20 Legalese - Legal Writing G05

Group Members: Dimen, Garcia, Jimenea

No
Legalese Meaning Sentence
.
The Court of Appeals acquiesced with the decision
1 Acquiesced accepted something reluctantly but without protest
of the lower court.
The act of the accused was not within the ambit of
2 Ambit the scope, extent, or bounds of something the Revised Penal Code or any other special laws.
Hence, he was acquitted.
The prosecution had enough evidence to
3 Substantiate provide evidence to support or prove the truth of
substantiate the allegations against the accused.
In Latin, this translates to “from the beginning”. It is
commonly used to describe the time when a A contract whose object is outside the commerce of
4 Ab initio
contract, statute, marriage or deed first became man is considered void ab initio.
legal.
a judicial order that restrains a person from
The Court granted an injunction against the
beginning or continuing an action threatening or
5 Injunction respondent company, prohibiting them from
invading the legal right or another, or that compels a
advertising their plagiarized products.
person to carry out a certain act
The passengers in the car, to wit: A and B, suffered
6 To wit namely minor injuries which required 10 days of medical
assistance.
specific amount asked for as damages at the end of
7 Pray Petitioners pray for P50,000 as moral damages.
a complaint or petition
The crime of malversation of public funds and
8 Ipso facto by that very fact or act property is ipso facto only done by public officers as
defined in Article 203 of the Revised Penal Code.
In Latin, this translates to “in good faith”, which
means to act honestly without any intention to The lawyer has a bona fide claim for her client's
9 Bona fide
deceive. It is the opposite of mala fides, which refers loss due to what the accused did.
to bad faith.
In Latin, this translates to “in fact”. This is used to Although John and Andy have never married but
10 De facto describe practices that exist in reality even if not have lived with each other for almost 20 years, they
strictly legally recognized. consider themselves to be de facto married.
the ability of a party to demonstrate to the court
The interested party must prove their locus standi
sufficient connection to and harm from the law or
11 Locus standi so that their case may prosper against the
action challenged to support that party's paricipation
Government.
in the case
In Latin, this translates to “guilty mind”, and refers to
a person’s mental state that makes his/her act a The prosecution must prove the mens rea of the
12 Mens rea
crime. Common mental states are intention, accused to find him guilty for the crime of murder.
knowledge or foresight.
In Latin, this translates to “at first look” or “on its
face”, and refers to evidence that is accepted as There is prima facie evidence that the accused tried
13 prima facie
sufficient to prove a particular fact, unless rebutted to bury evidence from the opposing counsel.
by contrary evidence.
The court ordered the parties to procure a witness
14 Procure persuade or cause (someone) to do something
for their defense.
A written statement confirmed by oath or affirmation,
made before someone who is officially authorized to
Maria is required to submit an affidavit of loss in
15 Affidavit administer oaths. An affidavit is usually used in a
support of her application.
trial, where a person’s testimony is contained in the
affidavit and presented as evidence to the court
The temporary release of an accused person who is
in custody awaiting a criminal trial, usually, on
16 Bail condition that a third party (known as a bailor) Maria was released on bail yesterday.
pledge some money to the court to guarantee the
accused person’s appearance in court.
 A sum of money paid by one person to another, as
compensation for harm that the person has caused
another. The issue of damages is usually considered
The injured party was seeking ₱100000 as actual
17 Damages at the end of civil cases, after the court has decided
damages.
the issue of liability – whether someone should be
held responsible for harm occurring to another
person.
18 Erroneous wrong, incorrect The decision of the lower court is erroneous.
All prosecutions under Republic Act No. 3019 shall
19 Jurisdiction The power of a court to hear and decide on a case. be within the original jurisdiction of the proper Court
of First Instance.
to avoid, overcome or to find a way around The ordinance proposed by Maria was her way to
20 Circumvent
something such as a law or rule circumvent the environmental law.

