Legal Writing

1. A quo – From which; following from.

2. Acquittal – What an accused criminal defendant receives if he/she is found not guilty.

3. Act of State – An act exercising the sovereign power of a country that cannot be overturned by the
courts.

4. Action in personam – A binding upon the parties and their successors-in-interest but not upon
strangers.

5. Action in rem – A binding upon the whole world, such as a judgment in a land registration case or
probate of a will.

6. Actionable – Giving sufficient legal grounds for a lawsuit; giving rice to a Cause of Action.

7. Actual case or Controversy – A requirement by the constitutional fiat for the judicial powers to
operate within.

7.1. Ad litem – Refers to the appointment by a court of one party to act in a lawsuit on behalf of another
party such as a child or an incapacitated adult, who is deemed incapable of representing himself.

8. Adjudicate – To make a formal judgment or decision about a problem or disputed matter.

9. Admission – A voluntary acknowledgement made by a party to a lawsuit or in a criminal prosecution

that certain facts that are inconsistent with the party’s claims in the controversy are true.

10. Adverse party – The opposing side in a lawsuit.

11. Affidavit – A written statement of facts voluntarily made by an affiant under an oath or affirmation
administered by a person authorized to do so by law.

12. Affidavit of desistance – When the complainant states that he/she is no longer interested in
testifying or prosecuting.

13. Affirmative Defense – A new fact or set of facts that operates to defeat a claim even if the facts
supporting that claim are true.

14. Allegata et probata – Things alleged and proved. This requires that the proofs must correspond with
the allegations.

15. Amicus curiae – “friend of the court”, is someone who is not a party to a case and may or may not
have been solicited by a party and who assists a court by offering information, expertise, or insight that
has a bearing on the issues in the case.
16. Answer – The first responsive pleading filed by the defendant in a civil action; a formal written
statement that admits or denies the allegations in the complaint and sets forth any available affirmative
defenses.

17. Appeal – Timely resort by an unsuccessful party in a lawsuit or administrative proceeding to an

appropriate superior court empowered to review a final decision on the ground that it was based upon
an erroneous application of law.

18. Appearance – A coming into court by a party to a suit, either in person or through an attorney,
whether as plaintiff or defendant. The formal proceeding by which a defendant submits to the
jurisdiction of the court. The voluntary submission to a court’s jurisdiction.

19. Arraignment – A criminal proceeding at which the defendant is officially called before a court of
competent jurisdiction, informed of the offense charged in the complaint, information, indictment, or
other charging document, and asked to enter a plea of guilty, not guilty, or as otherwise permitted by
law.

20. Burden of Evidence – The duty or logical necessity imposed upon a party, at any time during the trial,
to establish a prima facie case in his favor or to overcome a prima facie case against him.

21. Burden of Proof – The duty of a party to present evidence on the facts in issue necessary to establish
his claim by the amount of evidence required by law. This is also known as the Onus Probandi.

22. Capacity to Act – the power to do acts with legal effect.

23. Case at bar – A case presently before the court; a case under argument.

24. Case at bench – A case presently before the judge or panel of judges before the court.

25. Chose in action – The right to possession of something that can only be obtained or enforced
through legal action.

26. Civil action – A lawsuit brought to enforce, redress, or protect rights of private litigants (the plaintiffs
and the defendants) not a criminal proceeding.

27. Civil contempt – Refers to behavior which disobeys the authority of a court in a civil proceeding.

28. Civil liability – Potential responsibility for payment of damages or other court-enforcement in a
lawsuit, as distinguished from a criminal liability, which means open to punishment for a crime.

29. Civil obligation – One which binds in law, vinculum juris, and which may be enforced in a court of
justice.

30. Class suit – A lawsuit that occurs when multiple people, who claim to have been wronged by the
defendant in the same or similar way, seek restitution, even if the alleged wrongs occurred at different
times.
31. Clean hands doctrine – A rule of law that a person coming to court with a lawsuit or petition for a
court order must be free from unfair conduct in regard to the subject matter of his/her claim.

32. Complaint – The pleading that initiates a civil action.

33. Conclusive presumption – An inference which the law makes so peremptorily that it will not allow it
to be overthrown by any contrary proof, however strong.

34. Confession and avoidance – A mode of pleading in which the party confesses the facts as stated by
his adversary, but alleges some new matter by way of avoiding the legal effect claimed for them.

35. Contempt of court – A person guilty of misbehavior in the presence of or so near a court or judge as
to obstruct or interrupt the proceedings before the same, including disrespect toward the court or
judge, offensive personalities toward others, or refusal to be sworn or to answer as witness, or to
subscribe an affidavit or disposition.

36. Costs of suit – does not include attorney fees. The costs of suit include filing fees, subpoena
expenses and those types of receipts.

37. Criminal action – The procedure by which a person accused of committing a crime is charged,
brought to trial, and judged.

38. Criminal contempt – A disobedient or open disrespect for the court.

39. Criminal liability – A person is liable, or responsible, for a crime when he or she has acted with
criminal intent, as opposed to acting accidentally or lacking the ability to act deliberately.

