In the era of humongous economies people constantly perform agreements, transactions, contracts etc.  but what makes them legitimate is the essence of law. Law is a part of everyone’s life, from having the freedom to trade, to freedom of speech, each activity takes place according to the laws of the region. Even after each activity, law plays a major role in our lives, and yet the majority of people are unaware of the technical jargon of Law due to its foreign origin and need the help of professionals and experts for the translation of what we call “Legal Language”. In this article, we will discuss the origin of Legal Language and talk about the top 10 Legal Terms that each layman should know. 

Legal Language is a self-explanatory term used to label the language of law, or the constitutional language. The terms and maxims from this language are generally of Latin and French origin, which have been used for many centuries and have been deeply inserted in the heart of our modern common law. The reason for the preservation of these terms has been solely to conserve the legal profession and its veneration of history and tradition.

Here are the top 10 commonly used legal terms:

Damages

Damages, unlike the word damage, which means the occurrence of a loss, refers to the compensation that an injured party receives when he or she suffers a legal injury caused by the defending party. The term “Legal injury” refers to a loss or damage that a party incurs that is recognised in the eyes of law for example: prohibition of exercising legal rights, damaging personal property etc.  

Bonafide

Bonafide is a Latin term which simply translates to “good faith”. This term is used to convey that an act is honest and there is no intention or scope to deceive. This term is commonly found in bonafide certificates that are issued by the organisations of which one is related.

Plaintiff

Plaintiff is a term derived from the french word plaintive. This term refers to the person that has pleaded for litigation or a legal course of action against a party in the house of court.

Writ

A writ is a formal notice written by a court or a legal authority of a particular jurisdiction, it is written to a specific person or an entity to cease the performance of a particular action. The disobedience of these writs could lead to a legal penalty.

Habeas Corpus

Habeas Corpus is a Latin term that translates to “you shall have the body”. It is a writ issued by the courts to their respective public bodies to present a detained person before the court in order to determine whether the detainment of that particular person is legal. The Habeas Corpus is a tool that keeps checks and balances on the detaining powers of public bodies and prevents its misuse. 

Deposition

Depositions are formal Q&A sessions where the witness takes an oath and swears to speak the truth in response to the attorney’s questions. A deposition transcript is then produced that should include every word of the deposition and will be kept for the records.

Pro Bono

Pro Bono is a short form of the Latin term pro bono publico which means “for the public good”, this refers to legal work that is done for free. For example: law clinics taking up cases of people who are unable to afford litigation or lawyers filing PILs (Public Interest Litigations).

Affidavit

An Affidavit is a written statement that is confirmed by oath or affirmation. It can be used as evidence in courts.

Injunction

An injunction is a court order that obligates a party to refrain from the performance of an act. failure to comply with injunctions can lead to civil or criminal penalties such as fines or imprisonment.

Locus Standi

Locus standi is a Latin term for “the place of standing”, it refers to the right or capacity of a party to file a case in court. If a person does not have locus standi, the courts will not proceed with litigation. For example, only the wife has locus standi to file a case against her husband for domestic violence, if her family tries to file a case against the husband, the court will not proceed due to the lack of locus standi.