LEGAL TERMS

Caveat - [Latin, Let him beware.] A warning; admonition. A formal notice or

warning given by an interested party to a court, judge, or ministerial officer in
opposition to certain acts within his or her power and jurisdiction.

Caveat emptor - Let the buyer beware. The legal principle that, unless
the quality of a product is guaranteed in a warranty, the buyer purchases the
product as it is and cannot hold another liable for any defects. Statutes and
court decisions concerning products liability and implied warranties have
substantially altered this rule.

- (kah-vee-ott emptor) - Latin for "let the buyer beware."

The basic premise that the buyer buys at his/her own risk and therefore
should examine and test a product himself/herself for obvious defects and
imperfections. Caveat emptor still applies even if the purchase is "as is" or
when a defect is obvious upon reasonable inspection before purchase. Since
implied warranties (assumed quality of goods) and consumer protections have
come upon the legal landscape, the seller is held to a higher standard of
disclosure than "buyer beware" and has responsibility for defects which could
not be noted by casual inspection (particularly since modern devices cannot
be tested except by use, and so many products are pre-packaged)

Clandestine - Secret; hidden; concealed. The “clandestine importation” of

goods is a term used in English statutes as equivalent to “smuggling.” Keck
v. U. S., 172 U. S. 434, 19 Sup. Ct. 254, 43 L Ed. 505. A clandestine marriage
is (legally) one contracted without observing the conditions precedent
prescribed by law, such as publication of bans, procuring a license, or the
like. CLARE CONSTAT 206 CLAUSUM FREQIT

Country-Team Approach - Under the country-team approach, all officers,

representatives and personnel of the Philippine government posted abroad
regardless of their mother agencies shall, on a per country basis, act as one
country-team with a mission under the leadership of the ambassador. In this
regard, the ambassador may recommend to the Secretary of the Department
of Foreign Affairs the recall of officers, representatives and personnel of the
Philippine government posted abroad for acts inimical to the national interest
such as, but not limited to, failure to provide the necessary services to protect
the rights of overseas Filipinos.

Earnest Contracts - The payment of a part of the price of goods sold,

or the delivery of part of such goods, for the purpose of binding the contract.

- The effect of earnest is to bind the goods sold,

and upon their being paid for without default, the buyer is entitled to them. But
notwithstanding the earnest, the money must be paid upon taking away the
goods, because no other time for payment is appointed; earnest only binds
the bargain, and gives the buyer a right to demand, but a demand without

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payment of the money is void; after earnest given the vendor cannot sell the
goods to another, without a default in the vendee, and therefore if the latter
does not come and pay, and take the goods, the vendor ought to go and
request him, and then if he does not come, pay for the goods and take them
away in convenient time, the agreement is dissolved, and he is at liberty to
sell them to any other person. 1 Salk. 113: 2 Bl. Com. 447; 2 Kent, Com. 389;
Ayl. Pand. 450; 3 Campb. R. 426.

Emancipation - The act or process by which a person is liberated from the

authority and control of another person.

Embezzlement - the fraudulent appropriation of money by someone

entrusted with care on behalf of others, but who uses it for his own purposes.

- fraudulent taking of personal property by someone to

whom it was entrusted. Most often associated with the misappropriation of
money. Embezzlement can occur regardless of whether the defendant keeps
the personal property or transfers it to a third party

Employment Contract - The employment contract is an important

document for overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) as it specifies their rights and
privileges while working in a foreign country.

Employer-Employee Relationship

Four–fold test in determining existence of employer-employee relationship:

1. Selection and engagement of the employee
Employer's power to select and engage an individual into a work contract
manifests the employer's ability which creates an employer-employee
relationship.
2. Payment of wages
An employee can well establish an employer-employee relationship wherein
he is enlisted in the payroll of said employer.
3. Power of dismissal
Exercising the power to dismiss or terminate an employee is apparent
evidence that there exists an employer-employee relationship. For which
there none, an employer cannot exercise said capacity otherwise.
4. Employer's power to control the employee with respect to the means and
methods by which the work is to be accomplished.
This is the so-called "control test" which is the most important element. In the
absence of the power to control the employee with respect to the means and
methods by which his work is to be accomplished, there is no employer-
employee relationship between the parties.

Encumbrance - A burden, obstruction, or impediment on property that

lessens its value or makes it less marketable. An encumbrance (also spelled
incumbrance) is any right or interest that exists in someone other than the
owner of an estate and that restricts or impairs the transfer of the estate or
lowers its value. This might include an Easement, a lien, a mortgage, a
mechanic's lien, or accrued and unpaid taxes.

