Accountant of Court: The officer of the Court of Session who supervises the conduct of judicial factors; holds ex officio certain statutory offices such as Public Guardian; and performs other statutory functions. (See also: ‘Public Guardian’; ‘judicial factor’.)
Appellate: Relating to appeals, whereby an action is raised by the losing party in a case which takes the case to a higher court in hope of having the existing decision reversed. (See also: ‘Court of Appeal’.)
Asbestos: A highly heat-resistant fibrous silicate mineral that can be woven into fabrics and was previously used in brake linings and in fire-resistant and insulating materials. Inhalation of asbestos fibres can result in severe lung disease. Blue and brown asbestos was banned in the UK in 1985, and this ban was extended to white asbestos in 1999. (See also: ‘asbestosis’, ‘mesothelioma’, ‘pleural plaques’, pleural thickening’.)
Asbestosis: A lung disease resulting from the inhalation of asbestos particles, marked by severe fibrosis and a high risk of mesothelioma. (See also: ‘asbestos’, ‘mesothelioma’.)
Case law: Judicial decisions as a source of law.
Causation: For liability to arise, the responsible person must in fact have caused the personal injury. Personal injuries are defined in section 13(1) of the Administration of Justice Act 1982 as: “(a) any disease, and (b) any impairment of a person’s physical or mental condition”.
Caution: Security by which one party guarantees the payment of another’s debt or the due performance of another’s obligation or some other legal act such as the administration of a trust estate.
Claimant: A term used in England since April 1999 for a person who makes a claim in the civil courts. (See also: ‘injured person’; ‘plaintiff’; ‘pursuer’.)
Common law: Law which does not stem from a statute book but is laid down in judicial decisions.
Consanguinity: Relationship of persons descended from the same ancestor.
Contributory negligence: Some careless or blameworthy act or omission by the pursuer which contributed, with the defender’s fault or negligence, to the pursuer’s loss or injury. Since 1945 the court may reduce an award of damages in proportion to the pursuer’s share of responsibility for what happened.
Court of Appeal: A court which has jurisdiction to hear appeals. (See also: ‘appellate’.)
Court of Protection: A court in England and Wales which makes decisions on behalf of people who lack capacity to make their own decisions.
Damages: A sum of money claimed as compensation for loss, injury or damage resulting from an act or omission of the defender which is in breach of a duty owed. The amount of damages awarded is intended to put the person entitled thereto as nearly as may be in the same position as they were before the harm occurred.
Decree: The final order of a court or arbiter in civil proceedings.
Defendant/defender: A party against whom a civil action has been raised.
Delict: The Scots law term for a civil wrong created by the deliberate or negligent breach of a legal duty, from which a liability to compensate consequential loss and injury may arise. (See also: ‘tort’.)
Devolved competence: Legislative authority within the power of the Scottish Parliament.
Ex gratia: Gratuitous, done without recognising any legal obligation to do whatever was done. Thus an ex gratia payment may be made to settle a claim without any admission as to liability. (See also: ‘extra-judicial’; ‘settle’.)
Executor/executrix: A legal representative of a deceased person whose duty it is to wind up the estate of the deceased.
Ex proprio motu: Of a person’s own volition or accord: describes a decision made by a judge without being requested by a party to take that course.
Extra-judicial: Not carried out under judicial control; out of court. (See also: ‘ex-gratia’; ‘settle’.)
Friendly society: A mutual association composed of a body of people who join together for a common financial or social purpose such as insurance, pensions, savings, or co-operative banking.
House of Lords: (i) The second legislative chamber of the United Kingdom (ii) The Appellate Committee of the House of Lords (which used to be the highest appeal court in the United Kingdom until it was replaced by the Supreme Court in October 2009).
Injured person: The person who makes a claim in the civil courts following an injury. (See also: ‘claimant’; ‘plaintiff’; ‘pursuer’.)
Inner House: The part of the Court of Session (Scotland’s highest civil court) which is primarily concerned with the court’s appellate jurisdiction. (See also: ‘appellate’.)
Interlocutor: The official document embodying an order or judgment pronounced by the court.
