Legal Maxims

Legal Maxims
• Legal maxims: origin of maxims

• Meaning of maxims (list of maxims attached)
• Usage of maxims in sentences to bring out the clarity of meaning
Jeevan Sagar / HNLU / ELT / Legal Maxims / 2018

What are maxims?
 An established principle or proposition.

 A short, pithy statement expressing a general truth or rule of conduct.
 An expression of a general truth or principle, especially an aphoristic or
sententious one.
 Most of the Latin maxims originate from the Medieval era in European states
that used Latin as their legal language.

What is legal maxim?
 Maxims in law are somewhat like axioms in geometry. A principle of law

universally admitted as being just and consonant with reason.
 / ‘mæk-sIm/

A verbis legis non est recedendum
 From the words of the law there should not be any departure.
 A court is not at liberty to disregard the express letter of a statute, in favor of
a supposed intention.

Abundans cautela non nocet
 Great caution does no harm.

Acta exteriora indicant interiora secreta
 The outward acts show the secret intentions.

Actus dei ressisi nocet
 The act of God prejudices no one.

Actus legis nemini facit injuriam
 An act of law does no one any injury.

Aedificatum solo, solo cedit
 What is built upon land belongs to or goes with land.

Beneficium invito non datur
 No one is obliged to accept a benefit against his consent./ A privilege or

benefit is not granted against a person's will

Bona fides exigit ut quod convenient fiat
 Good faith demands that what is agreed on shall be done.

Boni judicis est judicium sine dilation
mandare executioni
 It is the duty of a good judge to cause judgment to be executed

without delay.

Conscius fraudis particeps fraudis
 An accomplice in the fraud is participant/partner in the fraud.

Contra bono mores
 against good morals / harmful to the moral welfare of society

Contributio lucre et damni
 Distribution of or sharing in profit and loss.

 The phrase referred to one test for determining whether a partnership
existed.

Conviciandi animo
 with the intention of insulting / bringing into contempt

Coram non judice
 not before a judge/In presence of a person not a judge. When a suit is

brought and determined in a court which has no jurisdiction in the matter,
then it is said to be coram non judice, and the judgment is void.

Crimen falsi
 a crime (as perjury or fraud) involving deceit or falsification.

Cullibet in arte sua perito est
credendum
 /kyuwaylibat in artiy syiiwa paraytow est kradendam /
 Any expert in his own art is credible therein.
 Any person skilled in his peculiar art or profession is to be believed, [i. e.,
when he speaks of matters connected with such art.] Co. Litt 125a; Shelf.
Mae, & Div. 206.
 Credence should be given to one skilled In his peculiar profession. Broom,
Max. 932.

Culpa lata dolo aequiparatur
 Gross negligence is equal to fraud and intentional tort.

 Gross negligence is serious carelessness.
 Gross negligence is equal to malice.

Cumulatio criminum
 Accumulation of crimes
 The charging of more than one crime in an indictment (a formal charge or
accusation)

Damnosa aut lucrosa
 /dam-noh-sa awt loo-kroh-sa /

 Disadvantageous or advantageous.
 The heir to a succession had to determine whether it was hurtful or
advantageous to him to take up the estate before actually doing so.

Dubii juris
 (of doubtful right) : an unsettled legal point

Dura Lex Sed Lex
 it is harsh, but it is the law/ The law is hard, but law / The law [is] harsh, but
[it is] the law

Error qui non resistitur approbatur
 An error not resisted is approved.

Ex debito justitiae
 From or as a debt of justice ; In accordance with the requirement of justico;

of right ; as a matter of right The opposite of ex gratia, (q. v.) 3 Bl. Comm.
48, 67.
 It is a duty of justice.

Ex debito naturali
 From natural obligation.

Ex diverso
 On a different occasion
 From different directions

Ex turpi causa non oritur actio
 from a dishonorable cause an action does not arise

 Of an illegal cause there can be no lawsuit. In other words, if one is engaged
in illegal activity, one cannot sue another for damages that arose out of that
illegal activity. … that one knowingly engaged in an illegal activity may not
claim damages arising out of that activity. Therefore, an illegal contract is
unenforceable.

