Commerce - Law Vocabulary

plaintiff

the person who sues another person

Defendant

the person being sued

defamation

when someone publishes a false statement that damages another person

Compensatory damages

money given to compensate for there actual loss, aiming to restore the victim in the exact same position they would’ve been in if the wrongful act didn’t occur.

Aggravated damages

extra money on top of compensatory damages due to the offenders behaviour after the event

Vindication

to clear someones name

grapevine effect

when defamatory statements multiply and reach far audiences the publisher didn’t initially intend

defence of truth

arguing the statemant was actually true, so it cant be defamation

qualified privilege

arguing the statement was made in a context where there was a genuine duty to share

crown

the government prosecuting on behalf of society

offender

person who committed crime

guilty plea

when offender admits to charge in court

objective seriousness

how serious the crime was purely on what happened regardless and regardless of who did it

mitigating factors

things that reduce the sentence

non-parole period

minimum time offender has to serve in prison before being allowed to leave

parole

early release from jail under supervision. If you break a condition you go back to finish sentence

guilty plea discount

reduction in sentence for pleading guilty

assistance discount

reduction in sentence for helping authorities

beyond reasonable doubt

crown proves guilt so firmly there is no doubt in the judge or jury’s head

special circumstances

a finding that allows the judge to give a longer parole period than normal

standard of proof

how sure the court has to be to find someone guilty/liable, in the civil case there had to be a balance of probabilities so it had to be over 50% sure. The criminal case had to be beyond reasonable life, cuz it decides the freedom of someone.