Group Members: Odronia, Uy, Wenceslao

No
Legalese Meaning Sentence
.
The prosecution failed to prove the guilt of the
A judgement stating that a person is not guilty of the
1 Acquittal accused beyond reasonable doubt, which caused
crime he/she is charged with.
the aquittal of the latter.
The accused due to lack of skill killed A instead B.
2 Abberratio Ictus Mistake in blow. Thus, he is criminallly liable under the principle of
Abberration Ictus.
The accused was acquitted because the killing of the
3 Accident An unintended and unforeseen injurious occurrence victim was due to an accident and was considered
as an exempting circumstance.
The accused was acquitted from the charge of
homicide because the corpus delicti was not found.
4 Corpus delicti Body of the crime.
Thus, there was no evidence that the victim was
already dead.
Reclusion The accused was convited for murder and was
5 Permanent imprisonment.
Perpetua sentenced for Reclusion Perpetua.
The killing of a person would be categorized as
6 Treachery Deceptive action or nature. homicide unless it was done with treachery then the
crime will be murder.
The crime of rape was committed inside the house of
A building or a part of the building intended for
7 Dwelling the victim. Thus, Dwelling may be considered as an
human habitation.
aggravating circumstance of the crime.
The presence of treachery as a Qualifying
Qualifying Unusual circumstances which changes the nature of
8 circumstance modified the crime of homicide to
Circumstance the crime committed.
murder.
Insanity is an example of an Exempting
Exempting Circumstances which exempts one from criminal
9 Circumstance which exempts one from criminal
Circumstance liability.
liability because of the lack of voluntariness.
The defendant argues that he is not liable for the
A period wherein a person temprary regains his crime because of insanity however, since it was
10 Lucid Interval
sanity. proven to be committed during a Lucid Interval, he
was convicted.
facts sufficient to endanger a well-founded beliefthat The Fiscal is authorized by the law to institute a case
11 Probable Cause a crime has been committed and therespondent is against a suspect upon finding of a Probable
probably guilty thereof, Cause.
JB was acquitted for the crime of homicide because
A mental condition hindering a person from
12 Insanity his counsel properly proved that he suffers from
distinguishing reality and fantasy.
Insanity when he committed it.
that cause which unbroken by any efficient The act of Emmanuel was the Proximate cause of
13 Proximate Cause intervening cause, produces the injury, and without the death of the victim hence, he should suffer all the
which theresult would not have occurr consequences of his acts.
Aggravating Circumstances which aggrevates or increases the The acts committed by the accused did not
14
Circumstance penalty provided for crimes. constitute any aggravating circumstance.
 A person who has been convicted for three times of The accused is a habitual delinquent, having been
Habitual
15 either Falsification, robbery, Estafa, theft and serious convicted four times of a similar offense by virtue of
Delinquent
or less serious Physical Injuries. final judgments rendered by competent courts.
an indictment in that it is a sworn written statement The information provided that the accused was on
16 Information which charges that a particular individual has done the same floor with the petitioner when the latter lost
some criminal act his watch.
A licentious act by oneman towards the person of The accused acted with wanton attitude when he
17 Wanton Attitude
another, without regard to his rights. stole the victim's watch..
The accused was convicted of estafa because it
A judgement of a proper court stating that a person
18 Convicted was proven beyond reasonable doubt that he indeed
has commited the crime beyond reasonable doubt.
acted with deceit.
to ask a higher court to reverse the decision of a trial The accused filed an appeal in the Court of Appeals
19 Appeal
court after final judgment or other legal ruling. regarding the lack cause of action of the petitioner.
A legal document filed by a party containing legal The petitioner filed a complaint against the accused
20 Complaint reasons they believe can support their claim against because he lost his watch while the latter was
another party. cleaning his room.

