their case, it’s no longer a just resolution to grant the plaintiff’s claim
- Acquiescence – when a person knowingly stands by without raising objection to the infringement of their rights while someone else infringed on those rights unknowingly and without premeditated malice, that person may lose the right to take legal action against the infringer
- Nullum tempus – Latin for “no time runs”, short for “nullum tempus occurrit regi” or nullum tempus occurrit reipublicae” (no time runs against the king/republic), the government can proceed with actions that would normally be barred by laches, removes the complete legal inpenetrability of “squatters’ rights”
Last antecedent rule – if there’s a comma, it dramatically separates concepts in the text, one of the pettiest law disputes ever
Legal certainty – a law must allow people to make decisions to regulate themselves within it
Land tenure doctrine – land owned by an individual is possessed by someone who “holds” the land due to an agreement (i.e., feudalism)
Male captus, bene detentus – Latin for “wrongfully captured, properly detained”, a person may have been wrongfully or unfairly arrested, but it won’t affect whether that person’s trial can be fair
Mater semper certa est – Latin for “the mother is always certain”, the mother of the child is conclusively established, from the moment of birth, by the mother’s role in the birth (somewhat more complicated with in vitro fertilization)
- Pater semper incertus est – Latin for “the father is always uncertain”, the father of the child is never clearly defined
- Pater est, quem nuptiae demonstrant – Latin for “the father is he to whom marriage points”, being married can clarify who a child’s father is (though DNA testing is now often more effective)
Merger doctrine – one of several doctrines depending on the domain:
- Merger doctrine (civil law) – when litigants agree to a settlement, then seek it incorporated into a court order, that court order extinguishes the settlement and the authority of the court supervises behavior of both parties
- Merger doctrine (copyright law) – a clarification to idea–expression distinction where sometimes both the idea and expression are considered merged, meaning the expression can’t be protected (prevents double jeopardy)
- Merger doctrine (criminal law) – lesser included offenses tend to merge into the greater offense
- Merger doctrine (family law) – a woman’s legal identity merges with her husbands, meaning she couldn’t sue or testify against him (largely outdated)
- Merger doctrine (property law) – the contract for conveying proerty merges into the deed of conveyance, so any contractual guarantees not made in the deed are extinguished when the deed is conveyed
- Merger doctrine (trust law) – when the same person is both the sole trustee and sole beneficiary of a trust, the legal and equitable title are fused, and the trust is sometimes deemed to have terminated
Nolle prosequi – Latin for “to be unwilling to pursue”, prosecutors can end a criminal case before trial or before a rendered verdict
Non bis in idem – Latin for “not twice in the same thing”, aka “nemo bis punitur eodem delicto (nobody can be twice punished for the same offense), a Roman law where no legal action can be instituted twice for the same cause of action
Non-aggression principle – any act of aggression is inherently wrong
Novus actus interveniens – Latin for “new intervening act”, aka “breaking the chain”, in a cause-and-effect situation, an independent event which breaks the chain of events between the defendant and the imputed action
Nulla poena sine culpa – Latin for “no punishment without fault”, someone cannot be punished for something they are not guilty of
Onus probandi – Latin for “burden of proof”, one side of a dispute is typically presumed to be correct and the other side (typically the prosecutor/claimant) must provide evidence against the defendant
Open court principle – court proceedings must be open and accessible to the public, especially the media
Open justice – judicial proceedings must be conducted transparently and with the oversight and scrutiny of the people
Public policy doctrine – there are certain principles underneath all societies, though their implementation may vary:
- Ignorantia juris non excusat – Latin for “ignorance of the law is not an excuse”, frames the legal fiction of “constructive notice”
- Sanctity of life – life has enough inherent value that there is no clear justification to end a life except when in mortal self-defense
- Evasion doctrine – people and entities can’t evade the obligations and liabilities attached to them
- Parens patriae – Latin for “parent of the nation”, the state can intervene against an abusive or negligent parent, guardian or caretaker
- Favor matrimonii – Latin for “preferred marriage”, a marriage should be considered valid unless specific situations indicate otherwise
Proportionality – the scope of repayment/restitution/punishment should fit the damages/crime
Reasonable person – aka “reasonable man” or “man on the Clapham omnibus”, a hypothetical reasonable person who possesses a common set of facts and makes conclusions about what they observe, used for interpreting how a case should be ruled when the facts are incomplete to make a conclusion
Res judicata (civil and common law) – a case that delivers a final judgment can’t be subject to appeal any longer and that judgment continues to hold weight, similar to double jeopardy and non bis in idem
