The legal definitions series.
 

THE LEGAL DEFINITIONS SERIES BY M. IMRAN BAKHT ADVOCATE.
======================================================


Tender Year Doctrine
=================

Children are not treated in the same manner as the adults. "Tender Year Doctrine" has been incorporated in common law to recognize the fact that children due to their young age are incapable of identifying negligence and hence cannot be made liable for the same.

The youth in tender years doctrine has been not defined leading to certain states defining fixed age bracket for it and others comparing child in question to what a child of same age would have done in similar circumstances.

False Imprisonment
================

The illegal confinement of one individual against his or her will by another individual in such a manner as to violate the confined individual's right to be free from restraint of movement.

In order to establish false imprisonment plaintiff must show the following

1.Willful/Intentional detention by the defendant.
2.Performed without consent of the plaintiff.
3.Without the authority of law.

Malicious Prosecution
==================

Malicious prosecution consists in instituting unsuccessful criminal proceedings maliciously and without reasonable and probable cause. When malicious prosecution through criminal proceedings causes actual damage to the party prosecuted, it is a tort for which he can bring an action.

Essentials of Malicious Prosecution
=============================

Prosecution by the defendant - Prosecution means criminal proceedings against a person in a court of law.

Absence of reasonable and probable causes – The plaintiff has also to prove that the defendant prosecuted him without reasonable cause.

Malice – It is also for the plaintiff to prove that the defendant acted maliciously in prosecuting him.

Termination of proceedings in favour of the plaintiff – It is also essential that the prosecution terminates in favour of the plaintiff.

Damage – It has also to be proved that the plaintiff suffered damage as a consequence of the prosecution complained of.

DEFAMATION.
===========

Defamation is a statement calculated to escape a person to hatred, contempt or ridicule or to injure him in his trade, business, profession, calling or office. It is of two types i.e. libel and slander.

LIBEL
======

Libel is a form of defamation in permanent form such as written documents. It in itself is infringement of plaintiff's rights and no actual damage is required.

BREACH OF DUTY.
===============

Breach of Duty is the failure to maintain the required standard of care.
In order to determine whether there has been breach of duty one must check the following:

1.the importance of the object to be attained.

2.the magnitude of the risk.

3. the amount of consideration for which services, etc. are offered

Bench warrant
============


A bench warrant is a variant of an arrest warrant that authorizes
the immediate on-sight arrest of the individual subject to the
bench warrant. Typically, judges issue bench warrants for persons
deemed to be in contempt of court—possibly as a result of that
person's failure to appear at the appointed time and date for a
mandated court appearance. Bench warrants are issued in either
criminal or civil court proceedings.

Ad litem
=======


Ad litem is a term used in law to refer to the appointment by a
court of one party to act in a lawsuit on behalf of another party, for
instance, a child or an incapacitated adult—who is deemed
incapable of representing him or herself.

An individual who acts in this capacity is generally called a
guardian ad litem;

The term is also sometimes used to refer to a judge who
participates in only a particular case or a limited set of cases and
does not have the same status as the other judges of the court.
This is more commonly called a judge ad hoc . It is particularly
common in international courts , and is rarer elsewhere.

Arbitration Act.
============

The whole object underlying the arbitration act is to enforce the
Arbitration agreement whereby the parties have bound themselves
down, to have their disputes arising out of transaction to which
such an agreement is applicable, adjudicated upon and decided by
the Domestic tribunal.

The object of the act is two-fold namely:

(1). To consolidate amend the law relating to arbitration and so it
may legitimately be assumed that it is exhaustive of the law of
Arbitration. and

(2). To give expeditious relief to parties unhampered by rules of
procedure laid down in civil procedure code and the Qanoon-e-
shahadat order and consequently is not be so interpreted as to
prolong proceedings before arbitrators.

Appeal Law
=========

The losing party in a case brought to a trial court often has
three options. To begin with, she can accept the judgment
and pay damages or fines or serve jail time. She can also
file motions asking the judge to vacate the judgment, and
in some cases the circumstances are such that the judge
may agree to do so. That scenario gives the winning party
a third option that is also available to the losing party, and
that is to appeal the case. Appellant lawyers or pro se
litigants will file the briefs according the appeal law in
effect in that jurisdiction and present oral arguments if
requested by the court of appeals or the highest court
reviewing the case.

When it comes to appeal law, the appellant is often
required to file a notice of appeal with the trial court. It’s
one way to alert the court of a need to collect transcripts
and other material from the trial court. Appellate courts
examine the materials from the trail court, along with
appellate briefs submitted by both parties. New evidence or
facts are not often allowed in a case that’s up for appellate
review. If the court deems that necessary, the court will
remand the case back to the trial courts.

What Are Punitive Damages.
=======================

This means that compensatory damages should not be
viewed as punishment, but as an amount that is rightfully
owed to a person for some harm. For example, an
automobile accident may result in a person ordered to pay
compensatory damages. These could include the cost for
the value of the victim’s automobile and her medical bills.
The victim generally should not profit from compensatory
damages. Punitive damages, however, are meant to act in
a completely different manner.

In some cases, guilty parties are required to pay hefty
punitive damages. This money is not designed solely to
compensate the victim. Instead, it is designed to penalize
the guilty party and to persuade him not to act in the same
manner in the future. In some instances, the victim may
only receive a portion of the money that is ordered to be
paid. It is common, however, for victims who receive
punitive damages to receive sums in excess of the amount
of their provable claims.

Punitive damages are awarded in civil lawsuits. This
causes some people to criticize their application, because
normally civil courts are not established to issue
punishment. It has been argued, however, that using such
damages to address behavior acts as a protection for
society.