Group Members: Dacua, Hechanova, Labrador

No
Legalese Meaning Sentence
.
Lovely acted in bad faith by selling her car to Irish
1 Bad faith intent to deceive. without first informing the latter that the car is
defective and needs to be repaired.
Lovely committed a breach of the contract upon
The failure to do what one promised to do under a her failure to pay Uriko the sum of one thousand
contract. Proving a breach of contract is a pesos within the stipulated period of six months
2 Breach of contract
prerequisite of any suit for damages based on the within which to pay. Therefore, Uriko is entiled either
contract. to specific performance or rescission of the contract,
with damages in either case.
A writ of certiorari is a form of judicial review
whereby a court is asked to consider a legal decision
of an administrative tribunal, judicial office or
organization (eg. government) and to decide if the Lovely filed a petition for certiorari with the Supreme
decision has been regular and complete or if there Court. She seeks to reverse the decision of the
3 Certiorari has been an error of law. For example, a certiorari Court of Appeals, which declared the tax ordinance
may be used to wipe out a decision of an enacted by the Mayor of Taguig City as
administrative tribunal which was made in violation constitutional.
of the rules of natural justice, such as a failure to
give the person affected by the decision an
opportunity to be heard.
The examination of a witness who has already The trial court held that the rape victim, upon cross-
testified in order to check or discredit the witness's examination, remained consistent in answering
4 Cross-examination
testimony, knowledge, or credibility — compare material points regarding the rape incident which
direct examination. happened a month ago.
A term of US law which refers to fundamental
procedural legal safeguards of which every citizen
has an absolute right when a state or court purports
The accused in a criminal case is entitled to his day
to take a decision that could affect any right of that
in court as every Filipino citizen is entitled to due
citizen. The most basic right protected under the due
5 Due process process under the Bill of Rights, which is the right to
process doctrine is the right to be given notice, and
be given notice and to be given an opportunity to be
an opportunity to be heard. The term is now also in
heard.
use in other countries, again to refer to basic
fundamental legal rights such as the right to be
heard
The principle which precludes a person from Lovely is estopped from filing an action for damages
asserting something contrary to what is implied by a against Irish after she had accepted an incomplete
6 Estoppel
previous action or statement of that person or by a or irregular performance of the obligation without
previous pertinent judicial determination. expressing any objection or protest thereto.
 Technically, jurisprudence means the "science of
law". Statutes articulate the bland rules of law, with
only rare reference to factual situations. The actual
application of these statutes to facts is left to judges
Jurisprudence holds that, absent any showing of
who consider not only the statute but also other legal
7 Jurisprudence bad faith and malice, there is a presumption of
rules which might be relevant to arrive at a judicial
regularity in the performance of official duties.
decision; hence, the "science". Thus, jurisprudence"
has come to refer to case law, or the legal decisions
which have developed and which accompany
statutes in applying the law against situations of fact.
An individual citizen is entitled proceedings in
A writ which commands an individual, organization
mandamus against public officers to compel the
(eg. government), administrative tribunal or court to
8 Mandamus performance of a public duty although such citizen
perform a certain action, usually to correct a prior
shows no specific or peculiar interest in himself
illegal action or a failure to act in the first place.
different from that shared by the public at large.
Latin: an observation by a judge on a matter not The first ground upon which the opposition to the
specifically before the court or not necessary in petition is based, namely, that the holding of this
determining the issue before the court; a side Court that the respondent Guillermo is not entitled to
9 Obiter dictum