Rule according to higher law – a government can only enforce a law if it conforms with universal principles of fairness, morality, and justice
Rule against perpetuities – people who own legal instruments (e.g., trust, will) cannot exert control over private property for a long time beyond the lives of people living when the instrument was created
Slippery slope – making a ruling in a small matter can profoundly affect a larger one later
Statute of limitations – there is a set amount of time after an event happens where a case can be filed
- Tolling – the period of time for a statute of limitations can be paused for various specific reasons
Strict liability – a person is still legally responsible for the consequences flowing from an activity, irrespective of fault or criminal intent
Substantial certainty – even if someone didn’t intend a result, they are still responsible for it if they knew it was a reasonable likelihood
Tender years doctrine – mothers should have custody of children under ~4 years old
Undue influence – an action can be set aside for proceedings if that person was being extremely influenced/coerced by someone else
Year and a day rule – a person’s death can’t be attributed to an action that was more than a year and a day ago
UN
Best interests – aka “best interests of the child”, a child right principle that indicates that the best interests of a child should be the primary consideration in a ruling
USA
Aggregate effects doctrine – aka “substantial effects doctrine” or “cumulative effects doctrine”, interstate commerce regulations can affect any action only if it’s combined with other legal actions
Ecclesiastical abstention doctrine – legal systems can’t act on behalf of or against protected religious expression
Intracorporate conspiracy doctrine – members of a corporation can’t be held to have conspired among themselves, since the corporation is a single actor for the purposes of law, which means a conspiracy can include 1 actor
Undue hardship – specific circumstances can make someone exempt from particular responsibilities
Warranty tolling – in California, product warranties must sometimes be paused for the advantage of the purchaser
Willful blindness – if someone tries to avoid criminal liability by intentionally keeping themselves unaware of facts, they still know what they’re doing
Canada
Equal authenticity rule – both versions of a bilingual law (English and French) are equally authoritative
Wahkohtowin – Cree for “kinship”, every interaction has a social impact, typically represented by various circles of influence
China
Spring and Autumn Courts – judges determine their convictions based on their ideas of righteousness from the Spring and Autumn Annals (2,500-year-old legal documents that span a 350-year timespan further back)
Criminal Court Doctrines
Abatement ab initio – Latin for “from the beginning”, the death of a defendant appealing a criminal conviction stops all criminal proceedings initiated against that defendant
Beyond reasonable doubt – aka “moral certainty” a legal standard of proof commonly used in criminal court that indicates there must be irrefutable proof to validate a conviction, contrast to balance of probabilities
Crimen trahit personam – Latin for “the crime carries the person”, aka “inter-territorial jurisdiction”, a series of crimes across jurisdictions carry broader penalties
Due process – there are procedural rules and principles established by the state that honors the law of the land while also protecting the individual from the state
Fruit of the poisonous tree – evidence (“fruit”) obtained by illegal means (“poisonous tree”) is inadmissible in a court as evidence
- Inevitable discovery – an exception to exclusionary rule and fruit of the poisonous tree: admission of illegal evidence is still permissible if it would have “inevitably” have been obtained regardless of the legality
Hub-and-spoke conspiracy (criminal and antitrust law) – several parties (“spokes”) can enter into an unlawful agreement with a leading party (“hub”)
Jus necessitatis – Latin for “just necessity”, aka “doctrine of necessity”, a charged defendant should not be held responsible if they were performing a crime that prevented greater harm
Legality principle – no one can be convicted of a crime without a previously published legal text that clearly describes the crime
Negotiorum gestio – someone who acts on behalf of another’s interests (the “gestor”) without that person’s permission is entitled to reimbursement, but not remuneration
Nulla poena sine lege – Latin for “no punishment without law”, someone cannot be punished for something that isn’t prohibited by law
- Nulla poena sine lege praevia – Latin for “no punishment without previous law”, meaning ex post facto laws are prohibited
- Nulla poena sine lege scripta – Latin for “no punishment without written law”, meaning the laws must be written and not merely spoken
- Nulla poena sine lege certa – Latin for “no punishment without well-defined law”, meaning the punishable conduct and penalty must be clarified with sufficient definiteness
- Nulla poena sine lege stricta – Latin for “no punishment without exact law”, meaning application by analogy is prohibited
Presumption of guilt – the defendant is guilty when both the evidence is uncertain and they possess the burden of proof, prioritizes speed and efficiency over reliability and can be a violation of human rights
Presumption of innocence – the defendant is innocent when the evidence is uncertain and the plaintiff possesses the burden of proof, tends to favor human rights but can be much slower proceedings
