OXFORD PAPERBACK REFERENCE

A Dictionary of

Law

OXFORD

UNIVERSITY PRESS

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First published 1983 as A Concise Dictionary oflaw
Second edition 1990

Third edition 1994

Reissued in new covers with corrections 1996

Fourth edition 1997
Fifth edition 2002

Reissued with new covers 2003

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Preface

This dictionary has been written by a distinguished team of academic
and practising lawyers. It is intended primarily for those without a
qualification in law who nevertheless require some legallmowledge
in the course of their work: chartered surveyors and accountants, civil
servants and local-government officers, social workers and probation
officers, as well as businessmen and legal secretaries are typical

examples of those whose work often calls for a knowledge of the
precise meaning (and spelling) of a legal term.

Each article, therefore, begins with a clear definition of the entry

word (or words) and, in most cases, is followed by a more detailed

explanation or description of the concepts involved.

Written in concise English, without the unnecessary use of legal

jargon, the book will also be of considerable value to members ofthe

public who come into contact with the law and lawyers - house
buyers, motorists, and hire purchasers are among those who cannot
escape the effects of legislation or the unique prose style in which it
is usually expressed.

In the five years since the last edition of the dictionary was

published there have been radical changes in the English legal
system, most notably in the areas of civil procedure (resulting from
the Access to Justice Act 1999 and the Civil Procedure Rules - the so-
called 'Woolf Reforms') and human rights law (brought about by the
Human Rights Act 1998). The new edition reflects these and many
other changes. If any provisions of new legislation were not in force
at the time of publication, the entries to which they apply will
indicate the direction ofthe proposed changes.

asterisk

(*)

placed before a word in a definition indicates that

additional relevant information will be found under this article. Some
entries simply refer the reader to another entry, indicating either that
they are

synonyms or

abbreviations or

that they are

most

conveniently explained, together with related terms, in one of the
dictionary's longer articles. The use of the pronoun 'he' (rather than

'he or she') in entries has been adopted to simplify the construction of
sentences; it does not imply that the subject matter relates exclusively

to males.

E.A.M.

2001

Editor

Elizabeth

Martin

(axon)

Contributors for the Fifth Edition

Owain Blackwell

BA, LLM

(Nottm)

Senior Lecturer in Law, Buckinghamshire

Chilterns University College

Sandra Clarke

(axon)

Barrister; Senior Lecturer in Law,University of

Greenwich

Kim Everett

LLB

Senior Lecturer in Law,University of Greenwich

Martin Fitzgerald

MSc

(Social Research),

LLB, PGCE

Solicitor; Principal Lecturer

Law, University of Greenwich

M. Gaborak

LLM

Senior Lecturer in law, University of Greenwich

Sarah Greer

(Cantab],

ACA

Senior Lecturer in Law,University of Greenwich

John Harder

BSc, LLB, DPhil

Senior Lecturer in Law, University of Greenwich

P. D. M. Jackson

BSc

Barrister; Lecturer in Law, University of Greenwich

Edward Phillips

LLB

(Mal),

BCL

(axon)

Principal Lecturer in Law,University

Greenwich

Gary Shields

BSc, ACI!, LLM,

CertEd

Principal Lecturer in Law,University

Greenwich

Nicholas

Simpson

(axon)

Solicitor

E. Susan Singleton

LLB

Solicitor

John Wadham

BSc

(London),

MSc

(Surrey) Solicitor;

Director ofLiberty

Margaret Whybrow

LLB

Barrister, Senior Lecturer in Law,University of Greenwich

Contributors for the First Edition

Martin R. Banham-Hall

LLB

Solicitor

Bernard Berkovits

LLB

Lecturer in Law,University ofBuckingham

Clarke

BCL, MA

Barrister; Fellow and Tutorin Law,Jesus College, Oxford

Letitia Crabb

LLB

(Wales),

LLM

(London) Solicitor;

Lecturer in Law, University

College ofWales, Aberystwyth

W. Davies

LLB, MA, BCL

Fellow ofBrasenoseCollege, Oxford

Russell Davis

MA, LLB

Barrister

D. Feltham

(Melb.),

(axon) Fellow of

Magdalen College, Oxford

Judith Lewis

LLB

Solicitor

Keith

UffMA, BCL

(axon)

Lecturer in Law, University of Birmingham

Contents

Dictionary

Useful Addresses

Directorates General ofthe

Commission

545

551

abduction

abstract of title

termination of civil proceedings by operation of law, caused by a change of interest

or status (e.g. bankruptcy or death) of one of the parties after the start but before

the completion of the proceedings.

abatement did not prevent either of the

parties from bringing fresh proceedings in respect of the same cause of action. Pleas
in abatement have been abolished; in modern practice any change of interest or
status of the parties does not affect the validity of the proceedings, provided that
the cause of action survives.

abduction

The offence of taking an unmarried girl under the age of 16 from

the possession of her parents or guardians against their will. It is no defence that
the girl looked and acted as

she was over 16 or that she was a willing party. No

sexual motive has to be proved. It is also an offence to abduct an unmarried girl
under the age of 18 or a mentally defective woman (married or unmarried) for the
purpose of unlawful sexual intercourse. In this case a defendant can plead that he

had reasonable grounds for believing that the girl was over 18, or that he did not
know the woman was mentally defective, respectively.

is also an offence to abduct

any woman with the intention that she should marry or have unlawful sexual
intercourse with someone, if it is done by force or for the sake of her property. It is
also an offence for a parent or guardian of a child under 16 to take or send him out
of the UK without the consent of the other parent or guardians. Belief that the
other person has or would have consented is a defence.

is also an offence for any

other person to remove or keep such a child, without lawful authority or reasonable
excuse, from the person with lawful control of him. Proof of belief that the child
was 16 is a defence here.

