Latin for Lawyers

VIS MAJOR

VIS MAJOR [L. vis / force + magnus , maior, maximus / great, greater, great est] A greater force, superior force; an act of God. See FORCE MAJEURE; FORCE MAJESTURE VITAL [L. vita / life] Possessed of life and vigor. Necessary for the maintenance of life. Concerned with life and living things. Of great importance. Vital statistics are the statis tics and data gathered by public agencies dealing with issues of health. They include data on births, death, marriages and similar matters. VITIATE [L. vitio , vitiare / to injure, damage, corrupt; to forge or falsify] To make defective. To impair. To annul, cancel or render ineffective. To void or make voidable. To make inoperable or nonbinding. For example, fraud is said to vitiate a contract or a promise. To invalidate. VIVA VOCE [L. vivo , vivere / to live, be alive + voco , vocare / to call, speak] Literally, the voice that lives. Word of mouth. Expressed orally. The testi mony of a witness given orally before the trier of facts, instead of by deposi tion or transcript from a former record. VIZ. [L. abbreviation for videlicet ( videre / to see + licit , licere / it is allowed)] As anyone can plainly see; clearly, plainly. VOID [L. vacivus (or vocivus ) / empty (from vacuo , vacare / to empty)] Empty; deserted. A feeling of lack or deprivation. Having no legal force. Legally ineffective or inoperable. Not recognized by the law for any purpose. An instrument which cannot be enforced by any of the parties. A transaction without legal consequence. A void instrument cannot be revived or renewed by amendment. VOID AB INITIO Invalid and a nullity from its very inception. Void from the very beginning. Never having existed in the eyes of the law. A contract is void ab initio if it is for an illegal purpose or if it offends public policy. On the other hand, a con tract which is valid but which can be rescinded or avoided by one of the par ties because of a wrong by the other party is not void, but voidable. See AB INITIO VOIDABLE [L. vacivus / empty] A transaction or agreement which, although valid, is subject to avoidance or cancellation at the option of one of the parties. The Restatement of Contracts defines a voidable contract as a valid contract in which one of the parties has

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