Legal Terms

Question 1

redress

Answer 1

to right a wrong or give payment for a wrong that has been done

Question 2

vindicated

Answer 2

to prove that someone is not guilty or is free from blame, after other people blamed them

Question 3

injunction

Answer 3

an official order given by a law court, usually to stop someone from doing something
e.g., The court has issued an injunction to prevent the airline from increasing its prices

Question 4

Res Ipsa Ioquitur

Answer 4

Proof is not needed because the facts speak for themselves

Question 5

Precedent

Answer 5

a decision about a particular legal case that makes it likely that other similar cases will be decided in the same way

Question 6

Adulterous

Answer 6

involving sex between a married man or woman and someone who is not their wife or husband

Question 7

DPP

Answer 7

Director of Public Prosecutions

Question 8

unenumerated/implied rights

Answer 8

rights not specifically mentioned in the constitution but which are considered fundamental to the operation of the nation

Question 9

Emphatically

Answer 9

in a forceful way, used to emphasise what you are saying

Question 10

Acquittal

Answer 10

the decision of the court that someone is not guilty

Question 11

Legislature

Answer 11

the group of people in a country who have the power to make and change laws
In Ireland - the President, the two houses: The Dáil and the Seanad

Question 12

Doctrine

Answer 12

a belief or set of beliefs, especially political or religious ones that are taught and accepted by a particular group

Question 13

vexatious

Answer 13

difficult to deal with and causing a lot of anger, worry or argument

Question 14

assailant

Answer 14

a person who attacks another person

Question 15

notwithstanding

Answer 15

despite the fact
e.g. notwithstanding some members’ objections, I think we must go ahead with the plan

Question 16

dicta

Answer 16

short statements, especially ones expressing advice or general truth
- plural of dictum

Question 17

executive action

Question 18

appellant

Answer 18

someone who is involved in making a legal appeal
e.g., At his original trial, the appellant was convicted on five of the seven counts

Question 19

When is ; used

Answer 19

use a semicolon to replace a period between related sentences when the second sentence starts with either a conjunctive adverb or a transitional expression, for example, for instance, that is, besides, accordingly, furthermore, otherwise, however, thus, therefore
It separates independent clauses that are linked in meaning with a transitional word
Use a semicolon in sentences that are NOT linked by a conjunction such as “and”, “but”, “or”, “nor” and “yet”.

Question 20

litigant

Answer 20

a person who is fighting a legal case
e.g., the trial abruptly ended when litigants announced they had settled the case out of court

Question 21

contentious

Answer 21

causing, involving or likely to cause disagreement and argument
e.g.,
- a contentious decision
- she has some very contentious views on education

Question 22

repugnant

Answer 22

If behaviour or beliefs are repugnant, they are very unpleasant, causing a feeling of disgust
e.g., I find your attitude towards these women quite repugnant

Question 23

impugned decision

Answer 23

past tense: impugned
present: impugn
To challenge or call into question a person’s character or the truth of a statement

Question 24

inter alia

Answer 24

among other things

Question 25

prima facie

Answer 25

at first sight (=based on what seems to be truth when first seen or heard) e.g., for millions of Americans witnessing the event, it was a prima facie case of police brutality

Question 26

fortiori

Answer 26

for an even stronger reason than one that has already been accepted e.g., the proposition is incomprehensible to us, and hence a fortiori we cannot be justified in believing it

Question 27

corollary

Answer 27

something that results from something else e.g., unfortunately, violence is the inevitable corollary of such a revolutionary change in society

Question 28

adduced

Answer 28

to give reasons why you think something is true

Question 29

legal parlance

Answer 29

a group of words used in law constitutionally permissible

Question 30

tortious

Answer 30

being or relating to a tort (= an action that is wrong, but can be dealt with in a civil court rather than a criminal court)