Law A-Level
Law A-Level glossary
123 key terms for Law A-Level, A to Z, each linked to the topic pages that use it.
A
- Absolute Right
- A right that cannot be restricted or derogated from by the state under any circumstances.AQA
- Actionable per se
- A tort where the claimant does not need to prove they suffered any actual damage to bring a claim.Pearson Edexcel
- Actus reus
- The physical element or 'guilty act' of a crime.AQA, Pearson Edexcel
- Administrative Necessity
- The practical requirement for technical expertise and local knowledge in the creation of detailed regulatory frameworks that Parliament lacks the time or…AQA
- Affirmative Resolution
- A statutory procedure requiring a formal vote of approval from one or both Houses of Parliament before a Statutory Instrument can become law.AQA
- Allurement
- An object or feature that is attractive to a child but carries a danger, requiring the occupier to anticipate that children may be less careful.AQA
- Appropriation
- Any assumption by a person of the rights of an owner (s.3 Theft Act 1968).AQA, Pearson Edexcel
- Assumption of Responsibility
- A legal concept where a defendant is deemed to have taken on a duty to be careful toward the claimant, often through a professional relationship.AQA
B
- Belonging to another
- Property belongs to any person having possession or control of it, or any proprietary right or interest in it (s.5).AQA
- Breach of Duty
- The failure to act as a 'reasonable man' would, determined by an objective standard while considering risk factors such as the magnitude of risk, the cost of…AQA
- Burden of Proof
- The obligation on a party to prove the facts of the case.Pearson Edexcel
C
- Cartel
- An agreement between businesses not to compete with each other, typically involving price-fixing or market sharing.Pearson Edexcel
- Causation and Remoteness
- The requirement for a direct causal link established via the 'but-for' test, limited by the legal principle that defendants are only liable for types of harm…AQA
- Claimant
- The person or organisation who brings a civil claim against a defendant.Pearson Edexcel
- Close Connection
- The modern standard used to determine if a tort was committed in the course of employment, focusing on the link between the tort and the employee's role.AQA
- Common duty of care
- The s.2(2) 1957 Act duty to take reasonable care in all the circumstances to see that a visitor is reasonably safe.AQA
- Consideration
- The price for which the promise of the other is bought; a requirement for a legally binding contract in the market.Pearson Edexcel
- Consolidation
- The process of combining several existing statutes on the same subject into a single new Act of Parliament without changing the underlying law.AQA
- Consumer
- An individual acting for purposes that are wholly or mainly outside their trade, business, craft, or profession.AQA
- Contributory negligence
- Fault by the claimant which can reduce, rather than necessarily defeat, damages.AQA
- Control Test
- The historical method of determining employment status by assessing the degree of control the employer has over the worker's methods.AQA
- Corrective Justice
- The principle of law concerned with rectifying a wrong and restoring the balance between two parties, typically through compensation or punishment.AQA
D
- Democratic Accountability
- The tension between the efficiency of executive law-making and the requirement for democratic oversight by elected representatives.AQA
- Derogation
- The temporary suspension of certain human rights by a state during a time of war or other public emergency threatening the life of the nation.AQA
- Dishonesty
- After considering the s.2 belief exceptions, apply what D actually knew/believed and whether ordinary decent people would see the conduct as dishonest…AQA
- Dominant Position
- A position of economic strength which enables an undertaking to prevent effective competition being maintained on the relevant market.Pearson Edexcel
- Duty of Care
- The legal obligation to avoid acts or omissions that could reasonably be foreseen to injure one's 'neighbour', transitioning from the general Anns/Caparo…AQA
E
- Economic Efficiency and Loss Distribution
- The role of remedies in incentivizing performance or allowing 'efficient breach' while ensuring losses are distributed according to legal principles of…AQA
- Equality Before the Law
- The requirement that the law applies equally to all citizens regardless of status, wealth, or political influence, ensuring that the executive is subject to…AQA
- Equitable Discretion
- The shift from 'as of right' common law remedies to discretionary interventions based on fairness, the 'clean hands' doctrine, and the inadequacy of monetary…AQA
- Equitable Mitigation of Hardship
- The evolution of doctrines such as 'substantial performance', 'divisible contracts', and 'prevention of performance' to mitigate the harshness of the strict…AQA
- Equity