opinion which does not form part of the judgment for the benefits of the amnesty proclamation, is merely
the purposes of stare decisis May also be referred to an obiter dictum, is without any legal foundation,
as "dicta" or "dictum." and must be dismissed.
Being similar to a treaty but without requiring
legislative concurrence, Loan Agreement No. 4833-
PH - following the definition given in the Bayan Muna
A principal of International law which means that case - is an executive agreement and is, thus,
treaties shall be complied with, the existance of an governed by international law. Owing to this
10 Pacta sunt servada
agreement that the parties should with the intention classification, the Government of the Philippines is
to abide by its provisions. therefore obligated to observe its terms and
conditions under the rule of pacta sunt servanda, a
fundamental maxim of international law that requires
the parties to keep their agreement in good faith
The formal, written document submitted to a court,
and which asks for the court to redress what is
described in the petition as being an injustice of
some kind. Petitions set out the facts, identifies the
law under which the court is being asked to
intervene, and ends with a suggested course of Petitioner filed a petition for review before the Court
action for the court to consider (eg. payment of of Appeals, but the Court of Appeals held that there
11 Petition
damages to the plaintiff). Petitions are normally filed was no abuse of power of appointment on the part of
by lawyers because courts insist on complicated the outgoing mayor.
forms but most states will allow citizens to file
petitions provided they conform to the court's form.
Some states do not use the word "petition" and,
instead, might refer to an "application", a "complaint"
or the "writ."
As a way to discharge the constitutional duty of
giving access to adequate legal assistance, lawyers
Provided for free. Pro bono publico means "for the
12 Pro bono are obliged to render pro bono services to those
public good."
who otherwise would be denied access to adequate
legal services.
Calida's quo warranto petition asks the High Court
Latin and referring to a special legal procedure taken
to revoke ABS-CBN's franchise based on 3 grounds:
to stop a person or organization from doing
offering pay-per-view services without permit; using
13 Quo warranto something for which it may not have the legal
the franchise of a company it acquired without
authority, by demanding to know by what right they
congressional approval; and ceding foreign control
exercise the controversial authority
by issuing Philippine Depositary Receipts or PDRs.
The respondents were hoping for the rescission of
14 Rescind revoke, cancel, or repeal a law, order, or agreement their contract due to the sudden and extraordinary
drop of the value of the Philippine currency.
The judgment directing the issuance of a certificate
a matter that has been adjudicated by a competent
of naturalization is a mere grant of a political
15 Res judicata court and may not be pursued further by the same
privilege and that neither estoppel nor res judicata
parties.
may be invoked.
 The essential, crucial, or indispensable ingredient
The control of inflation is a sine qua non for
16 Sine qua non without which something would be impossible. From
economic stability.
Latin, meaning “without which nothing.”
A basic principle of the law whereby once a decision
(a precedent) on a certain set of facts has been
It was held that the doctrine of stare decisis applies
made, the courts will apply that decision in cases
17 Stare decisis only to decisions of the Supreme Court of the
which subsequently come before it embodying the
Philippines.
same set of facts. A precedent which is binding;
must be followed.
The proceedings involving extradition are sui
acting or done beyond one's legal power or
18 Sui generis generis, therefore they cannot be compared to
authority.
criminal proceedings.
The petitioners are contenting that the new
proclamation is tantamount to a declaration of
19 Ultra vires of its own kind Martial Law, but the Court ruled that the use of such
for any other purpose beyond its nature and scope is
ultra vires.
The filing of an application for probation shall be
deemed a waiver of the right of the accused to
20 Waiver an act or instance of waiving a right or claim.
appeal, or the automatic withdrawal of a pending
appeal.