Ex jure representations
 According to the law of representation

Ex justa causa
 From a just or lawful cause; by a just or legal title.

Ex metu carceris
 From the fear of imprisonment

Facta sunt potentiora verbis
 facts are more powerful than words .

 It also means deeds are powerful than words. This includes a fact in evidence,
which is generally the central or primary fact upon which a controversy can
be decided. Deeds can express more clearly than words the intention of a
person. Courts take into consideration the facts, deeds, or action of a person
than the words of the person.

Fiat Justicia, ruat aelum
 Let justice be done though the heavens fall."

 The maxim signifies the belief that justice must be realized regardless of
consequences.

Mala grammatica non vitiat chartham
 meaning Bad grammar does not vitiate a deed

 destroy or impair the legal validity of

In dubio
 when in doubt

Injuria non excusat injurium
 One wrong does not justify another.

 A wrong does not excuse a wrong.

Judex est lex loquens
 A judge is the law speaking.

 A judge's role is authoritatively to declare what the law is.

Judicium est quasi jurisdictum
 A judgment is, as it were, a command of the law.

 A judgment is, as it were, a declaration of law.

Jus non patitur ut idem bis solvatur
 The law does not suffer the same thing to be paid twice.
 The law does not allow that the same thing be paid twice.
 The law forbids double payment on the same object.

le salut du peuple est la loi suprême
 The salvation of the people is the supreme law.

Lex est summa ratio
 Law is the perfection of reason, which commands what is useful and

necessary and forbids the contrary. Co. Litt. 319./

Malus usus est abolendus
 An evil custom is to be abolished. Co. Litt. 141.
 A bad or invalid custom is [ought] to be abolished. Litt § 212; Co. Litt 141; 1
Bl. Comm. 76; Broom, Max.' 921.

Media sententia
 “Middle thought.” A moderate view; a view between two extremes. ...

Mens rea
 The intention or knowledge of wrongdoing that constitutes part of a crime, as

opposed to the action or conduct of the accused./
 A criminal intent.
 A mens rea refers to the state of mind statutorily required in order to convict
a particular defendant of a particular crime.

Modus operandi
 A method or mode of operating.

 A particular way of doing something.

Modus Vivendi
 "mode of living" or “way of life”.
 An arrangement or agreement that allows conflicting parties to coexist in

peace.

Necessitas vincit legem
 “Necessity overrules the law”.

 Necessity overcomes the law. Hob. 144.
 Necessity supersedes law.

Nemo bis punitur vexation pro eodem
delicto
 May no one be punished twice for the same offence.
 No one can be twice punished for the same offence.

Nemo duobus utatur officiis
 No one should fill two offices

No est haeres viventis
 No one is the heir of a living person. A person becomes an actual, complete

heir of another only when the ancestor dies. Before a person can be an heir,
his/her ancestor or person from who s/he inherits must be dead.
 In accordance with the maxim, nemo est haeres viventis, the living children
are only heirs expectant, and hence no one can take an estate under that
designation while the ancestor is living. [Butler v. Huestis, 68 Ill. 594

Nemo est supra leges
 No one is above the law.

 The law is supreme in a state. All the authorities and diplomats are
subservient to law. The law considers every citizen equally. No one can take
law into their hands supposing themselves above law.

Nemo moriturus praesumitur mentire
 A man will not meet his maker with a lie in his mouth.
 A dying declaration is admitted as evidence is based on this maxim.

Nexus
 A connection or series of connections linking two or more things.

Nomine damni
 By way of damage .
 A person was required to pay interest nomine damni.

Non bis in idem
 No one shall be twice tried for the same offence; that is, that when a
party accused has been once tried by a tribunal in the last resort, and either
convicted or acquitted, he shall not again be tried.
Code 9, 2, 9 & 11. Merl. Repert. h.t. Vide art. Jeopardy.

??????????????????????????????????????????????

