Latin for Lawyers

AFFIDAVIT

AFFIDAVIT [L. adfirmare ] A sworn written statement made under oath before a person authorized to administer oaths. AFFIRMATION [L. adfirmare ] In the law, a solem statement made in lieu of an affidavit by a person who cannot in good conscience submit to an oath, attesting to the facts or circum stances stated. AFFLATUS [L. adflare / to blow or breathe on, to impart] Knowledge or inspiration derived from the Gods; divine inspiration. A FORTIORI [L. a + fortis / strong, powerful] Proceeding from the most persuasive reasoning; in logic, the inference that something must be true if it is encompassed within another thing that is man ifestly or demonstrably true and compelling; e.g., if a man is dead, then, a fortiori , he cannot think or speak. See FORTIOR AGENCY DEL CREDERE Literally, an agency built on trust. Used to describe an agency in which a seller’s agent is entrusted with the custody of goods or securities and the authority to deliver them to a buyer and to receive and remit payment in exchange. See DEL CREDERE AGENT, AGENCY [L. ago, agere / to set in motion, to drive, to act] Anyone who acts or performs. Anything that produces an effect or result. A person authorized to act for another. In the law, a relationship in which a prin cipal delegates to another person the power and authority to represent and act for him in business transactions with third parties. An express agency is an agency created in writing or by specific oral instructions. A general agency is authority from the principal to perform all matters related to a particular busi ness, such as the authority from an insurance company to an agent to bind it to policies. A special agency is the authority to perform only limited duties or to conduct only a single transaction for the principal. Also, a department of the executive branch of government authorized to administer the laws and regulations dealing with a particular function of government, such as commu nications, trade, commerce, taxation, etc. The Civil Aeronautics Board, the Civil Service Commission, the Federal Communications Commission, the National Labor Relations Board, are all agencies of the federal government.

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