Published On:Thursday 12 January 2012
Posted by Muhammad Atif Saeed
Law Dictionary Word Under C
Call asking people to pay for new shares they have applied for. A company makes a call when it asks buyers of its new shares to pay some, or all, of the share price. When this happens the shares are being called up.
Called-up capital all the shares called by a company when it issues shares. When calls have been made for the whole of the share price and the shareholders have paid, the shares become paid-up share capital.
Canon law the name for the rules used for running a Christian church.
Capacity someone's ability to enter into a legal agreement. For example, a minor would not be able to buy something on credit.
Capital allowances allowances that you can sometimes claim when you buy long-term assets, such as machines, to use in your business. You claim part of the cost against your profits before your tax is worked out for the year.
Capital gain the profit you make if you sell or dispose of a longterm asset (such as a building) for more than it cost you.
Capital gains tax a tax charged on certain capital gains.
Capital punishment punishing someone for a crime by killing them.
Capital redemption reserve A company has to have this reserve in its financial records and in its accounts if any of the shares it has issued are cancelled. The reserve cannot be paid out to the members until the company is liquidated and so it prevents the company's capital being reduced.
Careless driving driving a car without consideration for other people using the road.
Care order an order by a court instructing the local authority to care for a child.
Cartel an agreement between businesses to restrict competition and keep prices high.
Case law law that is based on the results of previous court cases.
Case stated the written statement setting out the facts of a case. It is produced by a magistrates' court when asking the High Court for an opinion on the law.
Causation one thing being done causing something else to happen.
Cause of action the reason someone is entitled to sue someone else.
Causing death by careless and inconsiderate driving an offence committed by someone who is unfit to drive because of drink or drugs, but nevertheless drives a vehicle and kills another person. The punishment for careless and inconsiderate driving is less severe than for dangerous driving.
Caution is:
_ a warning given by the police to a suspected criminal when the suspect is arrested;
_ a warning given by the police when they release a suspect without prosecution that, if there are any more offences committed by the suspect, the first possible offence may be taken into account; or
_ a document sent to the Land Registry by someone who may have a right over land, which demands that no dealings in the land are registered until the person with the right has been told.
Caveat a warning. (This is a Latin term.)
Caveat emptor 'buyer beware'. It is used to warn people buying goods that they may not be able to get compensation if the goods they buy are faulty. (This is a Latin term.)
Certificate of incorporation a certificate stating that a company has been incorporated (that is, it has a separate existence from its members). The Registrar of Companies issues the certificate of incorporation once a company has been formed.
Certificate of origin a certificate stating in which country the goods being imported were made.
Certiorari an order by the High Court that a case should be reviewed. If the High Court considers that a case heard in a lower court is flawed it may order that it be reviewed by the High Court. (This word is Latin.)
Challenge for cause when the defence objects to a juror and says why it objects.
Chambers the offices used by barristers and the judge's private office.
Charge means:
_ to formally accuse someone of committing a crime;
_ to use property as security for a debt (such as a mortgage); or
_ a direction given by a judge to tell the jury what they must do.
Charges clause a clause which appears in some contracts and sets out who should pay for certain items.
Charge sheet the document on which a police officer records details of the accusation against a suspect.
Charges register part of the certificate which is evidence of someone's title. The register shows details of any mortgages, restrictions on the use of the land or rights someone else may have over the land such as a right of way.
Charging clause trustees can charge the trust for their services if there is a charging clause.
Charging order a court judgement which a creditor may get against the person or organisation which owes the money, giving the creditor security over the debtor's property for repayment of the debt.
Charity an organisation set up to do good for the community, such as help poor people, educate people and protect animals. Most charities are registered with the Charity Commission.
Cheat a person who fails to send tax returns to the tax authorities or fails to pay the tax owing, such as income tax or value added tax.
Cheque a written order, addressed to a bank, instructing the bank to pay an amount of money to the person or organisation named on the cheque. The bank takes the money out of the relevant customer's account.
Cheque card a card issued by a bank to a customer. It guarantees that a cheque used with the card will be paid if the person issuing the cheque has kept to all the conditions.
Chief rent money charged regularly on freehold land. Despite its name it is not rent.
Child abuse molestation or ill-treatment suffered by a child.
Child assessment order an order which a local authority may apply to a court for to assess a child's situation if there are concerns about the child's welfare.
