E-Commerce Law
the area of law specifically dealing with the form of business
known as E-commerce, which is a rapidly developing and exciting
business form.
Easement
A right of passage over a neighbor's land or waterway. An
easement is a type of servitude. For every easement,
there is a dominant
and a servient tenement. Easements are also classified as
negative (which prevents the servient land owner from
doing certain things)
or affirmative easements (the most common, which allows the
beneficiary of the easement to do certain things, such
as a right-of-way).
Although right-of-ways are the most common easements, there
are many others such as rights to tunnel under another's
land, to
use a washroom, to emit smoke or fumes, to pass over with
transmission towers, to access a dock and to access
a well.
Ecclesiastical
law
Synonymous to canon law: the body of church-made law which
binds only those persons which recognize it, usually only
church officers,
and based on aged precepts of canon law.
EDI
Electronic Data Interchange
Education
Law
the area of law relating to schools and that deals mainly
with methods of teaching and learning in schools. EFT
Electronic Funds Transfer
Elder
Law
includes a vast range of issues but has a specific
type of person in mind, seniors. Elder law focuses
on the
legal needs
of the
elderly, and encompasses a variety of legal techniques
to meet the objectives of the older client.
Elder law includes general estate planning issues,
counseling and planning for incapacity with alternative
decision
making documents, and planning for possible long-term
care needs,
including nursing
home care. Determining the appropriate type of care,
coordinating private and public resources to finance
the cost of care,
and working to ensure the clients right to quality
care are all part
of the elder law.
Electronic
Funds Transfer
transfer of money from one bank account to another
or to a CSE Agency
Emancipation
Term used to describe the act of freeing a person
who was under the legal authority of another (such
as a
child before
the age
of majority) from that control (such as child
reaching the age of majority). The term was also
used when
slavery was
legal
to describe a former slave that had bought or
been given freedom from his or her master. When
Abraham
Lincoln
outlawed slavery
he did so in a law called the "emancipation
proclamation".
Embargo
This is an act of international military aggression
where an order is made prohibiting ships or
goods from leaving
a certain port,
city or territory and may be enforced by military
threat of destroying any vehicle that attempts
to break it
or by trade
penalties. The
word has also come to refer to a legal prohibition
of trade with a certain nation or a prohibition
towards the use of
goods or
services produced by or within a certain nation.
Embezzle
The illegal transfer of money or property that,
although possessed legally by the embezzler,
is diverted to
the embezzler personally
by his or her fraudulent action. For example,
an employee would embezzle money from the
employer or a public
officer could embezzle
money received during the course of their
public duties and secretly convert it to their
personal
use.
Eminent
domain
USA: The legal power to expropriate private
land for the sake of public necessity.
Emolument
A legal word which refers to all wages,
benefits or other benefit received as compensation
for holding some office
or employment.
Emphyteusis
Civil law: a long-term (many years or in
perpetuity) rental of land or buildings
including the
exclusive enjoyment
of all product
of that land and the exercise of all property
rights typically reserved for the property
owner such as
mortgaging the
property for the term of the emphyteusis
or permitting a right of
way.
Emptio or emtio
Latin for "purchase" or the contract in which something
is bought.
Enactment
A law or a statute; a document which is
published as an enforceable set of written
rules is
said to be "enacted".
Endorsement
Something written on the back of a document.
An alternate spelling, in some English
jurisdictions, is "indorsement." In
the laws of bills of exchange, an endorsement
is a signature on the back of the bill
of exchange by which the person to whom
the
note is payable transfers it by thus
making the note payable to the bearer
or to a specific person. An endorsement
of claim means
that if you want to ask a court to issue
a writ against someone, you have to "endorse" your
writ with a concise summary of the facts
supporting the claim, sometimes called
a statement
of claim.
Endowment
The transfer of money or property (usually
as a gift) to a public organization
for a specific
purpose,
such
as medical
research
or scholarships.
Energy
Law
the area of law dealing with usable
power (as heat or electricity) and
the resources
for producing
such power.
