🔹 100 Legal Maxims with Meanings
1. Ab Initio – From the beginning.
2. Actio personalis moritur cum persona – A personal right of action dies
with the person.
3. Actus non facit reum nisi mens sit rea – The act does not make a person
guilty unless there is a guilty mind.
4. Audi alteram partem – Let the other side be heard.
5. Bona fide – In good faith.
6. Caveat emptor – Let the buyer beware.
7. Damnum sine injuria – Damage without legal injury.
8. De facto – In fact.
9. De jure – By law.
10.Delegatus non potest delegare – A delegate cannot delegate.
11.Ex post facto – After the fact.
12.Falsus in uno, falsus in omnibus – False in one thing, false in
everything.
13.Ignorantia juris non excusat – Ignorance of the law is no excuse.
14.Injuria sine damno – Legal injury without actual damage.
15.Locus standi – Right to be heard in court.
16.Mens rea – Guilty mind.
17.Nemo dat quod non habet – No one can give what they do not have.
18.Nemo judex in causa sua – No one should be a judge in their own cause.
19.Noscitur a sociis – A word is known by the company it keeps.
20.Obiter dicta – Things said in passing (not binding).
21.Pacta sunt servanda – Agreements must be kept.
22.Per incuriam – Through lack of due care.
23.Qui facit per alium facit per se – He who acts through another does the
act himself.
24.Quid pro quo – Something for something.
25.Res gestae – Things done or part of the transaction.
26.Res ipsa loquitur – The thing speaks for itself.
27.Res judicata – A matter already decided.
28.Salus populi suprema lex – The welfare of the people is the supreme
law.
29.Stare decisis – To stand by things decided.
30.Sine die – Without assigning a day for further hearing.
31.Sub judice – Under judicial consideration.
32.Sui generis – Of its own kind.
33.Ubi jus ibi remedium – Where there is a right, there is a remedy.
34.Ultra vires – Beyond the powers.
35.Volenti non fit injuria – To a willing person, no injury is done.
36.Lex talionis – Law of retaliation (an eye for an eye).
37.Actus curiae neminem gravabit – An act of the court shall prejudice no
one.
38.Animus possidendi – Intention to possess.
39.Consensus ad idem – Meeting of minds.
40.Corpus delicti – Body of the crime.
41.Lex non cogit ad impossibilia – The law does not compel the doing of
impossibilities.
42.Expressio unius est exclusio alterius – The express mention of one
excludes others.
43.He who seeks equity must do equity – A fundamental rule in equity.
44.He who comes to equity must come with clean hands – No remedy for
one who acts unethically.
45.Fiat justitia ruat caelum – Let justice be done though the heavens fall.
46.Dura lex sed lex – The law is harsh, but it is the law.
47.Ignorantia facti excusat – Ignorance of fact is an excuse.
48.In loco parentis – In the place of a parent.
49.Mutatis mutandis – With necessary changes made.
50.Aequitas sequitur legem – Equity follows the law.
51.Lex posterior derogat priori – A later law repeals an earlier law.
52.Necessitas non habet legem – Necessity knows no law.
53.Ratio decidendi – The reason for the decision.
54.Inter vivos – Between the living.
55.Jus cogens – Compelling law (non-derogable).
56.Mala fide – In bad faith.
57.Minimum vinculum juris – The least obligation imposed by law.
58.Non compos mentis – Not of sound mind.
59.Pari passu – On equal footing.
60.Post mortem – After death.
61.Prima facie – On first appearance.
62.Pro bono – For public good (legal services without fee).
63.Pro rata – Proportionally.
64.Publici juris – Of public right.
65.Ratio legis – Reason of the law.
66.Rex non potest peccare – The king can do no wrong.
67.Secundum legem – According to law.
68.Status quo – The existing state of affairs.
69.Terra nullius – Land belonging to no one.
70.Uberrimae fidei – Utmost good faith.
71.Vi et armis – With force and arms.
72.Vis major – Act of God or superior force.
73.Vox populi, vox Dei – The voice of the people is the voice of God.
74.Donatio mortis causa – Gift in contemplation of death.
75.Factum valet – The act which ought not to have been done is valid.
76.In dubio pro reo – When in doubt, for the accused.
77.In rem – Against a thing.
78.In personam – Against a person.
79.Lex fori – Law of the forum (court).
80.Lex loci – Law of the place.
81.Lex domicilii – Law of the domicile.
82.Lex mercatoria – Law of merchants.
83.Lex specialis derogat legi generali – Special law overrides general law.
84.Locus delicti – Place of the crime.
85.Locus contractus – Place of the contract.
86.Mens sibi conscia – A mind conscious of its own guilt.
87.Modus operandi – Method of operation.
88.Mortis causa – Because of death.
89.Nemo est supra leges – No one is above the law.
90.Nudum pactum – A bare agreement without consideration.
91.Pendente lite – While the litigation is pending.
92.Per se – By itself.
93.Prima facie evidence – Evidence which is sufficient to raise a
presumption.
94.Re ipsa – The thing itself.
95.Rebuttable presumption – A presumption that can be overturned by
evidence.
96.Sans recourse – Without recourse.
97.Scire facias – Cause to be made known.
98.Sententia interlocutoria – An interlocutory sentence.
99.Sua sponte – Of its own accord (court acts on its own).
100. Verbatim et literatim – Word for word and letter for letter.
