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Donatio mortis causa

Donatio mortis causa, a gift of personal property in prospect of death; a death-bed disposition; an inchoate gift of personalty consummated by the giver's death.It is derived from the Civil Law; Justinian's Inst. Lib. 2, tit. 7, shows its nature. To render this kind of gift valid, it (1) must be made by the giver, when ill, in anticipation of his death; (2) must be intended to take effect only upon his death by his existing illness, for his recovery from that illness, or his subsequent personal revocation of the gift, as by resuming its possession, will defeat it; and (3) a traditio or delivery, either actual or symbolical, of the subject of the gift, or of the instrument which represents it, must be made to the donee, either for his own use, or upon trust for another person, or for a particular purpose. The gift of a cheque upon the donor's banker is not good as a donatio mortis causa, because it is a gift which can only be made effectual by obtaining payment of it in the donor's life...


Judge

Judge [fr. juge, Fr.; judex, Lat.], one invested with authority to determine any cause or question in a Court of judicature. The word 'judge' denotes not only every person who is officially designated as a judge but also every person who is empowered by law to give, in any legal proceeding, civil or criminal, definitive judgment, or a judgment which, if not appealed against, would be definitive, or a judgment which, is confirmed by some other authority, would be definitive or who is one of a body of persons which body of persons is em-powered by law to give such a judgement (Indian Penal Code, 1860, s. 19)To secure the dignity and political independence of the judges of the Supreme Court, it is enacted by s. 5 of the (English) Jud. Act, 1875 (replaced by Jud. Act, 1925, s. 12), repeating in effect a provision of the Act of Settlement (12 & 13 Wm. 3, c. 2), that the judges of the Supreme Court (with the exception of the Lord Chancellor, who goes out with the Ministry) shall hold their o...


Proctor

Proctor [fr. procurator, Lat.], a manager of another person's affairs; also a university official of Oxford or Cambridge having disciplinary powers over members of the university.Proctors in the Ecclesiastical and Admiralty Courts formerly discharged duties similar to those of solicitors and attorneys in other courts, as and being a separate body of practitioners. The title still survives, but the separation no longer exists. Owing to the abolition of the jurisdiction of the Ecclesiastical Courts in causes matrimonial and testamentary, the (English) Court of Probate Act, 1857 (2 & 21 Vict. c. 77), ss. 43, 105, 106, and c. 85, s. 69, awarded compensation to the proctors, and admitted them to practise, not only in the Probate and Divorce Courts, but also in the Courts of Equity and Common Law. The Solicitors Act, 1877, s. 17, allows solicitors to practise as proctors; the Jud. Act, 1925, s. 256 (1), replacing Jud. Act, 1873 (s. 87), gives them the title of 'Solicitors of the Supreme Cour...


Notice

Notice, the making something known to a person of which he was or might be ignorant. Notice is either (1) statutory; (2) actual, which brings the knowledge of a fact directly home to the party; or (3) constructive or implied, which is no more than evidence of facts which raise such a strong presumption of notice that equity will not allow the presumption to be rebutted. [S. 154, I.P.C. and Art. 61(2)(a) const. 56 Indian Evidence Act]Constructive notice may be subdivided into: (a) where the facts of which actual evidence is supplied give rise to a further enquiry which a man exercising ordinary caution would make equity has added constructive notice of the facts, which that inquiry would have elicited; and (b) where there has been a designed abstinence from inquiry for the very purpose of avoiding notice. See CONSTRUCTIVE NOTICE.A purchaser with notice may protect himself by purchasing the title of another bona fide purchaser for a valuable consideration without notice; for, otherwise, ...


Special personal representatives

Special personal representatives. The name given to the personal representatives of a tenant for life in connection with settled land which has been settled otherwise than by his will or by way of trust for sale. They should be the trustees of the settlement and their duties are to convey the land to the tenant for life or statutory owner entitled upon the death of the testator subject to provision by them for death duties (see Law of Property Act, 1925, s. 16). If there is no appointment to that effect the testator will be deemed to have appointed the trustees of the settlement as the special representatives. Upon an intestacy, probate may and should be granted to them for the purposes [see (English) Settled Land Act, 1925, s. 7 (1), and (English) Administration of Estates Act, 1925, ss. 22 to 24]. If the settlement has come to an end with the testator's death, these provisions do not apply, Bridgett and Hayes' Contract, 1928 Ch 163....


Contentious business

Contentious business, the business of legal practitioners where there is a contest, as opposed to non-contentious business when there is no such contest; the latter term is most frequently used in connection with obtaining probate or administra-tion, but is also applied to business in the Chancery Division where there are no facts in dispute, and the aid of the Court is only invoked to determine some point of law or construction, or to direct trustees or executors in the discharge of their duty....


Dearle v. Hall

Dearle v. Hall. The rule which takes its name from this case, reported 1823, 3 Russ. 1, originated with the bankruptcy rule conferring the priority of assignments of choses in action according to the date of notice to the debtor by the assignment, Ryall v. Rowles, 1 Ves Sess 348. Before 1926 the rule was that the priority of equitable assignments of debts and other choses in action was determined by priority in date of notice to the trustees or other owners of the legal interest in the property assigned, see Ward v. Duncombe, 1893 AC 369. The rule did not extend to equitable interests in land except to proceeds of land held on trust for sale, see Lloyd's Bank v. Pearson, (1901) 1 Ch 685, and QUI PRIOR EST TEMPORE POTIOR EST JURE. S. 137 of the Law of Property Act, 1925, has extended the rule to dealings with equitable interests in land, capital money (see s. 205(1)(xxvi.) of the Act), and securities representing capital money effected after 1925. To effect priority among competing assi...


Infant

Infant [fr. infans, Lat., one who cannot speak], a person under twenty-one years of age, whose acts are in many cases either void or voidable. See AGE.At Common Law, the contracts of infants are divided into three classes: 1st. Those which are absolutely void; such as are positively injurious to the interests of the infant, and can only operate to his prejudice; as a surety-bond, or a release to his guardian.2nd. Those which are only voidable: such as are beneficial to him, which he may affirm or avoid when he comes of age; as a conveyance of lands, a promissory note, an account stated.3rd. Those which are binding ab initio and need on ratification: such as contracts for the public service, Articles of apprenticeship [see Green v. Thompson, (1899) 2 QB 1], executed contracts of marriage, representative acts as executor or trustee, contracts for necessaries. In an action brought for the price of goods, if the defendant pleads infancy, the onus is on the plaintiff to prove that the goods...


Sessions of the peace

Sessions of the peace, sittings of justices of the peace for the execution of those powers which are confided to them by their commission, or by charter, and by numerous statutes. They are of three descriptions:-I. Petty Sessions.--Metropolitan Police magistrates can act alone (see that title), with that exception, every meeting of two or more justices in the same place, for the execution of some power vested in them by law, whether had on their own mere motion, or on the requisition of any party entitled to require their attendance in discharge of some duty, is a petty or petit session. The occasions for holding petty sessions are very numerous, amongst the most important of which is the bailing persons accused of felony, which may be done after a full hearing of evidence on both sides, where the presumption of guilt shall either be weak in itself, or weakened by the proofs adduced on behalf of the prisoner. See PETTY SESSIONS.As to right of the public to attend petty sessions, see OP...


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