Lex

lex

‘Law’

The many forms of law each have their own Latin terms, commonly seen are:

·         lex aeterna ‘Eternal law’ – Law made by the will of God, which is the rational guidance of all things by the Almighty. Classical natural law in jurisprudence places this as the highest form of law.

·         lex commissoria – Forfeiture clause for non-performance of a contract, especially (1) a provision that a pledge shall be forfeited if a loan is defaulted, or (2) a condition that money paid on a contract of sale shall be forfeited and the sale rescinded if outstanding payments are defaulted. Also known as a pactum commissorium.

·         lex causae ‘The law applicable to the dispute’  – The legal system selected by the court to govern the matter, where there is a conflict of laws

·         lex celebrationis ‘The law of celebration’  – Law of marriage

·         lex contractus ‘The law which governs a contract’

·         lex communis ‘Common law’  – Alternate form of ius commune. Refers to common facets of civil law that underlie all aspects of the law.

·         lex divina ‘Divine law’ – Law revealed to humans by the Scripture. Second highest form of law in classical natural law.

·         lex domicilii ‘The law of his domicile’ – Used by UK as a connecting factor where there is a conflict of laws. Cf. lex patriae

·         lex fori ‘The law of the court in which the trial is taking place’

·         lex humana ‘Human law’ – Classical natural law in jurisprudence regards this as the lowest form of law.

·         lex incorporationis ‘The law of incorporation’  – Regarding companies and shared

·         lex lata ‘The law borne’ – The law as it has been enacted.           

·         lex loci ‘The law of the place’ – The law of the country, state, or locality where the matter under litigation took place.

·         lex loci actus  ‘The law of the place of the act’  – The law of the place where the act was done

·         lex loci celebrationis ‘The law of the place where the contract is made’

·         lex loci delicti ‘The law of the place of delict’  – The law of the place where the tort was committed

·         lex loci solutionis  ‘The law of the place of the solution’  – The law of the place where a payment or performance of a contract is to be made

·         lex mercatoria  ‘The law of the merchant’  – The body of commercial law used by merchants throughout Europe during medieval times.

·         lex naturalis ‘Natural law’ – The participation of rational creatures in the eternal law, as they are given an amount of divine reason and are able to control their actions and the actions of others. Ranks above lex humana.

·         lex patriae ‘The law of nationality’  – Civil law jurisdictions use this as a connecting factor in cases where there is a conflict of laws. Cf. lex domicilii

·         lex posita ‘Positive or posited law’ – Law that is made

·         lex protectionis ‘The law of protection’  – Regarding the legal protection of an intellectual property right

·         lex scripta  – ‘Written law/codified law’

·         lex situs ‘The law of the site’ – Refers to the law of the place where land or some other thing is situated

 Source: SS Production, App.