The law book Glossary

Absolute monarchy

A monarchy in which the king or queen has complete control of the nation

Acquittal

Judgement that a defendant is not guilty of a crime

Act

A statute or law that has been passed by a legislature

Action

A formal demand to a court of law to settle a dispute between two or more parties

Act of parliament

A new law or change to an existing law, made by the UK Parliament

Advocate

A lawyer who assists, defends or argues the case for someone in a court of law

Amendment

An official addition or alteration made to a law, statute, or constitution. The US Bill of Rights consists of the first ten amendments to the US Constitution

Appeal

A request to a supervisory court to overturn the decision of a lower court

Arbitration

A process in which an impartial third party makes a binding decision regarding a legal dispute without regarding a legal dispute without it having to be resolved in court

Assize

A court that sat periodically in each country of medieval England

Barrister

Type of lawyer in the UK and some other countries with Common Law systems, who can appear as an advocate in both higher and lower courts

Bill

A proposal for a new law, or change to an existing law, that is presented for debate

Bill of rights

Formal declaration of the most important rights and freedoms that are common to all citizens of a country or state

Canon law

The body of law that regulates the organization of the Christian Church and codifies Christian beliefs

Case law

Law based on decisions made by judges in previous cases

Citizen

A person who belongs to a city or a bigger community such as a state other country

Civil law system

A legal system based in Roman law and codification rather than precedent

Civil law

Branch of law that deals with disputes between private organizations or individuals; not crimes

Civil rights

The rights of people in a society to equal treatment and equal opportunities, whatever their gender, race or religion (ex. right to vote)

Codification

Process of arranging laws into a systematic form such as a constitution or a law code

Common law

Law of the land derived from neither the statute books nor a written constitution but from the past court decisions based on precedent

Comparative law

Study of different legal systems by comparing and contrasting them

Congress

In the US Constitution, the body of forming the legislative arm of the federal government. It consists of two elected assemblies, the House of Representatives and the Senate

Constitution

The principles and the laws concerning the way in which a country is governed