Children in care children looked after by a local authority. The local authority takes on the responsibility for the children as if it was a parent.
Child Support Agency part of the Department of Social Security. It supervises the assessment and payment of maintenance for children.
Child Support Maintenance the amount of maintenance the parent not living with their child must pay.
Chose an item of property (anything which can be owned).
Chose in action a right such as a patent, or a right to recover a debt. A chose in action does not physically exist. For example, you cannot touch patents or rights because they have no physical existence.
Chose in possession an object which physically exists, such as furniture.
Circumstantial evidence evidence which suggests a fact but does not prove the fact is true.
Citation is:
_ a summons to appear in court;
_ quoting from a completed case to support an argument; or
_ a notice sent out by someone wanting grant of probate or letters of administration, asking
people to come forward if they object to it.
Citizen's arrest an arrest by someone who is not a police officer. The offence must be being committed or have already been committed when the arrest is done.
Civil court a court which does not hear criminal cases. It deals with people's rights such as collection of debts.
Claim means:
_ to apply for a right;
_ to demand a remedy; or
_ an application for something such as a right.
Claimant the person making a claim.
Clause a section in a contract.
Clearing bank one of several major banks which work together to exchange and pay for cheques which their customers have written.
Clerk to the Justices a solicitor or barrister who helps in court by advising the magistrates.
Close company a company controlled by five people or fewer, or by its directors.
Closing order an order prohibiting the use of a house because the house is not fit for humans to live in.
Codicil extra pages to change a valid will which needs a minor alteration. The codicil must be signed and witnessed and then be attached to the will.
Codifying statute a statute used to bring together all the strands of the law on a particular subject.
Coercion a defence that a crime was committed because the person accused was forced to do it.
Collateral extra security for a debt. If there is a main security for a debt, such as a house being security for a mortgage, any extra security supplied is called collateral.
Commissioner for oaths a person appointed by the Lord Chancellor to administer (manage) the swearing of oaths.
Committal order an order used to send someone to prison for contempt of court.
Committal proceedings a hearing where magistrates work out if there is enough evidence of a serious crime to justify a trial by jury.
Committee of inspection a committee appointed from the creditors of a company in liquidation to oversee the liquidator's work.
Common assault when someone threatens another person with physical harm, even if they are not touched. This is a less serious type of assault (compare with aggravated assault). Threatening someone with a weapon such as a knife or gun is common assault.
Common seal the seal companies use to authenticate (validate) important company documents. The company's name is engraved on the seal.
Companies House the office which stores company information such as annual accounts, directors' names and addresses and the registered office address. People who are interested in a company can inspect some of the information stored.
Company secretary a person appointed by the directors of a company who is responsible for making sure that the company complies with the Companies Acts.
Compensation money paid to make up for damage or loss caused.
Compensation for loss of office lump-sum compensation a company pays to an employee whose contract has been ended.
Compensation order an order by a court to a criminal to compensate the victim of the crime.
Completion transferring property in exchange for payment. When there is a contract to sell land, there will be an initial payment to confirm the contract. Completion happens when the ownership of the land is transferred to the person buying it, in return for the seller receiving the rest of the purchase price.
Composition with creditors an arrangement between a debtor and the creditors. The creditors agree to accept a proportion of what is owed to them in full settlement.
Compulsory purchase taking land and giving compensation for it. When land is needed for a project, such as a road, local authorities and other public bodies can take the land off the landowner. Compensation has to be paid to the landowner.
Compulsory winding up the liquidation of a company by order of the court. It usually happens because the company has not been able to pay its bills on time and a creditor has presented to the court a petition for winding up the company.
Concealment failure by one side negotiating a contract to disclose (reveal) information which the other side would need to consider when deciding whether or not to go ahead.
Concealment of securities hiding or destroying a document such as a will to gain benefit for yourself or cause other people loss of benefit.
Conclusive evidence evidence which by law cannot be disputed.
Concurrent sentence when someone is sentenced for different crimes and the sentences are to be served at the same time.
Condition a fundamental part of an agreement. The agreement or contract may collapse if a condition is broken.
Conditional agreement an agreement which depends on a certain thing happening in the future. If the event does not happen the agreement will not start to operate.
Conditional discharge A court may decide not to punish a criminal immediately for an offence and may conditionally discharge the criminal instead. If the criminal reoffends the court may impose a punishment for the original offence as well as the later ones.