Prosecutorial discretion – public prosecutors have a wide latitude to decide whether to charge a person for a crime and which charges to file
Totality principle – after sentencing has been counted but before delivering it, measure it by adding it all together to make sure it’s fair and accurate
Transferred intent – aka “transferred mens rea” or “transferred malice”, if someone intentionally tries to harm someone else, but harms a third person, they’re still responsible
Typicality (criminal law) – aka “prohibition of analogy”, criminal law only applies to real events that actually relate to the abstract case, without having to use an analogy
Year and a day rule (criminal law) – a crime is counted as a felony if the sentencing is at least a year and a day
USA
Brady disclosure – the prosecution is required to disclose any information or evidence that’s material to the guilt, innocence, or punishment of a defendant
Castle doctrine – a person has protections and immunities that permit them to use force to defend their legally occupied place from intrusion
Dangerous proximity doctrine – preparing and attempting a crime don’t form a clear standard, so preparatory acts are considered stronger evidence of action if the offense is more probable and more grave or serious, mixes with physical proximity doctrine
Double jeopardy – an accused person cannot be charged again on the same (or similar) charges following an acquittal or conviction, similar to res judicata and non bis in idem
Duty to retreat – aka “requirement of safe retreat”, a threatened person cannot harm another in self-defense when it’s possible instead to retreat to a place of safety, in contrast with stand-your-ground law, often dovetails with castle doctrine
Exclusionary rule – evidence collected or analyzed in violation of a defendant’s constitutional rights can’t be used in a court of law, validates the 4th Amendment
- Good-faith exception – an exception to exclusionary rule: evidence can be admitted if it’s collected in violation of an individual’s constitutional rights but the police officer believed their actions were legal
- Independent source doctrine – an exception to exclusionary rule: evidence initially discovered during or in the course of an unlawful search can still be lawful if it was later obtained independently by lawful activities later
- Mosaic theory – for assessing 4th Amendment violations (i.e., privacy violations), a government bureau’s information collection is treated as an aggregate “mosaic” rather than on an individual per-agency or per-investigator basis
- Open-fields doctrine – a search without a warrant of the area outside a property owner’s dwelling and immediate area doesn’t constitute a violation of the 4th Amendment
- Plain view doctrine – an exception to exclusionary rule: an officer is permitted to seize evidence and contraband found in plain view during a lawful observation
- Third-party doctrine – people who voluntarily provide information to third parties (e.g., banks, phone companies, email servers, internet service providers, social media companies) have no reasonable expectation of privacy of that information, so governments don’t need a warrant to obtain it
Fleeing felon rule – it’s lawful to use force (including deadly force) against an individual suspected of a felony and clearly fleeing
Massiah doctrine – A confession obtained without a defendant’s right to counsel (i.e., elicited by the police directly from them) is inadmissible in a court, holds up the 6th Amendment
Physical proximity doctrine – preparing and attempting a crime don’t form a clear standard, so preparatory acts are considered stronger evidence of action if the preparatory act is physically closer to the completed crime, mixes with dangerous proximity doctrine
Stand-your-ground law – aka “line in the sand” or “no duty to retreat” law, people may use deadly force when they reasonably believe it necessary to defend against certain violent crimes, in contrast with duty to retreat
Germany
Nuremburg principles – there are guidelines to define a war crime:
- Any person who commits a crime under international law is responsible for it.
- Even if internal law does not impose a penalty for a crime under international law, the person is still held responsible for that violation.
- Being in an official government capacity does not relieve them from responsibility under international law.
- A person acting on behalf of a superior or their government does relieve them of responsibility under international law.
- Anyone charged with a crime under international law is entitled to a fair trial on the facts and law.
- There are several crimes punishable under international law:
- Crimes against peace – planning, preparing, initiating or waging a war of aggression or in violation of international treaties, agreements, or assurances, or simply participating in a common plan or conspiracy for it
- War crimes – includes murder, ill-treatment, or deportation to slave labor in occupied territory, mistreatment of prisoners of war, killing hostages, plundering public or private property, heavily destroying cities and other community locations, and devastating anything not justified by military necessity
- Crimes against humanity – murder, extermination, enslavement, deportation, persecutions on political/racial/religious grounds
- Complicity with any of the crimes stated above is still violating international law.
