Practice Area » Family Law » Glossary of Family Law Terminology
Family Law Glossary
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Action: Proceedings in a civil court.
Adjournment: Postponement of a hearing by a judge on whatever terms he sees fit.
ADR: Alternative dispute resolution (such as arbitration, mediation and conciliation).
Affidavit: Sworn written statement signed by a deponent, who swears that its contents are true to the best of his knowledge and belief. It must be witnessed by a practising solicitor or commissioner for oaths.
Alternative dispute resolution: Method by which conflicts and disputes are resolved privately, other than through litigation, usually by mediation or arbitration. ADR involves the appointment of a third-party to preside over a hearing between the two sides. The advantages of ADR are privacy and speed. The disadvantage is that ADR may involve compromise of legal rights.
Antedate: To date retroactively, before a document was drawn up.
Appeal: Challenge to a court decision in a higher court.
Appearance: The act of replying to a summons or turning up in court and accepting its jurisdiction to try proceedings. A barrister or solicitor may make an appearance on a client's behalf.
Appellant: Person who makes an appeal.
Assault: Touching - or threatened touching - of another person, without that person's consent.
Attachment and committal: Bringing a person before a court, with a threat of imprisonment for failure to obey a court order.
Attachment of earnings: Court order for deduction of salary at source in order to pay, for example, maintenance or a debt.
Attorney General: Legal adviser to the Government, appointed by the President on the advice of the party in power.
Audi alteram partem: (Latin:hear the other side) A principle of natural justice which requires that, where a decision may affect an individual's rights, that person has a right to be heard. It includes the right to receive notice of a hearing and to be legally represented.
Barrister: Specialist in litigation and advocacy who receives instructions from a solicitor. Barristers may not normally deal directly with members of the public.
Case law: Published court decisions which establish legal precedents, binding lower courts.
Certiorari: Form of judicial review whereby a court is asked to set aside the decision of an administrative tribunal, judicial officer or public organisation. Certiorari may be used where the decision of the lower tribunal was made in breach of the rules of natural justice. An application for certiorari must normally be made within six months of the decision.
Chambers: Judge's personal rooms, where he may hear matters in private.
Child: Person under 18.
Common law: Judge-made law which has developed over centuries, also referred to as "unwritten" law. Common law (as practised in Ireland, England and the USA) is often contrasted with civil law systems (such as in France or Germany) where laws are set down in a written code.
Consent order: Court order agreed between both sides.
Construction: Legal process of interpreting a phrase or document. If a term is unclear or ambiguous, lawyers and judges must try and interpret (or construct) its probable intention and purpose. This may be done by referring to other parts of the document, by reference to the known intentions of those who drew up the document, or, in the case of statutes, by referring to an interpretation law which gives guidelines for construction.
Contempt: Deliberate disregard of a court order.
Costs: The legal expenses of an action, such as lawyers' fees, witness expenses and other fees paid out in bringing the matter to court. The rule is generally that "costs follows the event", which means that the loser normally pays the legal costs of both sides. The judge has the final decision and may decide not to make an order on costs.
Counsel: Barrister(s).
Counter claim: Respondent's claim against a plaintiff in the same action.
De facto: (Latin:in fact) Something which exists in fact, though not necessarily approved by law (de jure). A common law spouse may be referred to as a de facto spouse, although not legally married.
Deponent: Person who swears an affidavit or deposition.
Emolument: Wages, benefits or profits received as compensation for holding office or employment.
Evidence: Testimony of witnesses at a trial, or the production of documents or other materials to prove or disprove a set of facts. Evidence may be direct or circumstantial (that is evidence from which a fact may be presumed). The best evidence available - such as original, rather than copy, documents - must generally be presented to a court.
Ex parte: (Latin:on the part of) Court application made without notice to the other side. One party is therefore neither present nor represented.
In personam: (Latin:against the person) All legal rights are either in personam or in rem. An in personam right attaches to a particular person.
In rem: (Latin:against the thing) In rem rights relate to property and are not based on any personal relationship.
Inter alia: (Latin:among other things) Used to precede a list of examples covered by a more general descriptive statement.
