act 1 a : something done by a person in accordance with his or her free will [a tortious ] see also actus reus b : the failure to do something that one has a legal duty to do called also negative act 2 a often cap : the formal product of a legislative body : the formally declared will of a legislature the final requirement of which is usually the signature of the proper executive officer : statute [an of Congress] b : a decision or determination of a sovereign, a legislative council, or a court of justice compare bill 3 often cap : a formal record of something done or transacted [given as my free and deed] [matters of procedure are provided for in that Act "Federal Rules of Civil Procedure Rule 81(a)(6)"] vi 1 : to carry into effect a determination of the will : take action 2 : to discharge the duties of a specified office or post : perform a specified function used with a prepositional phrase [declaring what officer shall then as President "U.S. Constitution art. II"] ...
Act, Something done or performed especially voluntarily; a deed, Black's law Dictionary, 7th Edn., p. 24.Is used with reference to an offence or a civil wrong, shall include a series of acts, and words which refer to act done extend also to illegal omissions. [General Clauses Act, 1897 (10 of 1897), s. 3 (2)]The term act is one of the ambiguous import, being used in various senses of different degrees of generation. When it is said, however, that an act is one of the essential conditions of liability. We use the term in the widest sense of which it is capable. We mean by it any event which is subject to the control of the human will. Such a definition is, indeed, not ultimate, but it is sufficient for the purpose of the law. John Salmond, Jurisprudence 367; Glanville L. Williams, 10th Edn. 1947.Act does not mean depose, Janki Vashdeo Bhojwani v. Indusind Bank Ltd., AIR 2005 SC 439.In view of the provisions of the General Clauses Act, the expression 'act also includes illegal omissions,...
Act done under colour of office, an act is not done under colour of an office merely because the point of time at which it is done coincides with the point of time the accused is invested with the powers or duty of the office. To be able to say that an act was done under the colour of an office one must discover a reasonable connection between the act alleged and the duty or authority imposed on the accused by the Bombay Police Act or other statutory enactment. Unless there is a reasonable connection between the act complained of and the powers and duties of the office, it is difficult to say that the act was done by the accused officer under the colour of his office, State of Maharashtra v. Narhar Rao, AIR 1966 SC 1783 (1785): (1966) 3 SCR 880. See also AIR 1963 SC 849. [Indian Penal Code, 1860, s. 161(1)]...
Act in law, An act that is intended to create, transfer, or extinguish a right and that is effective in law for that purpose; the exercise of legal power....
Act in Pais [Pais, Law Fr., country], a thing done out of Court, and not a matter of record, 2 Bl. Com. 294....
Act of a firm, means any act or omission by all the partners, or by any partner or agent of the firm which gives rise to a right enforceable by or against the firm. [Indian Partnership Act, 1932 (9 of 1932), s. 2(a)]...
Act of Bankruptcy, an act, the commission of which by a debtor renders him liable to be adjudged a bankrupt if the petition is presented within three months thereafter.Under s. 1 of the (English) Bankruptcy Act, 1914 (4 & 5 Geo. 5, c. 59), any one of the following acts of a debtor is an act of bankruptcy:-(a) Having made an assignment of his property in trust for his creditors generally.(b) Having made a fradulent conveyance, gift, delivery, or transfer of his property, or of any part thereof.(c) Having made a conveyance amounting to a 'fradulent preference.'(d) Having, with intent to defeat or delay his creditors, departed out of England, or being out of England, remained out of England; or having absented himself; or begun to keep house.(e) If execution against him has been levied by seizure of his goods under process in any Court or in any civil proceeding in the High Court, and the goods have been either sold or held by the sheriff for 21 days:Provided that where an interpleader su...
Act of curatory, the order by which a curator, or guardian, is appointed by the Court, Scots Law....
act of God often cap A : an extraordinary natural event (as a flood or earthquake) that cannot be reasonably foreseen or prevented compare force majeure, inevitable accident, unavoidable accident NOTE: It is a defense against liability for injury if the injury is directly and exclusively caused by an act of God. ...
Act of God, a direct, violent, sudden, and irresistible act of nature, which could not, by any reasonable care, have been foreseen or resisted, see Nugent v. Smith, (1876) 1 CPD 423. The general rule is that where the law creates a duty and the party is disabled from performing it, without any default of his own, by the act of God or the King's enemies, the law will excuse him; but when a party by his own contract creates a duty he is bound to make it good, notwithstanding any accident by inevitable necessity, Nichols v. Marsland, (1876) 2 Ex D 4. See also Common Carrier, tit. CARRIER.Accidental fire is not an act of God which can be traced to natural causes, Patel Roadways Ltd. v. Birla Yamaha Ltd., (2000) 4 SCC 91.Means an overwhelming, unpreventable event caused exclusively by forces of nature, such as an earthquake, flood, or tornado. The definition has been statutorily broadened to include all natural phenomena that are exceptional, inevitable, and irresistible, the effects of whi...