40. Culpa Acquiliana – an act or omission which causes damages to another, there being fault or
negligence and there being no pre-existing contractual relationship between the parties.

41. Culpa contractual – the mere proof of the existence of the contract and the failure of its compliance
justify, prima facie, a corresponding right of relief.

42. Custodia legis – “in the custody of the law”. This is reference to property taken into the court’s
custody during the pendency of litigation over it.

43. Decision – A conclusion reached after an evaluation of facts and law.

44. Dispositive portion – Something that settles a conflict or resolves a situation once and for all.

45. Disputable presumption – One which is conclusive until overthrown by contrary evidence.

46. Dissenting opinion – An opinion in a legal case in certain legal systems written by one or more
judges expressing disagreement with the majority opinion of the court which gives rise to its judgment.

47. Ex parte – with respect to or in the interests of one side only or of an interested outside party.
48. Excess of jurisdiction – Excess of jurisdiction is a court’s acting beyond the limits of its power, usually.
In one of three ways: (1) when the court has no power to deal with the kind of matter at issue, (2) when
the court has no power to deal with the particular person concerned, or (3) when the judgment or order
issued is a of a kind that the court has no power to issue.

49. Execution – The carrying out of some act or course of conduct to its completion. In criminal law, the
carrying out of a death sentence.

50. Exhaustion of administrative remedies – prevents from seeking a remedy in a new court or
jurisdiction until all claims or remedies have been exhausted in the original one.

51. Fallo – A judgment by a higher court that the judgment of a lower court was incorrect and should be
set aside.

52. Final judgment – Refers to a court’s last action that settles the rights of the parties and disposes of
all issues in controversy, except for the award of costs and enforcement of the judgment.

53. Final order – An order or judgment of the court that finally disposes of the rights of the parties.

54. Forum shopping – A colloquial term for the practice of litigants having their legal case heard in the
court thought most likely to provide a favorable judgment.

55. Hearsay rule – An out-of-court statement, made in court, to prove the truth of the matter asserted.

56. Hierarchy of courts – this establishes which decisions are binding on which courts. In general and for
most purposes, the higher up a court is in the hierarchy, the more authoritative its decisions.

57. Implead – to sue or prosecute or bring an action against.

58. In pari materia – On the same subject or matter: in a similar case.

59. In re – In the legal case of; with regard to.

60. Indirect contempt – The violation of a court order outside the immediate presence of the court. It
may be either civil, or criminal.

61. Ipso facto – by that very fact or act.

62. Ipso jure – by the law itself: by the operation of law.

63. Judgment – A decision by a court or other tribunal that resolves a controversy and determines the
rights and obligations of the parties.

64. Judgment on the merits – A judgment based on the ultimate facts or state of facts disclosed by the
pleadings and evidence upon which the right of recovery depends. It amounts to a declaration as to the
respective rights and duties of the parties.
65. Judicial notice – is a rule in the law of evidence that allows a fact to be introduced into evidence if
the truth of that fact is so notorious or well known, or so authoritatively attested, that it cannot
reasonably be doubted.

66. Judicial review – A procedure by which a court can review an administrative action by a public body.

67. Juridical capacity – Which is the fitness to be the subject of legal relations, is inherent in every
natural person and is lost only through death.

68. Jurisdiction – the official power to make legal decisions and judgment.

69. Justiciable controversy – A controversy involving a real issue that can be settled by a court, involving
a present claim made by one party and another party disputing it.

70. Justiciable issue – Refers to limits upon legal issues over which a court can exercise its judicial
authority.

71. Law of the case doctrine – That whatever is once irrevocable established as the controlling legal rule
of decision between the same parties in the same case continues to be the law of the case.

72. Lex loci – the law of the country in which a transaction is performed, a tort is committed, or a
property is situated.

73. Lis mota – The cause or motivation of a legal action or lawsuit.

74. Majority decision – A decision that gets the acceptance of the majority of voters in a decision making
body, such as a parliament, municipal council or shareholders’ meeting.

75. Mandamus – A writ or order that is issued from a court of superior jurisdiction that commands an
inferior tribunal, corporation, municipal corporation, or individual to perform, or refrain from
performing, a particular act, the performance or omission of which is required by law as an obligation.

76. Mittimus – A court order directing a sheriff or other police officer to escort a convict to a prison.

77. Motion – A written or oral application made to a court or judge to obtain a ruling or order directing
that some act be done in favor of the applicant.

78. Motu proprio - An official act taken without a formal request from another party.

79. Mutatis mutandis – (used when comparing two or more cases or situations) making necessary
alterations while not affecting the main point at issue.

80. Negative defense – Refers to a defendant’s outright denial of the plaintiff’s allegations without there
being any additional facts pleaded by way of avoidance.

81. Negative pregnant – Refers to a denial which implies its affirmative opposite by seeming to deny
only a qualification of the allegation and not the allegation itself.
82. Notatu dignum – The presumption of regularity in the performance of a judge’s functions, hence
bias, prejudice and even undue interest cannot be presumed, specially weighed against a judge’s sacred
allegation under oath of office to administer justice without respect to any person and do equal right to
the poor and to the rich.