- A system of law developed by the Court of Chancery to provide fairness and new remedies where the common law was too rigid.Pearson Edexcel
- Exclusion Clause
- A term in a contract that seeks to restrict or exclude the liability of one of the parties for breach of contract or negligence.Pearson Edexcel
- Extrinsic Aids
- Materials found outside the Act that help judges interpret it (e.g., Hansard).AQA
F
- Freedom of Contract
- Examines the laissez-faire principle that parties are the best judges of their own interests, necessitating minimal judicial interference in the substance of…AQA
- Frolic of his own
- A legal phrase used to describe an employee's actions that are outside the scope of their employment, for which the employer is not liable.AQA
G
- Golden Rule
- A modification of the literal rule where the court looks at the literal meaning but avoids it if it produces an absurd or repugnant result.AQA
- Green Paper
- A consultative document issued by the government outlining proposals for new legislation and inviting comments from interested parties.AQA
I
- Implied Term
- A term that is automatically included in a contract by law, regardless of whether the parties actually agreed to it or discussed it.AQA
- Independent contractor
- A separate person or business engaged to carry out work, rather than an employee controlled by the occupier.AQA
- Institutional Interdependence
- The 'institutional triangle' of the Commission (executive/initiative), Parliament (legislative/representative), and Council (legislative/intergovernmental)…AQA
- Intention permanently to deprive
- An intention to treat an item as one’s own to dispose of regardless of the other’s rights can satisfy s.6.AQA
- Intrinsic Aids
- Materials found within the Act itself that help judges interpret it (e.g., long title).AQA
J
- Judicial Activism and the CJEU
- The role of the CJEU in expanding individual rights through teleological (purposive) interpretation.AQA
- Judicial Hierarchy and Jurisdiction
- The classification of offences into summary, triable-either-way, and indictable-only categories determines the venue and the composition of the bench.AQA
- Just Satisfaction
- The compensation awarded by the European Court of Human Rights to a successful applicant.Pearson Edexcel
- Justification vs Excuse
- Distinction between acts deemed 'right' under the circumstances, such as self-defence, and acts where the defendant is not blamed due to external pressure or…AQA
L
- Lawful visitor
- A person with express or implied permission to enter or use premises for the relevant purpose.AQA, Pearson Edexcel
- Lay Participation and Democracy
- The involvement of non-legally qualified individuals (Magistrates and Jurors) serves as a check on state power.AQA
- Legal Certainty and Accessibility
- The necessity for laws to be clear, prospective, and predictable, allowing individuals to guide their conduct and understand the legal consequences of their…AQA
- Legal Efficiency vs. Interests of Justice
- Analysis of the 'Better Case Management' initiatives and the 'Auld Review' recommendations regarding the speed and cost of criminal proceedings versus the…AQA
- Legal Liberalism and Autonomy
- The principle that individuals should only be held criminally liable for choices made freely, emphasizing the importance of subjective 'mens rea' and the…AQA
- Legal Pluralism and Secularization
- The evolution of the UK legal system from a 'Christian nation' framework to a secular model that accommodates diverse moral viewpoints in a multicultural…AQA
- Legislative Reform
- The transition from common law principles to statutory frameworks, specifically the impact of the Coroners and Justice Act 2009 on the abolition of…AQA
- Libel
- Defamation in a permanent form (e.g., written, broadcast) which is actionable per se without proof of special damage.Pearson Edexcel
- Limitation of Liability
- The legal constraints, specifically remoteness of damage and the duty to mitigate, that prevent claimants from recovering for all consequences of a…AQA
- Literal Rule
- Giving words in a statute their plain, ordinary, and natural meaning, even if it leads to an absurd result.AQA
M
- Margin of Appreciation
- The degree of discretion allowed to member states by the European Court of Human Rights when interpreting and applying the Convention.AQA
- Mens rea
- The mental element or 'guilty mind' of a crime.AQA, Pearson Edexcel
- Mischief Rule
- An interpretative rule where the court looks at the gap or 'mischief' in the common law that the statute was intended to remedy.AQA
N
- Natural Law
- The legal theory that valid laws must be rooted in morality and justice.Pearson Edexcel
- Natural Law vs. Legal Positivism
- The fundamental jurisprudential conflict between the belief that law must reflect an objective moral order (Natural Law) and the view that law is a social…AQA
- Negligent Misstatement
- An inaccurate statement made carelessly, which causes financial loss to a person who relies upon it.AQA
