Common Legal Terms in Latin

The Romans were obsessed with the law. They loved pondering the law, studying the law, arguing about the law. They dedicated a lot of time and energy to making laws, modifying laws, and enforcing laws. They also liked to reflect on the underlying principles of rules and regulations, and in this way they created sturdy edifices of legal theory and philosophy. No wonder then that legal terminology is predominantly of Latin origin. Even the term jurisprudence is derived, predictably enough, from Latin: juris prudentia (literally "the wisdom of the law", i.e. the science of the law).

The following list is a sampler of common legal terms in Latin:

actus reus (Latin for "a guilty act"): a criminal act, a crime; cf. mens rea.

compos mentis (literally "being master of one's mind"): of sound mind (and the opposite: non compos mentis).

corpus delicti (literally "the body of the crime"): the body of a murder victim; any (concrete) evidence of a crime.

cui bono? (literally "for whose advantage?"): who benefits?

de facto (literally "from the fact"): in actual fact, in reality; cf. de jure.

de jure (Latin for "by right"): under provisions of law; cf. de facto.

felo de se (literally "felon of oneself"): a person who commits suicide, thought to have committed a crime against himself.

in flagrante delicto (literally "with the crime blazing"): (caught) in the act.

in loco parentis (Latin for "in the place of a parent"): having (some of the) responsibilities of a parent (e.g. a school or other organization).

in re (literally "in the thing"): in the matter of, in reference to (a matter).

ipso facto (Latin for "by the fact itself"): by the very fact (that...)

lex non scripta (Latin for "the unwritten law"): the common law .

lex talionis (literally "the law of retaliation"): the principle of "an eye for an eye".

mens rea (literally "guilty mind"): criminal intent (as opposed to the criminal act itself); cf. actus reus.

nolo contendere (literally "I do not want to contest"): a defendant's plea of "no contest".

particeps criminis (literally "participant in a crime"): a partner in crime, an accomplice.