Latin for Lawyers

COMMISSION

useful in business. Also, a short message broadcast on radio or television, advertising or promoting a particular product or service. A commercial bank is a bank offering the general public the banking services of accepting depos its and permitting the use of funds on balance through withdrawals and checking accounts. Commercial law is the body of law dealing with and gov erning business transactions. The general principles of commercial law have been codified in the Uniform Commercial Code. Commercial speech is speech which advertises or promotes a commercial offer or transaction. Com mercial speech is protected under the First Amendment, but to a lesser extent than the ordinary non-commercial expression of thoughts and ideas. COMMISSION [L. committo, committere / to unite, combine; to cause to hap pen] A formal written authorization to perform a stated act or to function in a par ticular office. Authority to act as agent for another. A government agency formed to oversee a particular administrative area or function (e.g., the Fed eral Communications Commission or the Civil Service Commission). A fee paid to someone for performing a given act or for consummating a transac tion beneficial to the payor of the fee, such as the commission paid to a real To bring about, do; to perpetrate, as a crime. To consign a person to a mental institution. To order the confinement of a prisoner in a jail or prison. To record for preservation (e.g., commit to memory) . COMMITMENT [L. committere / to unite, combine] To place someone in confinement in a prison or mental institution. A promise to perform some act in the future; a term of a contract. The act of pledging oneself to an obligation or to a personal or emotional relationship. A civil commitment to a mental institution is the confinement of a patient by his vol untary act or by a judicial determination following a hearing. COMMITTEE [L. committere / to unite; also, to entrust or charge] A person charged with the care of another person who is not competent, such as an infant or a person who is mentally disturbed. The appointment of a committee is made by the court on application of an interested party. A group of persons chosen from a larger group and assigned or delegated to investi gate and report to the larger group on some issue of interest; especially, a committee of legislators assigned to investigate specific legislative areas (in Congress, for example, the Foreign Affairs Committee or the Committee on Ways and Means). Also, any organization for the advancement of a particular social or political purpose, e.g., the Republican National Committee. estate broker for arranging the sale of a parcel of land. COMMIT [L. committere / to unite, connect, entrust]

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