Legal terminology

thumb|Henry Kissinger places his hand on a [[Hebrew Bible as he takes the oath of office as Secretary of State, 1973.]]

A pardon is a government decision to allow a person to be relieved of some or all of the legal consequences resulting from a criminal conviction. A pardon may be granted before or after conviction for the crime, depending on the laws of the jurisdiction.

250px|thumb|Payment with a bank card in a store in [[Taiwan]] A payment is the tender of something of value, such as money or its equivalent, by one party (such as a person or company) to another in exchange for goods or services provided by them, or to fulfill a legal obligation or philanthropy desire. The party making the payment is commonly called the payer, while the payee is the party receiving the payment. Whilst payments are often made voluntarily, some payments are compulsory, such as payment of a fine.

thumb|The London Court of International Arbitration

A promise is a commitment by someone to do or not do something. As a noun promise means a declaration assuring that one will or will not do something. As a verb it means to commit oneself by a promise to do or give. It can also mean a capacity for good, similar to a value that is to be realized in the near future.

Ownership is the state or fact of legal possession and control over property, which may be any asset, tangible or intangible. Ownership can involve multiple rights, collectively referred to as title, which may be separated and held by different parties.

Hypothec (; from Lat. hypotheca, from Gk. : hypothēkē), sometimes tacit hypothec, is a term used in civil law systems (e.g. the law of most of Continental Europe) to refer to a registered real security of a creditor over real estate, but under some jurisdictions it may additionally cover ships only (ship hypothec), as opposed to other collaterals, including corporeal movables other than ships, securities or intangible assets such as intellectual property rights, covered by a different type of right (pledge). Common law has two main equivalents to the term: mortgages and non-possessory lien.

group of people with shared interests or aims

any entity that is recognised as having privileges and obligations in law

right|thumb|The preamble to the United Nations Charter A preamble () is an introductory and expressionary statement in a document that explains the document's purpose and underlying philosophy. When applied to the opening paragraphs of a statute, it may recite historical facts pertinent to the subject of the statute. It is distinct from the long title or enacting formula of a law.

Perjury (also known as forswearing) is the intentional act of swearing a false oath or falsifying an affirmation to tell the truth, whether spoken or in writing, concerning matters material to an official proceeding.

In finance, a surety , surety bond, or guaranty involves a promise by one party to assume responsibility for the debt obligation of a borrower if that borrower defaults. Usually, a surety bond or surety is a promise by a person or company (a surety or guarantor) to pay one party (the obligee) a certain amount if a second party (the principal) fails to meet some obligation, such as fulfilling the terms of a contract. The surety bond protects the obligee against losses resulting from the principal's failure to meet the obligation.

Coercion involves compelling a party to act in an involuntary manner through the use of threats, including threats to use force against that party. It involves a set of forceful actions which violate the free will of an individual in order to induce a desired response. These actions may include extortion, blackmail, or even torture and sexual assault. Common-law systems recognize duress as a defense to criminal liability when an individual commits an offense under coercion.

Parole, also known as provisional release, supervised release, or being on paper, is a form of early release of a prison inmate where the prisoner agrees to abide by behavioral conditions, including checking in with their designated parole officers, or else they may be rearrested and returned to prison. Parole is not an additional sentence; rather it is a system that allows inmates to finish their original sentence outside of prison under supervision. In some jurisdictions in the United States, people may shorten their time on parole through earned compliance credits. thumb|right|230px|A parol

thumb|200px|William-Adolphe Bouguereau|Bouguereau's ''L'Innocence: [[Women, young children, and lambs are all symbols of innocence.]] thumb|Innocence'' by Pierre Paul Prud'hon, Innocence is a lack of guilt, with respect to any kind of crime, or wrongdoing. In a legal context, innocence is prior to the sense of legal guilt and is a primal emotion connected with the sense of self. It is often confused as being the opposite of the guilt of an individual, with respect to a crime. In other contexts, it is a lack of experience.

thumb|Houseboat, England In law, a dwelling (also known as a residence, abode or domicile) is a self-contained unit of accommodation – such as a house, apartment, mobile home, houseboat, recreational vehicle, or other "substantial" structure – used as a home by one or more households. The concept of a dwelling has significance in relation to search and seizure, conveyancing of real property, burglary, trespass, and land-use planning.

A misdemeanor (American English, spelled misdemeanour elsewhere) is any "lesser" criminal act in some common law legal systems. Misdemeanors are generally punished less severely than more serious felonies, but theoretically more so than administrative infractions (also known as minor, petty, or summary offences) and regulatory offences. Typically, misdemeanors are punished with prison time of no longer than one year, monetary fines, or community service.