Group Members: Tan, Maravillas, Barretto

No
Legalese Meaning Sentence
.
/prəˈskrīb/ The act of acquiring or losing a right The action to recover the property will prescribe in
1 Prescribe
through the passage of time. (Art. 1106, NCC) 10 years.
/ˈēzmənt/ An encumbrance upon an immovable The two neighbors agreed upon an easement of
2 Easement
property for the benefit of another. (Art. 613, NCC) light and view.
/ˈfal.loː/ The dispositive portion of a decision ordering
The fallo of the decision remanded the case to the
3 Fallo the resolution of the case. (PH Credit Corp. v. CA, G.
trial court for reception of evidence.
R. No. 109648, Nov. 22, 2001)
/ˈvɔɪdəb(ə)l/ The status of a contract in which it is
A contract entered into by a minor is only voidable,
4 Voidable valid until annulled by a proper action in court. (Agra
as it may be ratified by his parents or guardians.
v. PNB, 309 SCRA 509)
/ˈyo͞ozəˌfrəkt/ The right to use and enjoy the fruits of The usufruct was made liable for the destruction of
5 Usufruct a property, while preserving its form and substance. the land because the property was under his care
(Art. 562, NCC) and administration.
/akˈseSHən/ The right to everything produced,
The soldered wires and conductors are, by
6 Accession incorporated, or attached, naturally or artificially, to a
accession, part and parcel of the machine.
property. (Art. 440, NCC)
The new government is geared to seek and
/səˈkwestər/ A judicial deposit or the attachment or
7 Sequester sequester all the ill-gotten wealth of the past
seizure of property in litigation. (Art. 2005, NCC)
administration.
Restitution /ˌrestəˈt(y)o͞oSH(ə)n/ The return of the property lost The judge ordered for the restitution of the stolen
8
or stolen in a crime. (Art. 105, RPC) vehicle.
/ˈdestiəro/ A penalty which consists in the prohibition
She was meted with the penalty of destierro,
9 Destierro to enter a place designated or within its radius. (Art.
temporarily banned to enter the City of Pasig.
87, RPC)
/səˈpôrt/ Everything indispensable for the
sustenance, dwelling, clothing, medication, Brothers and sisters have a legal and moral
10 Support
education and transportation of the family. (Art. 194, obligation to give support to one another.
FC)
/əˌmansəˈpāSH(ə)n/ The termination of parental
The emancipation of the ward empowers him to sue
11 Emancipation authority over a child, who shall then be qualified for
his guardian for the rescissible contracts.
all acts of civil life. (Art. 234, FC)
/ˈkrôsˌklām/ A claim brought by one defendant
One of the debtors brought a cross-claim against a
12 Cross-claim against a co-defendant in the same proceeding.
co-debtor as the deterioration was allegedly his fault.
(Rule 6, Sec. 8, ROC)
/ˈmōSH(ə)n/ A request for relief in court regarding The accused filed a motion to dismiss on the ground
13 Motion
incidental matters of a case. (Rule 15, Sec. 1, ROC) that the court had no jurisdiction over his person.
 /səˈpēnə/ An order requiring a person to attend and A subpoena was issued upon the whistleblower to
14 Subpoena
testify in court. (Rule 21, Sec. 1, ROC) substantiate and verify his claims.
/ˈsəfrij/ The right to vote in or to stand for elections. Women's suffrage was still an unresolved social
15 Suffrage
(Art. V, Sec. 1, 1987 Constitution) issue in the late 19th century.
/əˈɡrerēən rəˈfôrm/ The state policy founded on the
Consistent with their vision of agrarian reform, the
right of landless farmers to own the lands they tilled
16 Agrarian Reform Secretary issued new rules and regulations on land
or to receive a just share in its fruits. (Art. XIII, Sec.
tenure agreements.
4, 1987 Constitution)
/ad ˈhäk/ “to this” That which is created or done for An Ad Hoc Committee was formed to investigate the
17 Ad Hoc
this particular purpose” allegations of corruption in the student government.
/arˈgwenˈdō/ “for the sake of argument” An Assuming arguendo that the contract is not void ab
18 Arguendo unnecessary assumption made on the basis of initio, it also may not be enforced in the courts of
discourse. law.
/fād əkämˈplē/ An accomplished or consummated
The proceedings were already fait accompli as a
act, leaving people with no option but to accept it.
19 Fait Accompli resolution was promptly issued and the council had
(Sps. Marquez v. Sps. Alindog, GR No. 184045, Jan.
adjourned.
22, 2014)
/ʁɛzɔ̃ d‿ɛːtʁ̥/ “reason for being” The fundamental The raison d’être of the prohibition is that the
20 Raison D’être purpose for the existence of something. (Timbol v. ordinance seeks to punish the entry of stolen goods
Martin, G.R. No. L-3469, April 20, 1951) and wares in the local market.

