Force And Arms - Definition - Law Dictionary Home Dictionary Definition force-and-arms

Definition :

Force and arms [vi et armis, Lat.], words usually inserted in an indictment, though not absolutely necessary, 14 & 15 Vict. c. 100, s. 24. They were also formally inserted in every declaration for trespass, in order to give the Court of Common Pleas or Exchequer jurisdiction, but were rendered unnecessary by the Common Law Procedure Act, 1852 (15& 16 Vict. c. 76), s. 49.

The phrase was used in Common-Law pleading in declaration of trespass and in indictment to denote that the offending act was violently. Black's Law Dictionary, 7th Edn., p. 657.