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Enjoin - To direct, require, command, or admonish.

- connotes a degree of urgency, as when a court enjoins one

party in a lawsuit by ordering the person to do, or refrain from doing,
something to prevent permanent loss to the other party or parties. This type of
order is known as an Injunction.

Evidence Aliunde - Aliunde. From another place; evidence given

aliunde, as, when a will contains an ambiguity, in some cases, in order to
ascertain the meaning of the testator, evidence aliunde will be received.

- Aliunde means from another place or outside

source. It is often used to refer to evidence given aliunde when meaning
cannot be derived from a document or instrument itself. For example, when a
will contains an ambiguity, in some cases, in order to ascertain the meaning of
the testator, evidence aliunde will be received.

Ex parte - An ex parte judicial proceeding is conducted for the

benefit of only one party. Ex parte may also describe contact with a person
represented by an attorney, outside the presence of the attorney. The term ex
parte is used in a case name to signify that the suit was brought by the person
whose name follows the term.

- (ex par-tay, but popularly, ex party) adj. Latin meaning

"for one party," referring to motions, hearings or orders granted on the request
of and for the benefit of one party only. This is an exception to the basic rule
of court procedure that both parties must be present at any argument before a
judge, and to the otherwise strict rule that an attorney may not notify a judge
without previously notifying the opposition. Ex parte matters are usually
temporary orders (like a restraining order or temporary custody) pending a
formal hearing or an emergency request for a continuance. Most jurisdictions
require at least a diligent attempt to contact the other party's lawyer of the
time and place of any ex parte hearing.

Gender Sensitivy - Understanding and consideration of socio-cultural

factors underlying sex-based discrimination. The term also applies to attitudes
that socialize girls and boys into certain behaviors or opportunities

Gratuitous Title - The transmission is gratuitous or by gratuitous

title when the recipient does not give anything in return. It matters not whether
the property transmitted be or be not subject to any prior charges; what is
essential is that the transmission be made gratuitously, or by an act of mere
liberality of the person making it, without imposing any obligation on the part
of the recipient; and that the person receiving the property transmitted deliver,
give or do nothing in return.

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 The typical gratuitous titles, to which all imaginable sorts
are reducible, are donation and testate and intestate succession, which are
specified as such in article 968.

Inchoate - Commenced but not completed, partially done,

generally used in contract law to describe an undertaking which has been
agreed upon, but as to which all necessary formalities (for example,
signatures on the document) have not been completed.

- A legal right or entitlement that is in progress and is

neither ripe, vested nor perfected.

- Imperfect; partial; unfinished; begun, but not completed;

as in a contract not executed by all the parties.

In custodia legis - in the custody of the law. In general, when things are in
custodia legis, they cannot be distrained, nor otherwise interfered with by a
private person

In Esse - (Lat.) In being; in existence. An event which may happen is in

posse; when it has happened, it is in ease. The term is often used of liens or
estates. A child in its mother's womb is, for some purposes, regarded as in
esse.

- In being; actually existing; -- distinguished from in posse, or in

potentia, which denote that a thing is not, but may be.

Interlocutory - refers to something which is temporary or not final, usually an

order or decree made provisionally pending a final determination. Interlocutory
orders are generally unable to be appealed until a final decision has been
rendered in the matter.

- Provisional; interim; temporary; not final; that which intervenes

between the beginning and the end of a lawsuit or proceeding to either decide
a particular point or matter that is not the final issue of the entire controversy
or prevent irreparable harm during the pendency of the lawsuit.

Interpleader - is the procedure when two parties are involved in a lawsuit

over the right to collect a debt from a third party, who admits the money is
owed but does not know which person to pay. The debtor deposits the funds
with the court ("interpleads"), asks the court to dismiss him/her/it from the
lawsuit and lets the claimants settle their dispute in court.

Iron Curtain Rule - Art. 992 of the Civil Code provides that illegitimate
children cannot inherit ab intestato from the legitimate children and relatives of
his mother or father. Legitimate children and relatives cannot inherit in the
same way from the illegitimate child.

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Note: The iron curtain rule only applies in intestate succession. There is a
barrier recognized by law between the legitimate relatives and the illegitimate
child so that one cannot inherit from the other and vice-versa.
Rationale: The law presumes the existence of antagonism between the
illegitimate child and the legitimate relatives of his parents.