Enforcement
obtaining payment of a child support
or medical support obligation
Entertainment & Sports Law
the legal area dealing with the
entertainment and sports industries.
Entrapment
The inducement, by law enforcement
officers or their agents, of
another person to
commit a crime
for
the purposes of
bringing charges for the commission
of that artificially-provoked
crime. This technique, because
it involves
abetting
the commission of
a crime, which is itself a crime,
is severely curtailed under
the constitutional law
of many states.
Environmental
Law
the area of law dealing with
state and federal statutes
intended to protect the environment,
wildlife, land
and beauty, prevent
pollution or over-cutting
of forests,
save endangered species, conserve
water,
develop
and follow
general plans and prevent
damaging practices.
Equity
A branch of English law which
developed hundreds of years
ago when litigants
would go to the
King and
complain of
harsh or
inflexible rules of common
law which prevented "justice" from
prevailing. For example,
strict common law rules
would not recognize unjust
enrichment, which was a
legal relief developed by
the equity courts.
The typical Court of Equity
decision would prevent a
person from enforcing a
common law court judgment.
The kings delegated this
special judicial review
power over common law court
rulings to
chancellors. A new branch
of law developed known as "equity",
with their decisions eventually
gaining precedence over
those of the common law
courts. A whole set of equity
law principles
were developed based on
the predominant "fairness" characteristic
of equity such as "equity
will not suffer a wrong
to be without a remedy" or "he
who comes to equity must
come with clean hands".
Many legal rules, in countries
that originated with English
law, have equity-based law
such as the law of trusts
and mortgages.
ERISA
ERISA - Employee Retirement
Income Security Act of
1974 - A federal
law passed to
protect pension
rights.
ERISA
sets
minimum standards
for pension plans, guaranteeing
that pension rights cannot
be unfairly denied to
or taken from a worker.
ERISA provides
some
protection for workers
in the event certain types
of pension
plans cannot
pay the
benefits to which
workers
are entitled,
and ERISA
requires that employers
provide full
and clear information
about employees' pension
rights.
Escheat
Where property is returned
to the government upon
the death
of the
owner, because
there is nobody
to inherit
the property.
Escheat
is based on the Latin
principle of dominion
directum as
was often used
in the feudal
system when a
tenant died
without hiers or
if the tenant was convicted
of a felony.
Escrow
When the performance
of something is outstanding
and a third
party holds onto money
or a written document
(such
as shares
or a deed)
until a certain condition
is met between the
two contracting parties.
Estate
Planning
the area of law that
deals with planning
for the
inevitability of
death, such
as obtaining
life
insurance to pay
for the costs of
a funeral, preparing
a simple Will,
and other preparations.
More comprehensive
planning, such
as preparing a more
complex Will, Trust,
and related
estate planning
documents
may also
be
needed. It depends
on the size
of your estate and
how comprehensive
your needs
are.
Estoppel
A rule of law that
when person A,
by act or
words, gives
person B
reason to believe
a
certain set
of facts upon
which person
B takes action,
person A cannot
later, to
his (or
her) benefit,
deny those
facts or
say that
his (or
her) earlier
act was
improper. A 1891
English court
decision summarized
estoppel
as "a rule
of evidence which
precludes a person
from denying the
truth of some
statement previously
made by himself".
Euthanasia
The putting to
death, by painless
method,
of a terminally-ill
or severely
debilitated person
through the
omission (intentionally
withholding
a life-saving medical
procedure, also
known as "passive
euthanasia")
or commission
of an act ("active
euthanasia').
See also living
will.
Evidence
Proof
of fact(s) presented
at a trial. The
best
and most common
method is
by oral testimony;
where you
have an
eye-witness
swear to tell
the truth
and to then
relate to
the court
(or
jury)
their experience.
Evidence is
essential
in convincing
the
judge or jury
of your facts
as the judge
(or jury)
is
expected to
start off
with a
blank slate;
no preconceived
idea
or knowledge
of the
facts. So
it is up to the
opposing
parties
to
prove
(by providing
evidence),
to the satisfaction
of the court
(or jury),
the facts
needed to
support their case.