O
- Obiter Dicta
- Things said 'by the way' in a judgment, which are persuasive but not binding.Pearson Edexcel
- Objective Theory of Agreement
- Assesses the legal shift from searching for a subjective 'meeting of minds' (consensus ad idem) to an external evaluation of party conduct and reasonable…AQA
- Occupier
- A person with a sufficient degree of control over the premises to place them under a duty of care.AQA
P
- Parliamentary Sovereignty
- The constitutional principle that Parliament is the supreme law-making body and can enact or repeal any law.Pearson Edexcel
- Positive Obligation
- A duty on the state to take active steps to protect an individual's rights, rather than merely refraining from interfering with them.AQA
- Positivism
- The legal theory that law and morality are separate, and a law is valid if made by the recognised authority.Pearson Edexcel
- Premises
- Land or any fixed or movable structure to which occupiers’ liability may apply.AQA
- Privity of Contract
- The principle that a contract cannot confer rights or impose obligations on any person who is not a party to it.Pearson Edexcel
- Procedural Justice
- The requirement that the processes and methods used to determine legal outcomes are fair, transparent, and unbiased.AQA
- Property
- Money and all other property, real or personal, including things in action and other intangible property (s.4).AQA
- Proportionality
- The legal principle that any state interference with a qualified right must be no more than is necessary to achieve a legitimate aim.AQA
- Prosecution
- The party (usually the state/Crown Prosecution Service) bringing a criminal charge against a defendant.Pearson Edexcel
- Public Policy and Consent
- The judicial limitation of individual autonomy where the state determines that certain levels of harm cannot be legally consented to, regardless of the…AQA
- Public Policy vs. Legal Principle
- The judicial tendency to restrict the availability of defences, such as duress or necessity, to prevent the creation of a 'charter for terrorists' or to…AQA
- Pure Economic Loss
- Financial loss that is not consequent upon physical injury or property damage, generally non-recoverable in tort.AQA
- Purposive Approach
- Looking at the overall intention or purpose of Parliament when passing the Act.AQA
Q
- Qualified Right
- A right that can be interfered with by the state if the interference is lawful, pursues a legitimate aim, and is proportionate.AQA, Pearson Edexcel
R
- Ratio Decidendi
- The legal reason for a judge's decision, which creates the binding precedent for lower courts.Pearson Edexcel
- Reasonableness and Locality
- The determination of liability based on the character of the neighborhood, the duration of the interference, and the sensitivity of the claimant, rather than…AQA
- Remoteness of Damage
- A test to determine if the type of harm suffered was a reasonably foreseeable consequence of the breach (Wagon Mound No 1).AQA
- Repeat Performance
- The consumer's right under s.55 to require a trader to perform a service again, to the extent necessary to complete it properly, at the trader's expense.AQA
- Retributivism and Just Deserts
- The deontological justification for punishment based on the moral blameworthiness of the offender, asserting that the severity of the sanction must be…AQA
- Risk Allocation and Frustration
- The shift from absolute contractual liability established in Paradine v Jane (1647) to the recognition of external intervening events that fundamentally alter…AQA
- Robbery
- Theft plus force or fear of then-and-there force, used immediately before or at the time of stealing, and in order to steal (s.8).AQA
- Rule of Law
- The constitutional principle that all citizens and institutions, including the state, are subject to and equal before the law.AQA
S
- Sanctity of Contract
- Investigates the doctrine of pacta sunt servanda, asserting that once a contract is freely entered into, the parties must be held to their bargain regardless…AQA
- Satisfactory Quality
- The standard that a reasonable person would consider satisfactory, taking into account description, price, fitness for purpose, appearance, safety, and…AQA
- Secondary Victim
- A person who suffers psychiatric injury as a result of witnessing the death or injury of another (the primary victim).AQA
- Separation of Powers
- The role of the judiciary in maintaining constitutional boundaries by ensuring the executive does not usurp the legislative function of Parliament.AQA
- Shock-induced Impairment
- The requirement that psychiatric injury must be caused by a sudden, violent assault on the senses, rather than gradual accumulation of grief.AQA
- Short-Term Right to Reject
- The consumer's right under s.20 to reject faulty goods and claim a full refund within 30 days of ownership/delivery.AQA
- Slander
- Defamation in a transient form (e.g., spoken words) which generally requires the claimant to prove special damage.Pearson Edexcel