Jurisdiction:Power of a judge or court to act, limited by a defined territory (the jurisdiction of the District Court is restricted to offences committed in that district), by the type of case (the jurisdiction of a criminal court is limited to criminal cases) or to certain persons (a court martial only has jurisdiction over military personnel).
Legal Aid: Government scheme providing advice or assistance from a solicitor or barrister free or at a reduced rate.
Mediation: Form of alternative dispute resolution involving an agreed mediator acting as a facilitator to help the parties negotiate an agreement. The mediator does not adjudicate on the issues or force a compromise; only the parties involved can resolve the dispute. The result of a successful mediation is called a settlement.
Minor: Person under the age of 18 who is not married (or has not been married). A minor may only enter into certain contracts, such as those for necessaries or an apprenticeship. An Irish resident under the age of 18 may not legally marry without the permission of the Court, even if the ceremony takes place somewhere (such as Northern Ireland) where the minimum age for marriage is under 18.
Order: Formal written direction by a judge. Once a final order is made, it may only be amended if there has been an accidental slip in the judgment.
Petition: Formal, written submission to court, seeking redress of an injustice. Petitions set out the facts, identify the law under which the court is being asked to intervene, and end with a requested course of action for the court to consider (such as payment of damages). Petitions are normally used to institute proceedings in the areas of bankruptcy, patents, professional disciplinary bodies and family law matters.
Plaintiff: Person who brings a case to court. (Also called the petitioner or applicant.) The person being sued is generally called the defendant or respondent.
Precedent: Court judgment which is cited as an authority in a later case involving similar facts. Precedent cannot bind a higher court (for example, a Circuit Court decision cannot bind a High Court judge). A Supreme Court judgment binds all courts - although it does not bind the Supreme Court itself in future cases. The system of precedent forms the basis of the policy of stare decisis which helps litigants to predict the outcome of a case in a given situation.
Private law: Domestic law which regulates the relationships between individuals and in which the State is not directly concerned. Family, commercial and labour law are examples of private law because their focus is the relationships between individuals or between corporations or organisations and individuals.
Pro tempore (pro tem): (Latin:for the time) Temporary or for the time being.
Quantum: Latin: amount or extent.
Reserved Costs: Apportionment of payment of legal fees to be decided at a later stage.
Reserved judgment: Decision to be given at a later date.
Residence: Place where someone usually - but not necessarily permanently - lives.
Respondent: Person against whom a summons is issued, or a petition or appeal brought.
Search warrant: Written order (normally issued by a judge or peace commissioner) giving gardai permission to enter private property, to search for and seize evidence of the commission of a crime, the proceeds of crime or property that they suspect may be used to commit a crime.
Service: Delivery of court documents by one party to the other, personally or by post.
Solicitor: General lawyer who may deal directly with the public.
Stare decisis: (Latin:to stand by decisions) Policy whereby, once a court has made a decision on a certain set of facts, lower courts must apply that precedent in subsequent cases which embody the same facts.
Substituted service: If a party appears to be avoiding service of legal documents, the court may be asked to direct that, instead of personal service (that is giving the documents directly to the person), they should be served in a different way, perhaps by posting them to the defendant's home or office or leaving them with a member of his family.
Sui juris: (Latin:of his own right) Person who has full legal rights and is not under any incapacity, such as being bankrupt, a minor or mentally incapable.
Summons: Written command to a person to appear in court.
Undertaking: Enforceable promise given to court.
Variation: Alteration of term of court order.
Videlicet: (Latin:that is to say) The abbreviation of videlicet ( viz.) is commonly used in legal documents to advise that what follows provides more detail about a preceding general statement.
Voire dire: (French: To speak the truth) Separate trial within a trial, generally in the absence of the jury, on the admissibility of contested evidence.
Waiver: Renunciation of a right or benefit. Waivers are not always in writing. Sometimes actions can be interpreted as a waiver.
Young person: Person under 16, whose regular, full-time employment is forbidden by the 1996 Protection of Young Persons (Employment) Act. A child over 14 may do light work during school holidays, but a child under 14 cannot be employed at all.
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