Philippines
María Clara doctrine – aka “Woman’s Honor doctrine”, women, especially Filipinas, would not admit they had been abused unless that abuse actually happened
Civil Court Doctrines
Arm’s length principle (contract law) – the parties of a transaction must be independent and on equal footing
Assumption of risk (tort law) – a defense that a defendant is not liable for risks that the plaintiff knowingly ignored, can be express or implied
Attractive nuisance doctrine (tort law) – a landowner may be held liable for injuries to children trespassing on their land if the injury is caused by an object on the land that’s likely to attract children
Balance of probabilities – a legal standard of proof commonly used in civil court that indicates that the ruling will decide based on what party’s claim is most probable when considering all the factors, in contrast with reasonable doubt
Blue pencil doctrine (contract law) – if a contract has unenforceable components, its enforceable parts are still legally valid
Caveat actor – Latin for “let the doer beware”, the person performing the action is responsible for their action.
Caveat emptor (contract law) – Latin for “let the buyer beware”, the buyer must be aware of details pertaining to whom they’re buying from and the product they’re buying
Caveat lector (contract law) – Latin for “let the reader beware”, the reader should take careful note of a text’s contents and undertake due diligence on whether the contents are accurate, reliable, relevant, etc.
Caveat venditor (contract law) – Latin for “let the seller beware”, the seller must be aware of details pertaining to whom they’re selling to and why
Clausula rebus sic stantibus (contract law) – Latin for “as things stand”, a contract or treaty becomes inapplicable because of a material change in circumstances, counter-balances pacta sunt servanda
Clayton’s case – debts to a bank must be paid in the order they were incurred
Collateral source rule (common law) – evidence that the plaintiff/victim has received payment from a source that wasn’t directly from the defendant is inadmissible, which allows for double recovery against the defendant (e.g., medical insurance paying a bill doesn’t count toward the plaintiff’s recovery)
Comparative negligence (tort law) – aka “non-absolute contributory negligence”, the fault/negligence of each party involved is based on the percentage responsibility for the event, a frequent concept in insurance
Concurrent delay doctrine (contract law) – when both parties to a contract cause delays, neither party can recover damages for the period of time when both parties were at fault
Contra proferentem – Latin for “against the offeror”, aka “interpretation against the draftsman”, when a promise, agreement, or term is ambiguous the preferred meaning should be the one that works against the interests of the party who provided the wording
Contributory negligence (tort law) – the defense completely bars plaintiffs from any recovery if they contribute to their injury through their negligence
- Last clear chance doctrine – in tort law when using contributory negligence, a negligent plaintiff can still recover if they can show the defendant had the “last clear chance” to avoid the accident
Corporate opportunity (trust law) – directors, officers, and controlling shareholders of a corporation must not take any business opportunity for themselves which could benefit their corporation
Crumbling skull rule (tort law) – when a plaintiff had a condition or injury that predates the tort and would have naturally deteriorated or worsened over time (e.g., a crumbling skull) the defendant is not responsible for that part of the condition or injury
Dumpor’s case rule (property law) – if a landlord consents to assigning a tenant’s interest in a lease, they implicitly consent to all future assignments by the assignee
Duty of care (tort law) – an individual must legally adhere to a set standard of practices to not risk harming others
Duty to rescue (tort law) – a party can be held liable for failing to come to the rescue of another party who could face potential injury or death without being rescued
Eggshell skull (tort law) – the unexpected frailty of the injured person is not a valid defense to the seriousness of any injury caused to them
Estoppel – if a person says something, they can’t use the law to redact their word
Ex turpi causa non oritur actio – Latin for “from a dishonorable cause, an action does not arise”, aka “illegality defense”, a plaintiff cannot pursue legal action if they themselves performed something illegal in the event of that situation happening
Fireman’s rule (tort law) – aka “firefighter’s rule”, public safety officials like firefighters and police (and occasionally all public safety professionals) are not responsible for damages that occur in the course of their duties, even in cases of clear negligence by other parties
Four corners rule (contract/inheritance law) – If terms are ambiguous, the court must rely solely on the written instrument and can’t consider extraneous evidence
Fundamental breach – while most contract breaches nullify a contract in part, a breach can be so bad it nullifies a contract fully
Hotchpot rule – sometimes blending, combining or offsetting property (typically gifts) can ensure equality of a later division of property, most commonly in divorce proceedings
Intention to create legal relations (contract law) – aka “intention to be legally bound”, a court should presume parties to an agreement wish for that agreement to be legally binding, and it’s only legally enforceable if they intended it to be
