ISIELT Lecture-6.

Legal Maxims
⚫Black’s Law Dictionary
⚫Md Abdul Halim and Farhana Helal
Mehtab, Law and Legal Language, CCB
Foundation, 47-64.
⚫David Singleton, Language and the lexicon :
an introduction, Oxford University Press
(2000)
⚫K.J. Aiyar's Judicial Dictionary : A Complete
Law Lexicon, Law Book Company,
Allahabad (2001)
⚫Definition of Maxims and other Related
Concepts
⚫What is Maxim?
A pithy statement of a general principle of
law developed for easy remembrance.
⚫What is a principle of law?
The basis of a legal rule.
⚫What is legal rule?
A command in law established by statute or
judicial decision.
⚫What is a legal doctrine?
A legal rule or principle established by
repeated application of legal precedents.
⚫Some Selected Maxims
Maxims
⚫Actus non fecit reum nisi mens sitrea
An act does not itself constitute guilt unless the
mind guilty.
In the case of Regina v. Faulkner, the
defendant unintentionally set fire to a
cargo ship while attempting to steal rum
from a cask. The defendant was charged
and found guilty of both theft and arson.
The Appeal Court emphasized the
requirement of mens rea. It held that the
defendant should have intended to engage
in a criminal act that would reasonably
lead to the resulting harm.
⚫Actus non fecit reum nisi mens sitrea

Exception:
Sometimes, mens rea is deemed less
significant compared to the committed act.
If someone is found in possession of
obscene material, they can be prosecuted
under Section 292 of the Penal Code,
1860, without the necessity of proving their
purpose or awareness of the obscenity
(Ranjit D. Udeshi v. the State of
Maharashtra (1964)),
Delegate protestas non potest delegare
Delegated power shall not be delegated.
Example: Minister empowered the Secretary to
do an act on his behalf. Now, the Secretary
cannot delegate his delegated power to a
Deputy Secretary to ac on behalf of him.
Factum valet (‘factum valet quod fieri non
debuit’)
‘What ought not to be done, become valid when
done it already.’
Thing accomplished (with fulfillment of essential
conditions) is deemed valid. This principle
applies if the condition violated is directory
in nature and not mandatory (Deivanai v.
Chidambaram, A.I.R. 1954 Mad. 657)
Factum valet
Example: Under ancient Hindu law, father had
to consent to daughter’s marriage. About
marriage consented by mother was not
prohibited. So, the marriage of a Hindu girl by
mother was valid.
Similarly, under Hanafi School, marriage by a
Muslim girl without fathers’ consent is valid,
even though the marriage should have been
given by him.
Maxims
⚫Innorautia juris non excusat
Ignorance of law is no excuse
Exception: under U.S. Federal
criminal tax law, the element
of willfulness required by the
provisions of the Internal Revenue
Code has been ruled by the courts to
correspond to a "voluntary,
intentional violation of a known legal
duty" under which an "actual good
faith belief based on a
misunderstanding caused by the
⚫Thank you