Published On:Friday, 13 January 2012
Posted by Muhammad Atif Saeed
Law Dictionary Word Under R
Racial discrimination treating someone less favourably because of their race, colour, nationality or culture.
Rack rent the full market value rent of a property.
Rape having sex with a person without their permission (such as if they were asleep or unconscious) or forcing them to have sex against their will.
Real relating to immovable property such as buildings or land.
Real estate land owned by someone who has died. In the USA it is also land and buildings used for business purposes.
Real property land and buildings, minerals in the land and rights over the land.
Realty another word for real property.
Reasonable force necessary force. Reasonable force is a complex issue but essentially use of some force must be necessary to defend your property or yourself and the force used must be in proportion to the threat.
Receiver someone appointed to:
_ sell assets to raise money to repay lenders; or
_ protect property.
Receiving gaining control of stolen property.
Recognisance an undertaking, given by someone to a court, to make sure that they do what the court requires. If they do not do as the court wishes they may have to pay a sum of money.
Record the documents in a court case from beginning to end.
Recorder a part-time High Court judge.
Recovery regaining possession of land by taking court proceedings.
Redemption paying off all the money borrowed under an agreement.
Redundancy being dismissed from a job because it no longer exists.
Registered land any land recorded at the Land Registry. There is a system of recording and registering, at the Land Registry offices, details of land ownership and interests in land.
Registered office the official address where documents can be served on a company.
Also, the company's
registers can be
inspected at the
registered office.
Registrar of Companies an official in charge of the office which keeps records of registered companies. There is a registrar for Scotland and another one for England and Wales.
Reinsurance an insurance company insuring part of a risk it is covering. If an insurance company has taken on a large insurance contract it may decide to spread the risk of loss by insuring part of the risk with another insurance company.
Release means:
_ to give up a valid claim against someone;
_ to free someone from prison; or
_ a document used to cancel a claim one person has against another.
Remainder an interest which starts when a previous interest finishes. When more than one person has been left an interest in land the first person to possess an interest will have to die before the next person can possess an interest in the land, and so on.
Remand being kept in prison or paying bail. If an accused person is placed on remand they are either kept in prison for a short period or have to pay bail or get someone to pay it for them. It is used for short periods before a trial starts.
Remedy using the law to get compensation for damage done or for rights infringed. Also, a remedy can be using the law to prevent something from happening.
Renouncing probate a proposed executor refusing to act. Sometimes when a testator dies an executor will not wish to accept appointment. The executor has to tell the Probate Registry about it in writing.
Rent a regular payment to the landlord by a tenant in return for being allowed to possess and use the landlord's property.
Repeat offender a person who continues to commit the same offence.
Reply a claimant ('plaintiff' before April 1999)'s answer to a claim. In a civil case the defendant may offer a defence to the claim, or even make a counterclaim.
Repossession or repossess a mortgagee recovering vacant possession of the property mortgaged.
Representation is:
_ acting on behalf of someone else (such as a solicitor acting for a client);
_ taking someone else's place (such as when a court gives an executor the right to deal with a
dead person's affairs); or
_ a statement in a contract.
Representative action one or more people, in a group of people with the same grievance, taking legal action representing the group.
Reprieve a judge suspending or cancelling punishment for an offence.
Rescission the cancellation of a contract.
Reservation of title a contract which leaves ownership of the goods with the seller until the goods have been paid for.
Reserves money set aside in accounts which can be spent in later years. Some types of reserve can only be spent if certain conditions are met.
Residence order an order which a court issues when it has decided where a child should live, setting out details of the court's decision.
Residuary legacy what remains to be given out from an estate after all debts, taxes and specific legacies have been paid.
Residue what is left of an estate after all debts, taxes, expenses and specific legacies have been dealt with.
Res ipsa loquitur proof is not needed because the facts speak for themselves. If the defendant was in charge of events and an accident was caused on the face of it by negligence, then it may be presumed that the defendant was negligent unless there is evidence to the contrary. (This term is Latin.)
Resisting arrest a person trying to prevent the police arresting him or her. A charge could be made of obstructing a police officer in the course of duty.
Resolution a decision taken by the members of a company in a meeting.
Respondent the person an action is being taken against.
Restitution is:
_ an order for the return of stolen goods to the victim of the theft or for compensation to be
paid to the victim; or
_ a writ, following a successful appeal, for the return of the items lost after the original case.
Restraining order an order which a court may issue to prevent a person from doing a particular thing. For example, if someone has been harassing another person, the court may order that the harassment must stop.
Restriction when placed on a piece of land the owner cannot sell or mortgage the land.
Restriction order This order by the Crown Court prevents a person being discharged from hospital, to protect the public.
Restrictive covenant a deed which restricts how a piece of land can be used.
Retainer a payment to a barrister to act in a case.
Retention of title another term for reservation of title.
Reversion Revocation cancellation.
Revoke to cancel or withdraw.
Revolving credit agreement a loan agreement under which a person can borrow again to top up the loan, as long as they do not go over their credit limit.
Right of way a legal right obliging the owner of land to allow authorised people to cross it.
Rights issue an issue of extra shares by a company. Existing shareholders can buy extra new shares in proportion to the shares they already hold. The shares are usually on sale at a lower price than the stock market price to encourage shareholders to buy. The shareholders can sell the rights if they do not wish to use them.
Riot a gathering of 12 or more people using, or threatening to use, violence to achieve a common end.
Robbery using or threatening to use force while carrying out a theft.