Last shot rule (contract law) – a party will implicitly accept a counter-offer by indicating no objection to it, named after sellers normally “firing the last shot” by sending the final form in a negotiation
Laesio enormis (contract law) – a contracting party can rescind an agreement if the price of an exchange is less than 1/2 or 1/3 of its actual value
Locus standi – Latin for “standing location”, aka standing, where a party seeking a legal remedy must demonstrate that they are sufficiently connected to a law they’re claiming was violated
Mirror image rule – aka “unequivocal and absolute acceptance requirement”, an offer must be accepted exactly with no modifications, and an attempt to accept the offer on different terms instead creates a counter-offer
Parol evidence rule (contract law) – if a contract is written, then verbal agreements that had been made that weren’t captured in writing cannot be submitted as evidence
Posting rule (contract law) – a contract is typically bound at the date it was signed, but is only valid after the other party receives their expected goods
Pottery Barn rule (contract law) – if someone breaks an object on display for sale, they have created a contract to purchase it
Pre-existing duty rule (contract law) – performing a duty that existed before engaging in a contract doesn’t count as the duty that could form that contract
Privity of contract (contract law) – a contract can’t confer rights or impose obligations on anyone who isn’t a party to that contract
Proper law – the choice of law is a distinctive stage when there’s a conflict of applicable laws, and the state has regulations to determine which laws will apply
Res ipsa loquitur (tort law) – Latin for “the thing speaks for itself”, a court can infer negligence from the very nature of an accident or injury even when there’s no direct evidence of the defendant’s behavior
Restraints of trade (competition law) – unless the law has regulations directly overseeing a contract, everyone should have the freedom to regulate their mode of making agreements according to their discretion and choice
Rule in Dumpor’s Case – once a landlord consents to assigning a tenant to a lease, they implicitly consent to all future assignments by the that tenant
Subrogation – a third party (e.g., second creditor, insurance company) can assume another party’s legal right to collect a debt or damages
Substantial performance (contract law) – a court can imply a partial or substantially similar performance to stand in for a contract’s specified performance, an alternative principle to the perfect tender rule
Unconscionability – a contract that’s extremely one-sided is unethical to enforce
USA
Assumption of risk (tort law) – a plaintiff’s right to recovery is reduced or barred against a negligent tortfeasor if the defendant can demonstrate the plaintiff voluntarily assumed the risks at issue inherent to their dangerous activity
Baseball rule – a baseball team isn’t responsible for injuries caused by a foul ball if they put protected seating for the most likely areas where a foul ball would travel
Calculus of negligence – aka “the Hand Rule”, the owner’s duty to provide against an injury is based on (1) the chances an injury might happen, (2) the severity of that injury, and (3) the burden was sufficient for taking precautions against risks
Faithless servant – in New York, employees who act unfaithfully toward their employers must give up all compensation they’ve received during that period of disloyalty
Learned intermediary – a manufacturer of a product has fulfilled its duty of care when it has provided all the necessary information to a “learned intermediary” who then interacts with the consumer of a product, primarily used by pharmaceutical and medical device manufacturers to defend tort suits
Rescue doctrine (tort law) – if the defendant creates a circumstance that places the victim in danger, they’re not only liable for the harm caused to the victim but also harm caused to anyone injured while trying to rescue them
Substantial truth – a statement can’t be held as slander or libel if the statement is true but has “slight inaccuracies of expression”
Valid when made – if the terms of a loan are valid at their creation, they’re still valid if the lienholder is sold or assigned to another party
UK
Common employment (tort law) – when workers injure their fellow workers, the company who employs them is not responsible
Indoor management rule (company law) – aka “Rule in Turquand’s Case”, people transacting with companies are entitled to assume internal company rules are honored, even when they’re not
Non-derogation from grants doctrine (property law) – a seller of realty or goods can’t take any action that will lessen the buyer’s value of the thing sold
Germany
Abstraction principle – the buyer and seller in a business contract don’t necessarily own the payment or the object after the transfer, and it requires 3 contracts:
- the contract of sale itself that obligates the seller to transfer ownership of the product to the buyer and the buyer to pay the price
- a contract that transfers ownership of the product to the buyer, fulfilling the seller’s obligation
- a contract that transfers ownership of the money from the buyer to the seller, fulfilling the buyer’s obligation
Other Legal Domains
Correlative rights doctrine (property law) – landowners’ rights to a common source of water (and oil and gas in some US states) is shared proportionally to the size of them and their neighbors’ land
Equivalents doctrine (patent law) – a court can hold a party liable for patent infringement when the infringing device doesn’t fall within the literal scope of a patent claim but is still equivalent to the claimed invention
