Latin for Lawyers

PRIVATIZE

dier in the U.S. military. To go private describes the process by which a cor poration buys back and retires its publicly held stock. PRIVATIZE [L. privo, privare / to strip from, deprive of] To make private; to convert to private use. The act by government of convert ing an enterprise from public ownership to private ownership, usually by the sale of stock to the public. Some utilities have been privatized . PRIVILEGE [L. privatus / private + lex , legis / the law] A special and peculiar right, status or condition reserved for or granted to some and not to others. An advantage, power or immunity which is unique to an individual or a group or class of individuals. An exemption from liability because of special circumstances, as in justifiable homicide. The law has cre ated and recognizes many privileges . Examples: The attorney-client privilege is a rule of evidence which prevents a lawyer from revealing communications made to him by his client in confidence during the course of his representa tion; only the client can waive the privilege. Executive privilege is a privilege unique to the President of the United States and enables him to withhold his communications from Congress and others; the privilege is a qualified, not absolute, privilege. In the law of defamation, a writer or publisher enjoys the privilege of fair comment with respect to public officers in matters of public concern, provided the material published is not published with malice, i.e., with knowledge that the material is false, or with reckless disregard whether it is true or false. One privilege which is enjoyed by all is the privilege against self incrimination granted by the Fifth Amendment to the Constitu tion. PRIVILEGES AND IMMUNITIES CLAUSE The name applied to the clause in Article IV of the U.S. Comstitution which states that citizens of each state shall be entitled to all the privileges and immunities of citizens in the other states. Also, a clause in Amendment XIV to the Constitution which provides that no state shall make or enforce any law that abridges the privileges and immunities of citizens of the U.S. PRIVITY [L. privatus / private, for private use] The relationship between the two original parties to a contract or agreement or to another legal relationship. Originally, only the two original parties were deemed to have privity in suits involving liability for negligence or breach of warranty. The right to sue on products liability claims has now been extended to members of the family of an original party and even to strangers to the contract. Also, the relationship between two individuals which arises because they succeed one another to a right or privilege or to some asset, e.g., a con tract or bond, or because there is such a mutuality of interest between them that the rights and liabilities of one extend to the other. Examples of privity :

300