See also

KIDNAPPING.

abet

vb. See

AID AND ABET.

abortion

The termination of a pregnancy: a miscarriage or the premature

expulsion of a foetus from the womb before the normal period of gestation is
complete.

is an offence to induce or attempt to induce an abortion unless the

terms of the Abortion Act 1967 and the Abortion Regulations 1991 are complied with.

The pregnancy can only be terminated by a registered medical practitioner, and two

registered medical practitioners must agree that it is necessary, for example because

(1) continuation of the pregnancy would involve a risk to the life or physical or
mental health of the pregnant woman (or of other children of hers) that is greater
than the risk of terminating the pregnancy, or (2) that there is a substantial risk
that the child will be born with a serious physical or mental handicap. However,
doctors are not obliged to perform abortions if they can prove that they have a
conscientious objection to so doing. A husband cannot prevent his wife having a
legal abortion if she so wishes.

Compare

CHILD DESTRUCTION.

absconding

The failure of a person to surrender to the custody of a court in

order to avoid legal proceedings.

See also

SURRENDER TO CUSTODY.

absence

(in court procedure) The nonappearance of a party to litigation or a

person summoned to attend as a witness.

absent-mindedness

n. See

AUTOMATISM.

absent parent

See

NONRESIDENT PARENT; CHILD SUPPORT MAINTENANCE.

absolute assignment

See

ASSIGNMENT.

absolute discharge

See

DISCHARGE.

absolute privilege

The defence that a statement cannot be made the subject of

an action for *defamation because it was made in Parliament, in papers ordered to
be published by either House of Parliament, in judicial proceedings or a fair and

accurate newspaper or broadcast report of judicial proceedings, or in an official
communication between certain officers of state. Under the Defamation Act 1996,
the defence is also available for those reporting proceedings of the European Court
of Justice. Under certain circumstances defined by the 1996 Act the
privilege accorded to statements or proceedings in

be waived

(waiver of privilege)

to permit evidence to be adduced

III

an action for defamation.

Compare

QUALIFIED PRNILEGE.

absolute right

A right set out in the European Convention on Human Rights that

cannot be interfered with lawfully, no matter how important the public interest in
doing so might be. Absolute rights include *freedom of thought, conscience, and
religion and the prohibitions on *torture, *inhuman treatment or punishment, and

*degrading treatment or punishment.

Compare

QUALIFIED RIGHT.

absolute title

Ownership of a *legal estate in registered land with a guarantee by

the state that no one has a better right to that estate.

absolute title to freehold

land is equivalent to an estate in fee simple in possession in unregistered land.

Absolute leasehold title,

unlike *good leasehold title, guarantees that the lessor

has title to grant the lease.

(Com pare

POSSESSORY TITLE; QUALIFIED TITLE.)

The title may

be subject to (1) *encumbrances and other entries noted on the register by means of
substantive registration (e.g. a registered legal charge or land charge); (2) minor
interests, such as that of a beneficiary under a trust, which may be protected by
means of "entry" on the register rather than by substantive registration; and (3)

*overriding interests (which by their nature do not appear on the register and must

be ascertained by search and enquiry).

See also

LAND REGISTRATION.

abstracting electricity

The *arrestable offence, punishable with up to five years'

imprisonment and/or a fine, of dishonestly using, wasting, or diverting electricity.
This offence may be committed by someone who bypasses his electricity meter or
reconnects a disconnected meter or who unlawfully obtains a free telephone call
(though there is a more specific and potentially less serious offence to deal with
this). Bypassing a gas or water meter could constitute *theft of the gas or water.
Joyriding in a lift (or some similar abuse) might also constitute wasting electricity.
Computer hackers were formerly charged with offences of abstracting electricity
until the Computer Misuse Act 1990 made *hacking a specific criminal offence.

abstraction of water

The taking of water from a river or other source of

supply. It normally requires a water authority licence but there are exceptions; for
example when less than 1000 gallons are taken, when the water is for domestic or
agricultural use (excluding spray irrigation), or when it is removed in the course of
fire-fighting or land drainage.

has been held not to include gravitational loss from

a canal replacing water drawn from a connecting outfall channel.

abstract of title

Written details of the *title deeds and documents that prove an

owner's right to dispose of his land or an interest in this.

abstract generally deals

only with the *legal estate and any equitable interests that are not *overreached.

owner usually supplies an abstract of title before *completion to an intending

purchaser or mortgagee, who compares it with the original title deeds when these

are produced or handed over on completion of the transaction.

abstract of title

to registered land consists of *office copies of the entries in the register (together

with an *authority to inspect the register) and details of any other documents
necessary to prove the owner's title, such as a marriage certificate proving a
woman's change of surname. For unregistered land, the abstract of title must
usually trace the history of the land's ownership from a document at least 15 years
old (the *root of title) and give details of any document creating encumbrances to