Group Members: Escudero, Tagle

No. Legalese Meaning Sentence
In Latin, this translates to “guilty act”, refers to the action The prosecution was able to prove that the actus reus of
1 Actus reus or conduct which is a constituent element of a crime, as the defendant was made voluntarily, hence, securing his
opposed to the mental state of the accused. conviction.
The obligation resting on a party in a trial to produce the
The burden of proof shifts to Maria from the moment
2 Burden of proof evidence that will shift the conclusion away from the
she invoked self defense for the killing of her husband.
default position to one's own position
The right of a government or its agent to expropriate The Department of Public Works and Highways, by the
3 Eminent domain private property for public use, with payment of virtue of State’s power of eminent domain, expropriated
compensation. the land of Mr. A.
The captain of the MV Super Man was able to prove that
Unforeseeable circumstances that prevent someone from
4 Force majeure the sinking of the ship was due to a fortuitous event or
fulfilling a contract.
force majeure, hence, his liability is extinguished.
A writ requiring a person under arrest to be brought
The suspension of the writ of habeas corpus in 1972
before a judge or into court, especially to secure the
5 Habeas corpus facilitated the abuses of the military men under the term
person's release unless lawful grounds are shown for
of then President Marcos.
their detention.
A temporary court order; intended to be of limited
The court issued an interim order to place the custody of
duration, usually just until the court has had an
6 Interim order the child with the mother until final judgment on the
opportunity of hearing the full case and make a final
spouses’ annulment was made.
order.
A Latin phrase meaning wrong or evil in itself. The phrase
Most of the crimes provided in the Revised Penal Code,
is used to refer to conduct assessed as sinful or
7 Malum in se such as murder, are mala in se, while most of the crimes
inherently wrong by nature, independent of regulations
in special penal laws are mala prohibita.
governing the conduct.
Attorney A was reprimanded by the judge for making it
An opinion filed by a judge who disagrees with the appear that the portions he cited were part of the
8 Dissenting Opinion
majority decision in a case. Supreme Court’s decision, when the truth is that it was a
dissenting opinion.
In Ocampo v. Enriquez, the concept of control power of
the president served as the ratio decidendi for
dismissing the petition, in which the President as the chief
9 Ration Decidendi The rule of law on which a judicial decision is based.
executive, may exercise control over all the executive
departments, bureaus, and offices.

Deans from several law schools were invited by the

The “friend of the court”, an impartial adviser, often
10 Amicus curiae Supreme Court as amicus curiae for the discussion of
voluntary, to a court of law in a particular case.
the legal education curriculum
A claim or piece of evidence that one was elsewhere
11 Alibi when an act, typically a criminal one, is alleged to have The accused has no alibi for the night of victim's murder.
taken place
 Even if the contract was rescinded, the court considered
To lose or be deprived of (property or a right or privilege)
12 Forfeit the rents paid as forfeited in favor of the lessor for
as a penalty for wrongdoing
damages incurred.
A foreign person whose entering or remaining in a
Sanchez was declared as persona non-grata for praying
13 Persona non-grata particular country is prohibited by that country's
that the storm be directed toward Japan.
government.
Latin for "in the place of a parent” refers to the legal
Juana Dela Cruz was declared by the court to act in loco
14 In loco parentis responsibility of a person or organization to take on some
parentis of her nephew, John Dela Cruz.
of the functions and responsibilities of a parent.
The 5 accused have a modus operandi in deceiving the
An individual's or group's habitual way of operating, which
15 Modus operandi victim through a ruse, and then stealthily taking his
forms a discernible pattern.
belongings.
Proportionately according to an exactly calculable factor ( The joint obligation shall be paid pro-rata by each of the
16 Pro rata
such as share or liability) debtors.
The inherent power of a government to exercise
reasonable control over persons and property within its An ordinance prohibiting the sale of exotic animals within
17 Police Power jurisdiction in the interest of the general security, health, the city is an exercise of police power by the local
safety, morals, and welfare except where legally government unit.
prohibited
A disposition of properties mortis causa shall be
18 Mortis causa Made or done in contemplation of one's impending death
governed by the law on wills and succession.
A punishment imposed for breaking a law, rule, or No penalty can be imposed where the crime of bigamy
19 Penalty
contract has already been condoned by the victim.
To call or bring (someone) before a court to answer a The detaining officer will then present the detainee before
20 Arraign
criminal charge the court so that he may be arraigned.