Fair abridgment (copyright law) – aka “fair use” or “fair dealing”, a copyrighted work is free for use in specific situations like parody, non-commercial use, and education
Implied license (intellectual property law) – a licensee is allowed to do something that would normally require the express permission of the licensor if the licensor’s actions lead the licensee to believe they have permission
Inevitable disclosure (intellectual property law) – an employer can claim a trade secret without needing proof or evidence to prevent a former employee from working a job that may result in using trade secrets
Internal affairs doctrine (corporations law) – aka “lex incorporationis”, the “internal affairs” of a corporation will be governed by the corporate statutes and case law of the state the corporation is incorporated in
Last injurious exposure rule (employment law) – when an occupational disease was potentially caused by a succession of jobs, the most recent employer with the risk exposure is liable
nemo dat quod non habet (contract law) – Latin for “no one can give what they do not have”, the purchase of a possession from someone who doesn’t have it also denies the purchaser any title to ownership
Nondelegation principle – aka “nondelegation doctrine”, one branch of government must not authorize another entity to exercise the power or function it already has for itself
Open mines doctrine (property law) – depletion of nonrenewable natural resources is considered waste unless consuming those resources constitutes normal use of the land
Polluter pays principle (environmental law) – the party responsible for producing pollution must pay for the damage done to the natural environment
Rule in Shelley’s Case (trust law) – if a person gives an inheritance to their next of kin and the remainder to their grandchildren underneath that, the next of kin technically has all of it
Scène à faire (copyright law) – French for “scene that must be done”, when a scene in a created work is almost required for that genre, certain elements of it are not protected by copyright (e.g., homeless people in a poor part of a city)
USA
Absolute priority (bankruptcy court) – aka “liquidation preference”, there’s an order to who gets paid in a bankruptcy: (1) debts to creditors (2) shareholders divide any remaining assets, with secured claims taking precedence over unsecured claims
Assignment of income doctrine (tax law) – each entity’s income must be their own for tax purposes
Boulevard rule (traffic court) – a driver of a vehicle entering a highway from a smaller road or entrance (“unfavored”) must stop and yield the right of way to all highway (“favored”) drivers
Cash equivalence doctrine (tax law) – certain non-cash payment transactions are treated
Economic substance (tax law) – a transaction must have a substantial purpose aside from reducing tax liability and an economic effect aside from the tax effect to qualify for any tax benefits
Essential facilities doctrine – a monopoly that owns a facility essential to its competitors must provide reasonable use of it
Exhausted combination doctrine (patent law) – aka “doctrine of the Lincoln Engineering case”, when an inventor invents a new, non-obvious device and tries to patent the new device and the combination of that new device with a known, conventional device it interacts with in a mundane way, that combination can’t be patented as well
Functionality doctrine (trademark law) – manufacturers can’t protect specific uses of a product with trademark law, since that’s a patent issue
First-sale doctrine (intellectual property law) – aka “exhaustion doctrine”, an intellectual property holder can control resale of products embodying its intellectual property, but the intellectual property is “exhausted” after a point
Foreign equivalents doctrine (trademark law) – courts and the TTAB must translate foreign words into English to determine if they can be registered as trademarks
Idea–expression distinction (copyright law) – the idea of a thing is different from the expression or manifestation of that idea
Illinois Brick doctrine (antitrust law) – indirect purchasers of goods and services along a supply chain cannot seek damages for antitrust violations committed by the original manufacturer or service provider, though direct purchasers can
Inherency doctrine (patent law) – prior art may be relied on not only for what it expressly teaches, but for what flows from the express teachings, and a patent can be filed for a new and non-obvious symbolic representation
Market share liability (corporate law) – a plaintiff can establish an initial case against a group of product manufacturers for injury caused by a product, even when the plaintiff doesn’t know which defendant the product originated
Medical necessity (medical law) – a government is lawfully permitted to pay for activities deemed reasonable, necessary, or appropriate
Nominative use (trademark law) – aka “nominative fair use”, a person may use the trademark of another as a reference to describe the other product or compare it to their own
Perfect tender rule (contract law) – if the “perfect tender” of a good fails in any capacity, a buyer is entitled to reject or accept all the goods, or reject the nonconforming part, but can’t reject the goods outright in its entirety
Repair and reconstruction doctrine (patent law) – there is a difference between repairing (the right of an owner of property to preserve the function of a thing) and reconstruction (combining unpatented elements into a patented product)
Reverse doctrine of equivalents (patent law) – a device that appears to literally infringe a patent claim by having similar elements or limitations does not infringe it if it operates on a different principle