Italian and Latin phrase

Abusive lawsuits intended to burden an opponent rather than to win or gain financially

thumb|Proclamation of King William III of the Netherlands regarding his accession, 1849 thumb|200px|Handbill publishing the royal proclamation of King George I, dated 23 September 1715, for the "discovery and apprehension" of Sir William Wyndham, 3rd Baronet, the Jacobite leader

legal obligation for any damage, enforceable by either civil law or criminal law

relinquishment under law

agreement in a criminal case between the prosecutor and defendant

intellectual property rights with similarities to copyright, that exist alongside it and separately to it

relationship between subjects of law

delay or suspension of an activity or a law

formal approval of a proposed law in monarchies

specific disease or injury resulting in a human's death, which may be recorded on a death certificate

A guarantee is a form of transaction in which one person, to obtain some trust, confidence or credit for another, agrees to be answerable for them. It may also designate a treaty through which claims, rights or possessions are secured. It is to be differentiated from the colloquial "personal guarantee" in that a guarantee is a legal concept which produces an economic effect. A personal guarantee, by contrast, is often used to refer to a promise made by an individual which is supported by, or assured through, the word of the individual. In the same way, a guarantee produces a legal effect where

requirement that courts respect all legal rights owed to people

thumb|Ferdinand II of Aragon|Ferdinand the Catholic confirming the fueros of [[Biscay at Guernica in 1476]]

person temporarily exercising the powers of an office without formally holding it, while the office is vacant or its holder is indisposed

proceedings in any civil lawsuit or criminal prosecution

concept in business law

An executor is someone who is responsible for executing, or following through on, an assigned task or duty. The feminine form executrix is sometimes seen in historical documents. The term usually means an executor of a dead person's estate, which is someone whom a will and testament appoints to administer the dead person's estate and distribute their property as the will directs.

Arbitrariness is the quality of being "determined by chance, whim, or impulse, and not by necessity, reason, or principle". It is also used to refer to a choice made without any specific criterion or restraint.

person or group composing a single entity for the purposes of the law

Impunity is the ability to act with exemption from punishments, losses, or other negative consequences. In the international law of human rights, impunity is failure to bring perpetrators of human rights violations to justice and, as such, itself constitutes a denial of the victims' right to justice and redress. Impunity is especially common in countries which lack the tradition of rule of law, or suffer from pervasive corruption, or contain entrenched systems of patronage, or where the judiciary is weak or members of the security forces are protected by special jurisdictions or immunities. Im

In law, a prerogative is an exclusive right bestowed by a government or state and invested in an individual or group, the content of which is separate from the body of rights enjoyed under the general law. It was a common facet of feudal law. The word is derived from Old French prerogative (14c.), M.L. prerogativa "special right", from Latin praerogativa "prerogative, previous choice or election", originally (with tribus, centuria) "100 voters who by lot voted first in the Roman comitia", from praerogativus (adj.) "chosen to vote first".

infringement of another human's honor, in a legal context

An escrow is a contractual arrangement in which a third party (the stakeholder or escrow agent) receives and disburses money or property for the primary transacting parties, with the disbursement dependent on conditions agreed to by the transacting parties. Examples include an account established by a broker for holding funds on behalf of the broker's principal or some other person until the consummation or termination of a transaction; or, a trust account held in the borrower's name to pay obligations such as property taxes and insurance premiums. The word derives from the Old French word , m

argument from a yet stronger reason

thumb|Waiting for the Verdict, Abraham Solomon, 1859|260px

A beneficiary in the broadest sense refers to the benefit or advantage someone gets as the result of something else. Within finance, it refers to a person or other legal entity receiving money or other benefits from a benefactor. For example, the beneficiary of a life insurance policy is the person who receives the payment of the amount of insurance after the death of the insured. In trust law, beneficiaries are also known as cestui que use.

report from a consumer providing documentation about a problem

issue or incident which incites widespread controversy and public debate

failure to do something required by law (e.g. pay a debt or appear in legal proceedings)

something that has no legal effect; the absence of legal effect

thumb|260px|Stock certificate issued by the Philadelphia, Germantown & Norristown Railroad, 1852 Issuer is a legal entity that develops, registers, and sells securities for the purpose of financing its operations.

A summons (also known in England and Wales as a claim form or plaint note, and in the Australian state of New South Wales as a court attendance notice (CAN)) is a legal document issued by a court (a judicial summons) or by an administrative agency of government (an administrative summons) for various purposes.

document with the purpose of warning

articles related to civil liability in general (encompassing generally both contractual and extracontractual liability)

"Demurrage" in vessel chartering is the amount of liquidated damages owed by a charterer to a shipowner when the charterer remained in possession of the vessel for the purpose of loading and unloading (laytime) beyond the time allowed by contract. That is, demurrage describes the charges that the charterer pays to the ship owner for its delayed operations of loading or unloading. Officially, demurrage is a form of liquidated damages for breaching the laytime as it is stated in the governing contract (the charterparty). The demurrage sometimes causes a loss to the seller as it increases cost of

lawfully seizing property from its owner to be possessed by the state

The concept of a private citizen being able to make a formal arrest

Procuration () is the action of taking care of, hence management, stewardship, agency. The word is applied to the authority or power delegated to a procurator, or agent, as well as to the exercise of such authority expressed frequently by procuration (per procurationem), or shortly per pro., or simply p.p.

Discretion is the power or right to decide or act according to one's own judgment; freedom of judgment or choice. In a broader social context, it refers to the quality of being discreet, encompassing the ability to behave or speak in such a way as to avoid causing offense or revealing private information.

A loophole is an ambiguity or inadequacy in a system, such as a law or security, which can be used to circumvent or otherwise avoid the purpose, implied or explicitly stated, of the system.

process by which legislation, regulations, treaties and other legal instruments come to have legal force and effect

profession