Match the maxims/phrases with their
correct expressions:-
A B
Modus operandi A criminal intent
Modus Vivendi Connection
Mens rea The manner of vacating
Nemo est supra leges method or mode of operating.
Nexus A good or valid manner
Modus vacandi “mode of living" or “way of life”
Modus habilis No one is above the law

Can you read/pronounce the following
maxims?
 Necessitas vincit legem
 Judex est lex loquens
 Lex est summa ratio
 Nemo bis punitur vexation pro eodem delicto
 Nemo duobus utatur officiis

Now just guess the meanings of the
following roots/affixes:-
 Bis
 Nemo
 Modus
 Leges
 Supra

Noxa sequitur caput
 The injury follows the head or the person. / It states that the liability to
make good the loss caused by a slave/dependant son extended to the
master/father.

Obedientia est legis essentia
 Obedience is the essence of the law. 11 Co. 100./

Obligatio literarum
 Created by an entry in the account books (codex) of the creditor, with the
consent of the debtor, charging the debtor as owing a certain sum. (Roman
law.)/

Odio et amore judex careat
 Let a judge be free from hatred and love

Omne testamentum morte
consummatum est
 Every will is consummated by death. 3 Coke, 29b; 4 Coke, 61b; 2 Bl.
Comm. 500; Shep. Touch. 401.
 Every will is completed by death.

Onus probandi
 The obligation to prove an assertion or allegation that one makes; the burden
of proof.
 In the strict sense, a term used to indicate that if no evidence is set forth by
the party who has the Burden of Proof to establish the existence of facts in
support of an issue, then the issue must be found against that party.
 The burden of proof, the onus; the duty of a party in a legal proceeding to
prove an assertion of fact; it includes both the burden of production and the
burden of persuasion.

Optima fide
 “In the best faith.”Having the highest standard of integrity or good will.

Ore tenus
 Made or presented orally [ore tenus testimony] [evidence presented ore

tenus]
 By word of mouth; orally. Pleading was anciently carried on ore tenus, at the
bar of the court 3 Bl. Comm. 203.

Pendente lite nihil innovetur
 During litigation nothing should be changed.

 During a litigation nothing new should be introduced.
 During the pendency of the action nothing should be changed. See 20 How.
(U. S.) 106, 15 L. Ed. 833.

Per vim legis
 By force of law. The succession to the estate left by an intestate

(a person who has died without having made a will.) is regulated by
legal rules ; and persons who succeed ab intestato (by intestacy) are
said to succeed per vim legis, in contradistinction to those who
succeed under the terms of the testator's (a person who has made
a will or given a legacy.) will.

Pessima fides
 The worst faith

Pleno jure
 with full authority

Plenum dominio
 The unlimited right which the owner has to use his property as he deems
proper, without accountability to any one.
 Full ownership.

Pluris petition
 A claim for more than what is due. This generally arises in creditor debtor
relation. Situation may arise were a creditor claims from his debtor more
than that is due. Then the claim is to be modified for the expense for the
actual amount. However, such a claim will not affect creditor’s right to obtain
the due amount. Where the creditor makes a claim for huge increase than the
original due, such material pluris petitio will annul the adjudication. When
the claim is only a slight excess of real debt, it is considered only as a security
to principal and interest. It must not include expenses or penalties.

Poena ordinaria
 Poena ordinaria is ordinary or usual punishments./ Punishments are of two

types. Ordinaria and extraordinaria. Punishment provided for certain offences
are fixed and certain under law. For ordinaria punishments there are fixed
rules. In such cases judges has no discretion, but to award punishment
according to law. In certain other cases judges has got discretion in awarding
sentence. These are extraordinaria. They are not regulated by any
determined rule. An extraordinaria punishment lies entirely in the power and
discretion of the judge. The discretion is limited to the extent and duration of
punishment and not to the nature.

Poena ex delicto defuncti, haeres teneri
non debet
 The heir ought not to be bound by a penalty imposed for the wrong done by
the deceased.