83. Nunc pro tunc – a ruling applies retroactively to correct an earlier ruling (“No for then”).

84. Obiter dictum – A judge’s incidental expression of opinion, not essential to the decision and not
establishing precedent.

85. Pendente lite – during litigation.

86. Per curiam – by decision of a judge, or of a court in unanimous agreement.

87. Plain meaning rule – a rule in statute or contract interpretation: when the language is unambiguous
and clear on its face the meaning of the statute or contract must be determined from the language of
the statute or contract and not from extrinsic evidence.

88. Pleadings – A formal statement of the cause of an action or defense.

89. Ponente – The member to whom the court, after its deliberation on the merit of the case, assigns
the writing of its decision or resolution in the case.

90. Precedent – A court decision that is cited as an example or analogy to resolve similar questions of
law in later cases.

91. Prejudicial question – That which arises in a case, the resolution of which is a logical antecedent of
the issue involved therein, and the cognizance of which pertains to another tribunal.

92. Prima facie – Based on the first impression; accepted as correct until proved otherwise.

93. Pro bono – Denoting work undertaken without charge, especially legal work for a client with a low
income.

94. Pro hac vice – For or on this occasion only.

95. Pro se – “for oneself” or “on behalf of themselves” which in modern law means to argue on one’s
own behalf in a legal proceeding as a defendant or plaintiff in civil cases or a defendant in criminal cases.

96. Question of fact – An issue to be decided by a jury.

97. Question of law – an issue to be decided by a judge.

98. Ratio decidendi – the rule of law on which a judicial decision is based.

99. Ratio legis – To indicate the logical element of the law, or the purpose that animated the legislator in
the issuance of the law.
100. Recusal – The withdrawal of a judge, prosecutor, or juror from a case on the grounds that they are
unqualified to perform legal duties because of a possible conflict of interest or lack of impartiality.

101. Rejoinder – The answer made by a defendant in the second stage of the Common-law pleading that
rebuts or denies the assertions made in the plaintiff’s replication.

102. Res ipsa loquitur – A rebuttable presumption or inference that the defendant was negligent, which
arises upon proof that the instrumentality or condition causing the injury was in the defendant’s
exclusive control and that the accident was one that ordinarily does not occur in the absence of
Negligence.

103. Rollo – To avoid repeating titles of books and periodical articles, preceded by author’s name and
followed by footnote reference and page number.

104. Ruling – A judicial or administrative interpretation of a provision of a statue, order, regulation, or

ordinance. The judicial determination of matters before the court such as the admissibility of evidence
or the granting of a motion, which is an application for an order.

105. Separate opinion – An opinion written by a judge separately from other judges, which can either
agree or disagree with the opinion written by the majority of judges.

106. Shari’a – The code of law based on the Koran and hadith.

107. Sin perjucio judgement – A judgment without a statement of the facts in support of its conclusions.

108. Stare decisis – the legal principle of determining points in litigation according to precedent.

109. Subjudice – under judicial consideration and therefore prohibited from public discussion elsewhere.

110. Traverse – In common-law pleading, a denial of the plaintiff’s assertions.

Citations:

Rule 131 Rules Of Court. Burden Of Proof And Presumptions

https://batasnatin.com/law-library/remedial-law/evidence/1090-rule-131-rules-of-court-burden-of-
proof-and-presumptions.html

Civil Code Of the Philippines

Ulysses - http://ulyssescivilcode.blogspot.com/

What Is Criminal Contempt?

https://criminal-law.freeadvice.com/criminal-law/criminal-law/criminal-
contempt.htm#targetText=Criminal%20contempt%20is%20generally%20regarded,statute%20or%20so
me%20criminal%20law.

Traverse

https://legal-dictionary.thefreedictionary.com/traverse

What Applies in the Case Of Breach Of Contract Is Article 1170 Of the Civil Code Which Reads:those Who
in the Performance Of Their Obligations Are Guilty Of Fraud, Negligence or Delay, and Those Who in Any
Manner Contravene the Tenor Thereof, Are Liable For Damages.

https://bataspinoy.wordpress.com/2012/02/03/what-applies-in-the-case-of-breach-of-contract-is-
article-1170-of-the-civil-code-which-readsthose-who-in-the-performance-of-their-obligations-are-guilty-
of-fraud-negligence-or-delay-and-those-who-i/

Excess Of Jurisdiction Law and Legal Definition

US Legal, Inc - https://definitions.uslegal.com/e/excess-of-

jurisdiction/#targetText=Excess%20of%20Jurisdiction%20is%20a,limits%20of%20its%20power%2C%20u
sually.&targetText=A%20court's%20departure%20from%20recognized,deprivation%20of%20one's%20c
onstitutional%20right.

Majority-decision

https://www.yourdictionary.com/majority-decision

https://www.lawphil.net/judjuris/juri2006/jul2006/am_rtj_06_1996_2006.html#targetText=Notatu%20
dignum%20is%20the%20presumption,poor%20and%20to%20the%20rich.

Joselito Chan-Chan Robles - http://www.chanrobles.com/cralaw19939.htm#.XVPDe-gvPIU