Latin for Lawyers

L ATIN FOR L AWYERS

ing conducted by the Board of Patent Appeals to determine conflicting claims among competing patent applicants. The tort of interference with business or contractual relationships occurs when a party intentionally interferes with the right of another party to an existing contract, causing a financial loss to that party. INTERIM [L. in the meantime, for the time being] An act or condition which is short-term or temporary and which comes before a more permanent act, e.g., interim financing; interim order; interim appointment; interim statement etc. INTERLOCUTORY [L. inter + loquor, loqui / to speak or converse] A finding, decision or decree which occurs during the course of a litigation and which is necessary for the resolution of an intervening issue but which does not resolve the entire matter or represent a final determination of the rights of the parties. The word is used in such phrases as interlocutory appeal; interlocutory decision; interlocutory divorce; interlocutory order , etc. INTERMEDIARY [L. inter / between, among + medius / middle, midpoint] One who acts to negotiate or resolve a matter or dispute between two parties. Anyone who acts as agent for two parties simultaneously. A broker, arbitrator or mediator. See ARBITRATION INTERMEDIATE (SCRUTINY) [L. inter / between + medius / middle] The midpoint. In the middle between two poles or extremes. Intermediate scrutiny is judicial scrutiny of a statute affecting questions under the equal protection clause of the Constitution which is more critical and severe than the rational basis test, but less severe than strict scutiny. An intermediate court is a court which ranks below the highest appellate court of a jurisdic tion. See STRICT SCRUTINY INTERNAL [L. internus / inward; directed within] Existing within confines or borders. Within the limits of an organized struc ture. Domestic, not foreign. An internal audit is an examination into the financial records and affairs of a company conducted by its own personnel, not by independent accountants or auditors. INTER PARES [L. inter + par / equal, by similar] Among peers; among persons of equal rank. Among equals.

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