Jus disponendi - is a Latin phrase which means “the right to dispose of a

thing.” Jus disponendi is generally used to signify the right of alienation. For
example, historically a married woman is deprived of the jus disponendi over
her separate estate. This term has significance in law relating to sale of goods
where it is often a question whether the vendor of goods has the intention of
reserving to himself/herself the jus disponendi i. e., of preventing the
ownership from passing to the purchaser, notwithstanding that s/he (the
vendor) has parted with the possession of the goods.

Lis Pendens - [Latin, Pending lawsuit.] A reference to the jurisdiction (or

control) that courts obtain over property in a suit awaiting action.
A notice filed in the office of public records that the ownership
of real property is the subject of a legal controversy and that anyone who
purchases it takes it subject to any claims asserted in the action and thereby
its value might be diminished.

- Sec. 14, Rule 13 of the 1997 Rules of Civil Procedure, as

amended, provides:

"SECTION 14. Notice of lis pendens — In an action

affecting the title or the right of possession of real property,
the plaintiff and the defendant, when affirmative relief is
claimed in his answer, may record in the office of the
registry of deeds of the province in which the property is
situated a notice of the pendency of the action. Said notice
shall contain the names of the parties and the object of the
action or defense, and a description of the property in that
province affected thereby. Only from the time of filing of
such notice for record shall a purchaser, or encumbrancer of
the property affected thereby, be deemed to have
constructive notice of the pendency of the action, and only
of its pendency against the parties designated by their real
names.

The notice of lis pendens hereinabove mentioned may be cancelled only upon
order of the court, after proper showing that the notice is for the purpose of
molesting the adverse party, or that it is not necessary to protect the rights of
the party who caused it to be recorded. (Emphasis ours)

Mortgagee - n. the person or business making a loan that is secured by the

real property of the person (mortgagor) who owes him/her/it money.

Mortgagor - n. the person who has borrowed money and pledged his/her real
property as security for the (mortgagee)

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Name Hire - shall refer to a worker who is able to secure an overseas
employment opportunity without the assistance or participation of a
recruitment agency

Obligee - is someone owed an act or deed, such as paying money on a

promissory note or contract. A person who is contractually or legally,
committed or obliged, to receiving something from another person.

Obligor - is someone bound to perform an act or deed, such as paying

money on a promissory note or contract. A person who is contractually or
legally, committed or obliged, to providing something to another person.

- The individual who owes another person a certain debt or duty.

- The term obligor is often used interchangeably with debtor.

Operation of Law - It is a legal term used in the court of law for those rights
of a person which has been obtained by default, without any of his act or court
orders, but by set of rules of law and its application. For eg, when a child turns
18, the guardianship ends.

- (n.) a change or transfer which occurs automatically due

to existing laws and not an agreement or court order. Examples: a joint tenant
obtains full title to real property when the other joint tenant dies, a spouse in a
community property state will take title to all community property if the spouse
dies without a will that leaves some of the dead mate's interest in the
community property to another, or a guardianship of a minor ad litem (for
purposes of a lawsuit) ends automatically upon the child turning 18.

Protection to Labor Clause in the Constitution - “The State shall afford full
protection to labor, local and overseas, organized and unorganized, and
promote full employment and equality of employment opportunities for all. It
shall guarantee the rights of all workers to self-organization, collective
bargaining and negotiations, and peaceful concerted activities, including the
right to strike in accordance with law. They shall be entitled to security of
tenure, humane conditions of work, and a living wage. They shall also
participate in policy and decision-making processes affecting their rights and
benefits as may be provided by law.

“The State shall promote the principle of shared responsibility between

workers and employers and the preferential use of voluntary modes in settling
disputes, including conciliation, and shall enforce their mutual compliance
therewith to foster industrial peace.

“The State shall regulate the relations between workers and employers,
recognizing the right of labor to its just share in the fruits of production and the
right of enterprises to reasonable returns on investments, and to expansion

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and growth.” (Section 3 (Labor), Article XIII [Social Justice and Human Rights]
of the 1987 Constitution)

Quo warranto proceeding - A legal proceeding during which an individual's

right to hold an office or governmental privilege is challenged.

A quo warranto action is filed typically to remove a person from public

office. The Attorney General must approve all quo warranto actions filed by
private individuals. This protects public officers from frivolous lawsuits. Nature
of Remedy.

A quo warranto action may be brought against any person who usurps,
intrudes into, or unlawfully holds or exercises any public office or franchise.

A quo warranto action may also be brought against any corporation,

either de jure or de facto, which usurps, intrudes into, or unlawfully holds or
exercises any franchise within California.

The Opinion Unit reviews the written pleadings filed by the parties and
issues an opinion either granting or denying the application to sue. If approval
is given, the lawsuit is maintained under the direction of the Attorney General.

