Jurisprudence! A word every student who has studied anything relating to the law has heard and quite possibly still does not understand.
Whether you are a law student, legal secretary, legal assistant (paralegal) or young legal practitioner, ‘legalese’ is often complicated and confusing. It can take some time to get to grips with all the specific terms and legal jargon if you’re new to the legal field or if you’ve just been appointed to a legal support role. All law firms have lingo that exists because of legal terms introduced by a mixture of legal systems across the world, over millennia.
The Gawie le Roux Institute of Law has put together a legal jargon cheat sheet; a short list of essential terms for anyone still new to the legal space. If you’d like to improve your written and verbal communication skills, read more about our Communication skills course.
A
Advocate – A legal representative, i.e. a solicitor or a barrister, representing a party before a court.
Affidavit – A written sworn statement of facts made by an affiant under oath.
Affirmation – The declaration of a witness where they cannot take an oath i.e. the witness has no religious belief or has such beliefs that prevent them from taking an oath.
B
Bar – (No, not the one you are thinking of!) The collective term for barristers (advocates).
Beyond a reasonable doubt – A standard of proof used to convict defendants where the prosecutors must prove the defendant’s guilt beyond a reasonable doubt.
C
Case – A dispute or claim between opposing parties presented in a court of law.
Chambers – A room or office used by an advocate or a judge.
M
Mediation – The process by which an individual or mediator helps solve disagreements between two parties.
Mitigation – The act of putting evidence or facts to a judge after a defendant has already been found guilty in an attempt to lessen their sentence.
O
Oath – An act of swearing the truth in a court or affidavit, before God.
Ombudsman – Independent party or ‘referees’ who are called upon by the court and appointed by the government to consider complaints in a range of matters, including health, housing, and banking.
P
Prima facie (pry-mah fay-shah) – Latin for “at first look”, or “on its face”, prima facie refers to what can be presumed after the first disclosure.
S
Settlement – The voluntary agreement between the claimant and defendant to settle their civil case.
Sue – The act of starting legal proceedings in a civil court against an individual or organisation.
Summons – An order by a court to attend or produce evidence at court during particular legal proceedings or a case.
W
Warrant – A type of authorisation taking the form of a certificate or written instruction by a magistrate in which a property can be searched or an individual can be arrested. The warrant permits an otherwise illegal act to violate an individual’s rights.
Witness – An individual who gives evidence in court. Also refers to an individual who witnesses the signature of a legal document and also signs the document to testify to its verification.