Rule of reason (antitrust law) – monopolies are only considered illegal when they’re unreasonably restraining trade
Step transaction doctrine (tax law) – formally separate steps are a single, integrated event for tax purposes, designed to prevent tax abuse (e.g., tax shelters, bailing assets out of a corporation)
Sufficient similarity (EPA environmental law) – a chemical sample with an unknown toxicity must be treated with the same safety requirements as a similar chemical sample with a known toxicity
Tea Rose – Rectanus doctrine (trademark law) – the junior user of a trademark who is geographically remote from the senior user can have priority in their geographical area
Volcker Rule (securities law) – banks aren’t allowed to use their accounts to make certain speculative investments
UK
Maxwellisation (trade law) – people who are to be criticized in an official report must be given notice and able to respond to the details of that criticism
Netherlands
Spider in the web doctrine (patent law) – the Dutch courts only assume jurisdiction where the main defendant (the “spider”) is located in the Netherlands and the other defendants were part of a group of companies and acted on a common business policy of the group (the “web”)
Large-Scale Multi-Entity Doctrines
Constitutionality presumption – the judiciary should presume the legislature’s statutes are constitutional
Enrolled bill rule – once a bill passes a legislative body and is passed into law, the courts assume all rules of procedure in the enactment process were properly followed
Exhaustion of remedies – a litigant can’t seek a remedy in a new court or jurisdiction until all claims or remedies in that court have been fully exhausted
Forum non conveniens – Latin for “an inconvenient forum”) – a court acknowledges another forum or court is a more appropriate one, so they transfer the case to that forum
Implied repeal – when a legislative act conflicts with a previous one, the later act takes precedence and the conflicting parts of the earlier act become legally inoperable
Inherent powers – a state has certain non-negotiable powers
Judicial deference – aka “Chevron deference”, a court will yield or submit its judgment to another legitimate party (e.g., the executive branch in the interests of national defense)
Judicial discretion – judicial powers can make some legal decisions according to their discretion without precedent, legislation, or a constitution
Jus sanguinis – Latin for “blood right”, a person is entitled to become the nationality/citizenship of their heritage, in contrast with jus soli
Jus soli – Latin for “soil right”, aka “birthright citizenship”, a person is entitled to become the nationality/citizenship of the country they’re born in, in contrast with jus sanguinis
Law of the case – if an appellate court doesn’t take a lower court’s case, it won’t do it again later with the same substantial facts
Legal transplant – the best way to test out new governments is for laws to transplant and adapt into new government and court systems
Margin of appreciations (human rights law) – in the European Convention of Human Rights, courts can reconcile practical differences in reconciling articles of the convention pertaining to human rights
Mozambique rule – a court has no jurisdiction over foreign land disputes
Necessity doctrine – an administrative authority can lawfully take extraordinary actions that contravene established constitution, laws, norms, or conventions if it restores order or upholds fundamental constitutional principles
Non-refoulement – a nation cannot send a refugee to a country if they’re at risk of persecution there
Odious debt – aka “illegitimate debt”, the national debt incurred by a despotic regime should not be enforceable
Peremptory norm – aka “jus cogens”, some cultural norms are not permitted to ever be lawful (e.g., genocide, slavery, maritime piracy)
Public trust doctrine (environmental law) – the sovereign holds some resources in trust for public use, regardless of private property ownership (e.g., shoreline between high and low tides
Rule against foreign revenue enforcement – aka “revenue rule”, one country will not enforce another country’s tax laws
Separation of powers doctrine – To keep the roles separate to avoid tyranny, a constitutional government requires 3 different branches (Legislative, Executive, and Judicial) with defined abilities that can check the power of the others
Stopping the clock (USA & Canada) – sometimes, to meet a Constitutional deadline, a legislature will sometimes literally stop the clock or push out a deadline to meet requirements for procedure
Subsidiarity – social and political issues should be dealt with at the most immediate or local level that’s consistent with the resolution
Substance over form – the essence of something (its “substance”) is more relevant than its structure (its “form”)
Territorial principle – aka “territoriality principle”, each sovereign state can exercise its own exclusive jurisdiction over individuals and entities within its territory, including prosecuting for criminal offenses and arresting/apprehending individuals
Tipsy coachman doctrine – a ruling in a higher court that rules the same way will still stand, even when the lower court used the wrong reasoning to get to the same conclusion
Universal jurisdiction – governments and international organizations can claim criminal jurisdiction over an accused person regardless of the situation (e.g., where the crime was committed, that person’s nationality, affiliations)
USA
