A number of Latin terms are used in legal terminology and legal maxims. This is a partial list of these "legal Latin" terms, which are wholly or substantially drawn from Latin:
Actus Rea Latin term for 'Guilty Act'. It is the offence of which the defendant is accused. When proved (alongside Mens Rea) it will produce criminal liability.
Mens Rea Like above, meaning ' Guilty Mind - in some cases it is essential to prove Mens rea to show someone has committed a crime.
Obiter Dictum or Obiter Dicta (plural), meaning a remark or comment that is said 'by the way'. Although they do not form part of the courts decision, it may be in the body of the courts opinon, Showing how they got to the decision
Prima Facie meaning 'at first sight', the first tme you see the facts something prima faxcie appears to be obvious and self-evident. Prima Facie evidence is considered to be sufficient to prove a case, unless it is disproved. if there is no prima facie, there is no case to answer.
Ratio Decedendi 'The reason or the rationale behind a decision' . They are the principals of law that are applied by a court to base their decision
Res Ispa Loquitor Translated from latin as 'the thing speaks for itself'. An event that has occurred which, if the subject of litigation, would not require an onus of proof by the plaintiff because of the obvious negligence of the defendant Volenti non fit injuria The principle of volenti non fit injuria, often shortened to `volenti', can be pleaded as a defence to an action in tort. The word `volenti' implies willingness or consent, and the defence implies that the claimant's injuries arose from actions that he entered into voluntarily. The requirements of the defence are interpreted quite strictly by the courts and, for policy reasons, there are circumstances where it cannot be used at all. An employer, for example, cannot use it to defend against an action in negligence by an employee. A person who goes to the rescue of a victim of the defendent's negligence is not `volenti', if the circumstances were such as to make a rescue attempt foreseeable.
For example, if a person is punched in the face because he is in a boxing match, and subsaequently injured then the person has entered the match knowing the risks involved and is therefore 'volenti'. If, however, he is injured because the person he is competing against hits him with a lead pipe, this is not a 'volenti' as it cant be expected and is outside of the rules of the sport