Conditional sale an agreement by which the seller remains the owner
Agreement of the goods until all the instalments have been paid and all other conditions have been met.
Condition precedent something which must happen before a contract starts.
Condition subsequent something which may happen in the future and, if it does, will affect a contract.
Confiscation order If someone has been convicted of a crime the court may order the person convicted to pay the court a sum of money. This is called a confiscation order.
Consecutive sentence when someone is sentenced for different crimes and the sentences have to be served one after another.
Consent to agree to something. A contract would not be valid unless all the parties consented to it.
Consideration the price you pay for something.
Consignee the person goods have been sent to.
Consignor the person who sent the goods.
Consistory Court a court for the clergy. There is one in each diocese.
Conspiracy is:
_ an agreement by two or more people to commit a crime; or
_ some people acting together and harming a third party.
Constructive describing something which may not be set out in the law but will nevertheless be considered to exist.
Constructive dismissal because the employer has broken fundamental terms of the contract of employment the employee has been forced to resign. The employee can apply for a hearing before an industrial tribunal.
Constructive notice presuming something is known. The law sometimes presumes that a person knows something even though they do not.
Consumer credit agreement an agreement by a creditor, such as a bank, to provide up to £25,000 of credit to a consumer.
Contempt of court the offence of:
_ disobeying a court order;
_ abusing a judge during a court case; or
_ interfering in the administration of justice.
Contemptuous damages tiny damages. Sometimes, even though a case has been won, the court may consider that it should not have been brought to court and will only award tiny damages.
Contingency fee the claimant's lawyer gets paid the fee only if the case is won by the claimant. The fee is often a proportion of the damages won.
Contingent legacy a gift in a will which will only be made if certain conditions are met.
Contract an agreement between two or more people (or groups) to do (or not to do) something. The agreement can be enforced by law.
Contract for services a contract under which materials and services are provided by a contractor.
Contract of exchange a contract to exchange goods without money being involved (barter).
Contract of service the contract between employer and employee.
Contributory negligence your own carelessness contributing to the damage done to you or your property. When someone suffers damage or injury their claim for damages may be limited if they have contributed to the harm done through their own carelessness.
Conversion is:
_ exchanging one sort of property for another (such as exchanging money for goods); or
_ acting unlawfully to deprive someone of their ownership of goods.
Convey to transfer the ownership of something.
Conveyance the name of the document which transfers the ownership of land.
Conveyancing the name for carrying out all the actions needed to transfer the ownership of a piece of land.
Conviction being found guilty of a criminal offence.
Copyright a legal right which stops things being copied without permission. If you have the copyright over something (such as a book or music), nobody can copy it or reproduce it without your permission.
Coroner a person who investigates the cause of death when a person has suffered a sudden, violent or suspicious death.
Corporate body(or corporation) a group of people acting together, such as a club.The group has a separate legal identity from the individual members' identities. A company is another example of a corporate body.
Corporation tax a tax which companies pay on their profits.
Corpus the name for a body (usually dead). (This word is Latin.)
Corpus delicti is:
_ the body of a person who has been killed unlawfully; or
_ the facts which make up an offence.(This phrase is Latin.)
Counsel a barrister or group of barristers.
Counterclaim making a claim in court against someone who has already made a claim in court against you.
Counterfeit something that is forged or copied with the intention of deceiving.
Counterpart an exact copy of a document.
Court of Appeal a court which hears appeals against the decisions of other courts.
Covenant a contract or legally binding promise.
Creditor a person you owe money to.
Creditors' voluntary winding up. If a company is insolvent (cannot pay its debts when they are due for payment) the members can pass a special resolution to have the company wound up (liquidated). This is called a creditors' voluntary winding up.
Criminal damage the criminal offence of causing damage to someone else's property either recklessly or intentionally.
Criminal responsibility When someone reaches the age when the law says they are able to commit a criminal offence they have reached the age of criminal responsibility.
Cross-examine to question a witness for the other side in a case.
Culpa blameworthiness or a fault. (This word is Latin.)
Cum dividend with dividend. If a share is sold cum dividend, the buyer will receive the dividend that was declared just before the share was bought.
Cumulative preference shares shares which carry forward unpaid dividends. If dividends on these shares have not been paid in previous years the arrears must be paid before a dividend can be paid on the ordinary shares.