- The pertinent rules of Rule 66 on quo warranto provide:

SECTION 1. Action by Government against individuals. – An

action for the usurpation of a public office, position or franchise may be
commenced by a verified petition brought in the name of the Republic
of the Philippines against:

(a) A person who usurps, intrudes into, or unlawfully holds or exercises

a public office, position or franchise;

(b) A public officer who does or suffers an act which, by the provision of
law, constitutes a ground for the forfeiture of his office; or

(c) An association which acts as a corporation within the Philippines

without being legally incorporated or without lawful authority so to act.

SEC. 2. When Solicitor General or public prosecutor must commence

action. ─ The Solicitor General or a public prosecutor, when directed
by the President of the Philippines, or when upon complaint or
otherwise he has good reason to believe that any case specified in the
preceding section can be established by proof, must commence such
action.

SEC. 3. When Solicitor General or public prosecutor may commence

action with permission of court. ─ The Solicitor General or a public
prosecutor may, with the permission of the court in which the action is
to be commenced, bring such an action at the request and upon the
relation of another person; but in such case the officer bringing it may

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 first require an indemnity for the expenses and costs of the action in an
amount approved by and to be deposited in the court by the person at
whose request and upon whose relation the same is brought. (Italics
and emphasis in the original)

Quasi in rem - referring to a legal action which is primarily based on property

rights (an in rem action), but includes personal rights as well

Retribution - 1. That which is given to another to recompense him for

what has been received from him; as a rent for the hire of a house.

2. A salary paid to a person for his services.

3. The distribution of rewards and punishments.

4. Retribution in the criminal justice system refers to the

idea that offenders should be punished for committing crimes when they freely
violate existing social rules. Retribution would not support punishing someone
who do not exercise free will or was forced to commit a crime, i.e., a gunman
compels a victim to steal money. One example of retribution involves the
notion of an eye for an eye, which demonstrates that punishment of serious
crimes is justified when deserved.

Rule Making Power - The Secretary of Labor and Employment and the
Secretary of Finance, after due notice and hearing, shall jointly promulgate
and issue within six (6) months from the effectivity of this Act such rules end
regulations as are necessary to carry out the provisions hereof.

Salary - A wage is better because you get paid for how many hours you
work, while, with a salary, you get a set amount of payment. An example of a
job that gets a salary is a teacher. It doesn't matter how much homework they
grade over weekends and vacations, they get the same amount of money.

Social Justice - The promotion of social justice shall include the

commitment to create economic opportunities based on freedom of initiative
and self-reliance.

- Is defined as justice exercised within a society,

particularly as it is exercised by and among the various social classes of that
society.

Statute of Limitations - is an enactment in a common law legal system that

sets the maximum time after an event that legal proceedings based on that
event may be initiated. In civil lawsystems, similar provisions are typically part
of the civil code or criminal code and are often known collectively as periods
of prescription.

Stringent - (adj)
1.rigorously binding or exacting; strict; severe: stringent laws.
2.compelling, constraining, or urgent: stringent necessity.

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 3.convincing or forcible: stringent arguments.
4.(of the money market) characterized by a shortage in money for loan
or investment purposes; tight.

Subordinate Legislation - Under the general law, the term ‘subordinate

legislation’ is often used to refer to a legislative instrument made by an entity
under a power delegated to the entity by the Parliament.

It can be necessary for legislative power to be delegated for

any of the following reasons:

 to save pressure on parliamentary time

 when the legislation is too technical or detailed to be suitable for
parliamentary consideration
 to deal with rapidly changing or uncertain situations
 to allow for swift action in the case of an emergency.

Sui Generis – (Latin) Of its own kind. Unique; of its own particular type; in a
class of its own.

- (noun) in its own category, in its own group, of its own

character, of its own class, of its own classification, of its own denomination,
of its own designation, of its own genre, of its own kind, of its own nature, of
its own type, of its own variety, peculiar, special, the only one of its
kind, unique

Tumultuous - (adj)
1.full of tumult or riotousness; marked by disturbance and uproar: a tu
multuous celebration.
2.raising a great clatter and commotion; disorderly or noisy: a tumultuo
us crowd of students.
3.highly agitated, as the mind or emotions; distraught; turbulent.

Usufruct - is a right in a property owned by another, normally for a limited

time or until death. It is the right to use the property, to enjoy the fruits and
income of the property, to rent the property out and to collect the rents, all to
the exclusion of the underlying owner. The usufructuary has the full right to
use the property but cannot dispose of the property nor can it be destroyed.