Quod approbo non reprobo
 Which I approve, I cannot disapprove /

 Approbate and Reprobate means to accept and reject.
 It is mostly used in relation to wills. For example, if a testator gives his
property to A and gives A’s property to B, A is not at a liberty to approve of
the will so far as the legacy is given to him and reject the part bequeathing
his property to B. In other words he cannot approve and reject the will at the
same time. A person taking property under an instrument such as a will must
accept the whole of the instrument. A person cannot "approbate" the will by
accepting the benefit it confers and at the same time "reprobate" it, by
denying the effect of its other terms which awards something to someone
else. This principle of not approbating and reprobating is also known as the
equitable doctrine of election.

Qui facit per alium facit per se
 He who acts through another does the act himself.

Qui parcit nocentibus, innocents punit
 He who spares the guilty, punishes the innocent.

Qui jure suo utitur neminem laedit
 He who exercises his legal rights harms no one.

 The maxim has got application only in civil law. In civil law person standing on
his/her own rights causes no harm to others. A person may exercise freedom
of action as regards his or her property. But in criminal law one person’s act
to protect his/her interest can cause injury to another.
 Ballentine's Law Dictionary:-One who enjoys his own right in- ’ jures no one.
See 120 Fed. 766, 57 C. C. A. 70, 66 L. R. A. 444.

Quicquid est contra normam recit est
injuria
 The law is a rule of right: and whatever is contrary to a rule of right is an
injury

Quicquid in excessu actum est, lege
prohibetur
 Whatever is done in excess is forbidden in law

Ratio decidendi (plural rationes
decidendi)
 The rule of law on which a judicial decision is based.
 The reason for the decision/Ratio decidendi refers to the legal, moral, political
and social principles on which a court’s decision rests. It is the rationale for
reaching the decision of a case. It is binding on lower courts through the principle
of Stare decisis (the legal principle of determining points in litigation according to
precedent.). Ratio decidendi is a helpful tool for a lawyer.
Ratio is a ruling on a point of law and the decision on a point of law depends on
facts of a case. Culling out ratio from a judgment is difficult. A thorough reading
of an entire judgment is required to identify a ratio. Ratio decidendi can be
determined or identified in the following ways:
By distinguishing material facts from unimportant facts.

By discovering the precedents applied to identify the court’s approach.
By restricting analysis to the majority opinions.
By reading out subsequent decisions and considering it at several levels.
Ratio legis est anim legis
 The reason of the law is the soul of the law.

Ratio scientiae
 Scientific reason

Regalia
 The emblems or insignia of royalty, especially the crown, sceptre, and other
ornaments used at a coronation.

Relegatio
 Banishment.
 A kind of banishment known to the civil law, which differed from “deportatio”
in leaving to the person his rights of citizenship.

Res aliena
 The property of another.

Res ipsa loquitur
 The thing speaks for itself

 The principle that the mere occurrence of some types of accident is sufficient
to imply negligence.

Res judicata
 A matter [already] judged

 (also known as claim preclusion)
 The issue before the court has already been decided by another court,
between the same parties. Therefore, the court will dismiss the case before it
as being useless.

Res sua
 Where there is an agreement to transfer property from one person to another,

but the buyer already owns the property and neither party is aware of this,
the contract will be void at common law.

Respondeat superior
 Let the master answer. Or The master must answer.

 It refers to a legal doctrine in which an employer may be held responsible for
the actions of his employees, when the actions are performed “in the course
of employment.” In order for respondeat superior to apply, there must be a
clear employee-employer relationship established, as the principle does not
apply to actions by an independent contractor.

actus reus
 Guilty act
 actus reus / compare - mens rea

Rex non potest peccare
 The king can do no wrong.

Salus populi suprema lex esto
 The health (welfare, good, salvation, felicity) of the people should be the
supreme law"

Socii mei socius meus socious non est
 The partner of my partner is not my partner.

Testis nemo in sua causa casse potest
 No one can be a witness in his own cause.

Ut lite pendente nihil innovetur
 during a litigation nothing new should be introduced

Uxor sequitur domicilium viri
 The wife follows the domicile of her husband.

Veritas nihil vertur nisi abscondi
 Truth fears nothing except concealment.

Via trita est tutissima
 The beaten road is the safest.

Vis legibus est in inimica
 Force is the enemy of law.