Judicial factor: A person appointed by a court to hold or administer property in Scotland where it is in dispute or where there is no one who could properly control or administer it. A judicial factor must find caution, and his or her work is supervised by the Accountant of Court. (See also: ‘Accountant of Court’.)
Joint minute: A document which forms part of the process in court. In it, parties may state an agreed position on some aspect of the case, or make a procedural application.
Legacy: A bequest of money or other property to a beneficiary conferred by the will of a deceased person.
Legal capacity: The ability to make legally binding contracts or other legal acts (active capacity) or to be held liable for one’s acts (passive capacity).
Legislation: Laws enacted by Parliament (See also: ‘statute’.)
Legislative competence: Those matters over which a Parliament may lawfully enact statutes. (See also: ‘devolved competence’.)
Limitation period: The period within which an action or claim must be raised in court. If an action is raised out of time, the claim will normally be barred.
Mesothelioma: A type of cancer that begins in the tissue that lines the lungs, heart, stomach and other organs, and is usually linked to asbestos exposure. (See also: ‘asbestos’, ‘asbestosis’.)
Parental responsibilities: Legal responsibilities of parents to their children, including the responsibility to safeguard and promote the child’s health, development and welfare; to provide appropriate direction and guidance; to act as the child’s legal representative; and, if not living with the child, to maintain personal relations and direct contact on a regular basis. (See also: ‘parental rights’.)
Parental rights: The right of a parent over a child to decide such matters as the child’s residence, education and upbringing and to act as the child’s legal representative. (See also: ‘parental responsibilities’.)
Pecuniary: Relating to or consisting of money.
Personal injuries: are defined in section 13(1) of the Administration of Justice Act 1982 as: “(a) any disease, and (b) any impairment of a person’s physical or mental condition”.
Plaintiff: An English law term for a person raising an action in the civil courts. (See also: ‘claimant’; ‘injured person’; ‘pursuer’.)
Pleural plaques: Localised thickening of the lining between the lung and chest wall. The plaques themselves are harmless, but in most cases indicate asbestos exposure. (See also: ‘asbestos’.)
Pleural thickening: Thickening of the lining between the lung and chest wall, which can lead to difficulty breathing. Often caused by asbestos exposure. (See also: ‘asbestos’.)
Provisional damages: An award of compensation where there is a risk that the original injury could lead to future disease or serious deterioration. Such an award allows the injured person to return to court for further damages if the condition becomes worse than originally thought.
Public Guardian (Office of): The Office of the Public Guardian has a general function to register powers of attorney; supervise those who are appointed to manage the affairs of adults who lack capacity to make their own decisions; and investigate circumstances where the property or finances of incapable adults appear to be at risk. (See also: ‘Accountant of Court’.)
Pursuer: The Scots law term for a person raising an action in the civil courts. (See also: ‘claimant’; ‘injured person’; ‘plaintiff’.)
Quantification: The calculation of the appropriate amount of damages.
Quantum: The amount of damages.
Reserved matters: Those matters which are reserved to the UK Parliament by the Scotland Act 1998 and are therefore not within the legislative competence of the Scottish Parliament. (See also: ‘devolved competence’; ‘legislative competence’.)
Responsible person: The party against whom a claim for damages is made. (See also: ‘defendant/defender’.)
Royal Commission: A major ad-hoc formal public inquiry into a defined issue.
Settle: Where an action or legal dispute is terminated on agreed terms. (See also ‘ex gratia’; ‘extra-judicial’.)
Solatium: Compensation/damages given for injury to feelings or reputation, pain and suffering or loss of expectation of life.
Statute: An Act of the UK or Scottish Parliament, public or private. (See also: ‘legislation’.)
Tort: The English law term for delict. (See also: ‘delict’.)
Tortfeasor: The person responsible for a tort. (See also: ‘tort’.)
Trust: A legal institution under which a person called a trustee owns assets segregated from their own private patrimony and is obliged by law to deal with those assets for the benefit of another (called the ‘beneficiary’) or the furtherance of a trust purpose.
Undertaking: A promise; an accepted obligation.
This glossary is based on the Law Society of Scotland, Glossary of Scottish and European Union Legal Terms and Latin Phrases (2nd edn, 2003).