Besides oral
testimony,
an object
can be deposited
with the court
(eg. a
signed contract).
This is sometimes
called "real
evidence." In
other rarer
cases, evidence
can be circumstantial.
EVS
Enumeration
and Verification
System
Ex
aequo et bono
Latin for "in justice and fairness." Something
to be decided ex aequo et bono is something that is to be
decided by
principles
of what is fair and just. Most legal cases are decided on
the strict rule of law. For example, a contract will be normally
upheld
and enforced by the legal system no matter how "unfair" it
may prove
to be. But a case to be decided ex aequo et bono, overrides
the strict rule of law and requires instead a decision
based
on what is fair and just given the circumstances.
Ex
parte
Latin:
for
one party
only.
Ex parte
refers
to those
proceedings
where
one
of the
parties
has
not received
notice
and,
therefore, is neither
present
nor
represented. If a person
received
notice
of a
hearing and chose
not
to attend,
then
the hearing
would
not
be
called
ex parte.
Some
jurisdictions
expand
the
definition to
include
any
proceeding
that
goes
undefended, even though
proper
notice
has
been
given.
Ex
patriate
A person
who
has
abandoned
his
or
her country
of
origin and
citizenship
and
has
become
a
subject or
citizen
of
another country.
Ex
post facto
Latin:
after the
fact. Legislation
is called
ex post
facto if
the law
attempts to
extend backwards
in time
and punish
acts committed
before the
date of
the law's
approval. Such
laws are
constitutionally prohibited
in most
modern democracies.
For example,
the USA
Constitution prohibits "any ex post facto law".
Ex
rel
An
abbreviation of "ex relatione", Latin for "on
the relation of." Refers to information or action
taken that is not based on first-hand experience but
is based on the statement
or account of another person. For example, a criminal
charge "ex
rel" simply means that the attorney general of
a state is prosecuting on the basis of a statement of
a person other
than the attorney general himself (or herself.)
Ex
turpi causa
non oritur
actio
Latin: "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.
A example is an injury suffered by a passenger in a stolen
car, which that passenger knew to be stolen and was a free
participant
in the joyriding. If vehicle crashes injuring the passenger,
there is no action in tort against the driver under the
ex turpi causa
non oritur actio principle.
Examination-in-chief
The
questioning of
your own
witness under
oath. Witnesses
are introduced
to a
trial by
their examination-in-chief,
which is
when they
answer questions
asked by
the lawyer
representing the
party which
called them
to the
stand. After
their examination-in-chief,
the other
party's lawyer
can question
them too;
this is
called "cross-examination".
Exculpate
Something
that excuses
or justifies
a wrong
action.
Executor
A
person specifically
appointed by
a testator
to administer
the will
ensuring that
final wishes
are respected
(i.e. that
the will
is properly "executed"). An executor
is a personal representative.
Exhibit
A
document or
object shown
to the
court as
evidence in
a trial.
They are
each given
a number
or letter
by the
court clerk
as they
are introduced
for future
reference during
the trial.
For example,
weapon are
frequently given
as exhibits
in criminal
trials. Except
with special
permission of
the court,
exhibits are
locked up
in court
custody until
the trial
is over.
Express
trust
A
trust which
is clearly
created by
the settlor,
usually in
the form
of a
document (eg.
a will),
although they
can be
oral. They
are to
be contrasted
with trusts
which come
to being
through the
operation of
the law
and which
do not
result from
the clear
intent or
decision of
any settlor
to create
a trust
(eg. constructive
trust).
Expropriation
Canada:
the forced
sale of
land to
a public
authority. Synonymous
to the
USA doctrine
of "eminent domain".
Expunge
To
physically
erase;
to white
or strike
out. To "expunge" something
from a court record means to remove every reference
to it from the court file.
Extortion
Forcing
a person
to give
up property
in a
thing through
the use
of violence,
fear or
under pretense
of authority.
Extradition
The
arrest and
delivery
of
a fugitive
wanted for
a crime
committed
in
another country,
usually
under
the terms
of a extradition treaty. |