Vitium clerici nocere non debet
 A clerical error ought not to hurt

Voluntas facit quod in testamento
scriptum valeat
 The intention is that which makes valid the writing in a will.

Vox emissa volet, litera scripta manet
 the spoken word flies away; the written one remains.

Happy Learning!!!!!!!

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• Legal maxims: origin of maxims

Jeevan Sagar / HNLU / ELT / Legal Maxims / 2018

 An established principle or proposition.

Jeevan Sagar / HNLU / ELT / Legal Maxims / 2018

 Maxims in law are somewhat like axioms in geometry. A principle of law

Jeevan Sagar / HNLU / ELT / Legal Maxims / 2018

Jeevan Sagar / HNLU / ELT / Legal Maxims / 2018

 Great caution does no harm.

Jeevan Sagar / HNLU / ELT / Legal Maxims / 2018

 The outward acts show the secret intentions.

Jeevan Sagar / HNLU / ELT / Legal Maxims / 2018

 The act of God prejudices no one.

Jeevan Sagar / HNLU / ELT / Legal Maxims / 2018

 An act of law does no one any injury.

Jeevan Sagar / HNLU / ELT / Legal Maxims / 2018

 What is built upon land belongs to or goes with land.

Jeevan Sagar / HNLU / ELT / Legal Maxims / 2018

 No one is obliged to accept a benefit against his consent./ A privilege or

Jeevan Sagar / HNLU / ELT / Legal Maxims / 2018

 Good faith demands that what is agreed on shall be done.

Jeevan Sagar / HNLU / ELT / Legal Maxims / 2018

 It is the duty of a good judge to cause judgment to be executed

Jeevan Sagar / HNLU / ELT / Legal Maxims / 2018

 An accomplice in the fraud is participant/partner in the fraud.

Jeevan Sagar / HNLU / ELT / Legal Maxims / 2018

 against good morals / harmful to the moral welfare of society

Jeevan Sagar / HNLU / ELT / Legal Maxims / 2018

 Distribution of or sharing in profit and loss.

Jeevan Sagar / HNLU / ELT / Legal Maxims / 2018

 with the intention of insulting / bringing into contempt

Jeevan Sagar / HNLU / ELT / Legal Maxims / 2018

 not before a judge/In presence of a person not a judge. When a suit is

Jeevan Sagar / HNLU / ELT / Legal Maxims / 2018

 a crime (as perjury or fraud) involving deceit or falsification.

Jeevan Sagar / HNLU / ELT / Legal Maxims / 2018

Jeevan Sagar / HNLU / ELT / Legal Maxims / 2018

 Gross negligence is equal to fraud and intentional tort.

Jeevan Sagar / HNLU / ELT / Legal Maxims / 2018

Jeevan Sagar / HNLU / ELT / Legal Maxims / 2018

 /dam-noh-sa awt loo-kroh-sa /

Jeevan Sagar / HNLU / ELT / Legal Maxims / 2018

 (of doubtful right) : an unsettled legal point

Jeevan Sagar / HNLU / ELT / Legal Maxims / 2018

Jeevan Sagar / HNLU / ELT / Legal Maxims / 2018

 An error not resisted is approved.

Jeevan Sagar / HNLU / ELT / Legal Maxims / 2018

 From or as a debt of justice ; In accordance with the requirement of justico;

Jeevan Sagar / HNLU / ELT / Legal Maxims / 2018

 From natural obligation.

Jeevan Sagar / HNLU / ELT / Legal Maxims / 2018

Jeevan Sagar / HNLU / ELT / Legal Maxims / 2018

 from a dishonorable cause an action does not arise

Jeevan Sagar / HNLU / ELT / Legal Maxims / 2018

 According to the law of representation

Jeevan Sagar / HNLU / ELT / Legal Maxims / 2018

 From a just or lawful cause; by a just or legal title.

Jeevan Sagar / HNLU / ELT / Legal Maxims / 2018

 From the fear of imprisonment

Jeevan Sagar / HNLU / ELT / Legal Maxims / 2018

 facts are more powerful than words .

Jeevan Sagar / HNLU / ELT / Legal Maxims / 2018

 Let justice be done though the heavens fall."