- Social Justice
- The concept of achieving a fair and equitable distribution of wealth, opportunities, and privileges within a society.AQA
- Standard of Care
- The level of caution or service required of a defendant, usually measured against the 'reasonable person'.AQA
- Standard of Proof
- The level of certainty required to prove a case.Pearson Edexcel
- Stare Decisis
- Latin for 'stand by what has been decided'; the foundation of the doctrine of precedent.Pearson Edexcel
- Strict Liability
- Liability which does not depend on actual negligence or intent to harm, but is based on the breach of an absolute duty.AQA, Pearson Edexcel
- Strict Liability vs. Fault
- The historical development of Rylands v Fletcher as a strict liability tort and its modern re-characterization as a sub-species of nuisance requiring…AQA
- Subjective Recklessness
- Where the defendant takes an unjustifiable risk and is actually aware of that risk.Pearson Edexcel
- Subjective vs Objective Liability
- The jurisprudential tension between assessing a defendant's actual state of mind (subjective) versus the standards of a 'reasonable person' (objective),…AQA
- Subjective vs. Objective Standards
- The application of the 'two-stage test' in defences like duress and self-defence, balancing the defendant's genuine internal belief against the external…AQA
- Substantive Justice
- The requirement that the content of the law itself is inherently fair, moral, and equitable, regardless of the process used to enact it.AQA
- Supremacy of the Law
- The principle that no individual or government body is above the law, and all actions taken by the state must have a clear legal basis, preventing the…AQA
T
- The Burden and Standard of Proof
- The distinction between the 'evidential burden' placed on the defendant to raise a defence and the 'legal burden' which typically remains with the prosecution…AQA
- The Compensatory Principle
- The fundamental objective of 'restitutio in integrum', aiming to place the claimant in the position they would have occupied had the contract been performed…AQA
- The Correspondence Principle
- The doctrine that the Mens Rea must relate specifically to the prohibited consequence or circumstance of the Actus Reus, ensuring that the defendant is only…AQA
- The Enforcement of Morality
- The debate concerning the state's right to legislate against 'victimless' immoral acts to preserve social cohesion, primarily framed by the Hart-Devlin debate…AQA
- The Hierarchy of Harm
- The structured escalation of criminal liability based on the severity of the injury caused, ranging from the apprehension of immediate force to 'really…AQA
- The Objective Standard
- The application of the 'reasonable person' test in defences like duress (the Graham test) and loss of control to ensure societal standards of fortitude and…AQA
- The Principle of Legality
- The requirement that criminal liability must be based on clear, pre-existing law, preventing arbitrary punishment and ensuring the 'nullum crimen sine lege'…AQA
- The Principle of Reciprocity
- The legal balancing act between the rights of a defendant to use their land and the rights of a claimant to be free from interference, governed by the maxim…AQA
- The Rigidity of the Entire Obligations Rule
- Analysis of the common law's historical insistence on precise and exact performance as a condition precedent to payment, and the subsequent development of…AQA
- The Supremacy of EU Law
- The doctrine that EU law takes precedence over conflicting national provisions.AQA
- Trader
- A person acting for purposes relating to their trade, business, craft, or profession, whether acting personally or through another person.AQA
- Transferred Malice
- The legal principle where the mens rea intended for one victim is transferred to the actual victim, provided the offence is of the same type.Pearson Edexcel
- Trespasser
- A person who enters without permission or goes beyond the scope of permission granted.AQA
U
- Ultra Vires
- Latin for 'beyond the powers'; used when a body makes delegated legislation that exceeds the authority granted by the parent Act.AQA, Pearson Edexcel
- Utilitarianism and Social Defence
- The consequentialist approach to criminal law, where the primary function of punishment is the prevention of future crime through general and specific…AQA
V
- Vicarious Liability
- A legal doctrine that assigns liability for an injury to a person who did not cause the injury but who has a particular legal relationship to the person who…AQA
- Volenti non fit injuria
- The complete defence of voluntary acceptance of a known risk.AQA
Where these terms come from
Each definition is one we publish on a Law A-Level topic page or study guide. Open a term to see how each exam board words it and which topic it belongs to. For the full course, go to Law revision or the glossary for every subject.
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