Abstention doctrine – one of several doctrines a US court can apply to refuse hearing a case if it interferes with another court’s powers
Act-of-state doctrine – Every sovereign state is bound to respect the independence of every other sovereign state, so courts won’t judge the acts of other governments or foreign sovereign nationals
Adequate and independent state ground – A federal Supreme Court decision doesn’t have jurisdiction over a case if the state ground is (1) “adequate” to support the judgment and (2) “independent” of federal law
Alford doctrine/plea – a defendant cannot admit to the criminal act and will assert their innocence, but can admit the evidence presented would create a guilty verdict beyond a reasonable doubt if placed in front of a judge/jury, the basis of most plea bargains
Equal footing doctrine – all states brought into the United States have the same status as the existing states
Erie doctrine – for federal courts managing non-federal questions, they must apply state-based answers
Executive privilege – the president of the USA and other executive branch members can maintain confidential communications under certain circumstances within the executive branch, and can resist some legal actions by the legislative and judicial branches
Implied powers – some powers are not directly stated in the Constitution, but are implied to be available based on previously stated power
Ker–Frisbie doctrine – criminal defendants may be prosecuted in US courts irrespective of whether an extradition treaty was used
Major questions doctrine – aka “major rules doctrine”, if an agency seeks to decide on an issue of major national significance its action must be supported by clear statutory authorization
Mount Laurel doctrine – in New Jersey, municipalities must use their zoning powers to provide a realistic opportunity for producing affordable housing to low- and moderate-income households
Parker immunity doctrine (antitrust law) – government authorities are immune to liability when they create regulations with anticompetitive effects
Political question doctrine – a constitutional dispute that’s not a legal discussion, uses techniques not related to court procedures, or is explicitly assigned to Congress or the President is considered political and is outside the scope of the courts, refers to separation of powers doctrine
Purcell principle – courts should not change election rules too closely to an election because it may cause confusion
Rooker-Feldman doctrine – Federal courts that aren’t the Supreme Court can’t make decisions for appeals that arose from state courts, which means that any state appeal goes all the way up to the Supreme Court
State action doctrine – While a state is required to honor equal protections against individuals, individuals don’t have to honor equal protections against other individuals, points to 14th Amendment
UK
Demise of the Crown – when a monarch dies or abdicates their throne, the Crown and its authority automatically transfers to that monarch’s heir
Inherent jurisdiction – a superior court has the jurisdiction to hear any matter that comes before it unless a law prohibits it
Canada
Double aspect doctrine – laws can be created by both provincial and federal governments in relation to the same subject
Living tree doctrine – a constitution is organic and must be read in a broad and progressive manner to adapt to changing times
Pith and substance – the essential character of the law (“pith and substance”) can be assigned to the appropriate provincial or federal government depending on which part of the Constitution it falls under
India
Basic structure doctrine – the constitution of a sovereign state has certain characteristics that can’t be erased by its legislature
Colourability doctrine – when a legislature wants to do something its constitution forbids, it “colours” the law with a substitute purpose that permits that legislature to accomplish its original goal
Australia
Exceptional circumstances – a government agency or government leader can receive additional powers to alleviate or mitigate unforeseen or unconventional hardship
EU
Conferral principle – all EU competences are voluntarily conferred on it by its member states, so the member states’ influence supersedes all EU precepts
Largely Obsolete
Charitable immunity – a charitable organization is not liable under tort law (nullified in mid-20th century)
Discovery doctrine – a European nation which discovers previously unknown territory to Europeans gives the discovering nation title to that territory against all other European nations, which can be perfected by possession (everything has been discovered now)
Indivisibility doctrine – in copyright law, only an owner can assign a copyright, and an asignee to those rights was a “mere licensee” who couldn’t assign further rights (eliminated in Copyright Act of 1976, and asignees can now file suit against infringers)
Jacitation (UK and Irish law) – aka “jacitation of marriage”, when a person falsely states they’re married to someone else, that person can put a restraining order on them to not say it again (abolished by 1996)
Fairness doctrine (USA’s FCC communications law) – the holders of broadcast license must provide both sides of a controversial issue of public importance that fairly reflects both viewpoints (removed from federal register in 2011)
Gravi de pugna – God will make the morally superior side win in a war (Catholic influence is no longer prevalent in most jurisprudence)
Stadtluft macht frei – German for “urban air makes you free”, in the 11th century a serf could not be reclaimed by his employer after a year and a day, and was therefore bound to the city and in some ways outside the feudal system