Latin for Lawyers

L ATIN FOR L AWYERS

When a person refuses to do something in good conscience , he means that he cannot violate his own sense of right and wrong. CONSENSUS AD IDEM [L. consensus / agreement, consent + ad / with, at + idem / the same] A meeting of the minds. Two minds with the same thought. CONSENSUS FACIT LEGEM The consent of the parties is the law of the matter. The agreement between the parties is the law between them. CONSENT, CONSENSUAL [L. com + sentio, sentire / to feel] To give approval to; to agree. To be in agreement with. To acquiesce in an act or event; e.g., the consent required of the U.S. Senate before a treaty can become effective. The age of consent is the age (different in each state) at which a person is deemed competent by law to give effective consent to such acts as marriage or sexual intercourse. Informed consent is the consent of a patient to a medical treatment or procedure after being given all the informa tion necessary for a sound and reasonable decision, including the nature of the treatment and an assessment of the risks. An act is consensual when it involves two or more persons who agree to participate in the act voluntarily and without force or coercion, e.g., sexual intercourse between two consent ing adults. CONSEQUENTIAL [L. consequor, consequi / to follow, come after] Following up; resulting from. A secondary result from a primary cause or effect. Also, significant, important. Consequential damages are damages caused not as the natural result of the injury suffered by the plaintiff but as the result instead of some factor or circumstance peculiar to the plaintiff, e.g., a special physical condition or economic circumstance (also called special damages). CONSERVATOR [L. conservare / to keep, preserve] A person appointed by the court to administer the affairs and protect the interests of another. Conservators manage the assets and property of infants and incompetents under the guidance of the court. CONSIDERATION [L. consideratio / contemplation, consideration] A necessary ingredient of an enforceable contract between two parties. Con sideration exists when one party to a contract — the promisee — gives up something of value or suffers a legal detriment, and the other party — the promisor — gives his promise in exchange as part of a bargain or agreement between them. In other words, consideration requires the exchange of prom ises and/or detriments.

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