This is a list of latin maxims I gleaned from studying The Dictionary Of Canadian Law by Daphne Dukelow (3rd Edition). I am reproducing them here as I believe they are relevant to political life in Canada today and can help secure our future as a unique nationality.
This list is by no means exhaustive. There may be additional maxims of Canadian law that have not be included here.
The list is as follows:
- prior tempore potior jure – The person first in time is preferred in right.
- testes ponderantur, non numerantur – witnesses should be weighed, not numbered.
- jus non patitur ut iden bis solvatur – The law does not require a second payment for the same thing.
- juris effectus in executione consistit – The effect of law is given by execution.
- jura publica anteferenda privatis – Public rights should be preferred over private rights.
- volenti non fit injuria – To a willing person, injury is not done.
- judicium a non suo judice datum nullius estmomenti – A judgement given without proper jurisdiction has no effect in law.
- melius est petere fontes quam sectari rivulos – It is better to go to the source than follow tributaries.
- mentio unius exclusio alterius – To mention one thing is to exclude another.
- minatur innocentibus, qui parcit nocentibus – Whoever spares the guilty threatens the innocent.
- multa concedunter per obliquum, quae non concedunter de directo – Many things are permitted indirectly which are not permitted directly.
- fatetur facinus qui judicium fugit – One who flees judgement admits guilt.
- lex prospicit non respicit – The law looks forward, not backward.
- lex uno ore omnes alloquitur – The law addresses all parties with a single voice.
- lex est dictamen rationis – Law is the pronouncement of reason.
- leges extra territorium non obligant – Laws are not binding outside their own territory.
- judices non tenentur exprimere causam sententiae suae – Judges are not required to explain the reason for their decisions.
- nemo reus est nisi mens sit rea – No one is guilty unless they have a guilty mind.
- quot homines tot sententiae – There are as many opinions as there are people.
- quod nullius est id ratione naturali occupanti conceditur – What belongs to no one is by natural right granted to its occupier.
- rerum suarum quilibet est moderator et arbiter – Each person is manager and judge of their own affairs.
- non est regula quis fallet – A rule does not exist without exceptions.
- quod ab initio non valet in tractu temporis non convalecit – What does not go well from the beginning will not improve with the passage of time.
- res judicata pro veritate accipitur – Until reversed, a judicial decision is conclusive and its truth may not be contradicted.
- nemo patriam in qua natus est exuere nec ligeantiae debitum enjurare possit – No one can cast away the country where they were born, nor foreswear the allegience owed to its sovereign.
- nihil habet forum ex scena – The court has no concern for things which are not before it.
- eodem ligamine quo ligatum st dissolvitur – An obligation is ended the same way in which it was imposed.
- qui vult decipi decipiatur – Let the one who wants to be deceived be deceived.
- non jus, sed seisina, facit stipitem – Not right, but seisin, makes the family tree.
- os demonstrat quod cor ruminator – The mouth divulges what the heart is thinking.
- multitudo errantium non parit errori patrocinium – That many people make the mistake does not excuse the error.
- respiciendum est judicanti, ne quid aut durius aut remissius constituatur quam causa deposcit; nec enim aut severitatis aut clementiae gloria affectanda est – The one who judges should be mindful that nothing either more severe or more lenient is done than the case merits; for distinction should not be achieved by either severity or leniency.
- ignorantia juris non excusat – Ignorance of the law is no excuse.
- illus quod alias licitum non est necessitas facit licitum; et necessitas inducit privilegium quod jure privatur – Necessity permits what otherwise is not permitted; and necessity establishes a privilege which is justly removed.
- clam deliquentes magis puniunter quam palam – Those who sin secretly are punished more severely than those who sin openly.
- arma in armatos sumere jura sinunt – To use arms against persons who are armed is justifiable.
- judicia in deliberationibus crebro maturescunt, in accelerato processu nunquam – Judgements often ripen through deliberation, never in a hurried process.
- invito beneficium non datur – A benefit is not given to anyone who did not ask for it.
- actor sequitur forum rei – A plaintiff must take the case to the defendant’s jurisdiction.
- majus dignum trahit ad se minus dignum – The more worthy brings the less worthy along with it.
- crescente malitia crescere debet et poena – Where malice increases, punishment should also increase.
- cujus est dare ejus est disponere – The one who gives something can also control its disposition.
- debile fundamentum fallit opus – A weak foundation destroys the work.
- dies dominicus non est juridicus – The Lord’s Day (Sabbath) is not a day for business (Lord’s Day Act).
- libertas est naturalis facultas ejus quod cuique facere libet – Freedom is the power given by nature to do whatever one pleases.
- longa possessio parit jus possidendi et tollit actionem vero domino – Prolonged possession creates a right of possession, and removes any right of action from the real owner.
- justitia nemini neganda est – Justice should be denied to no one.
- melius est omnia mala pati quam malo consentire – It is better to endure all evil than to agree to evil.
- in his quae de jure communi omnibus conceduntur, consuetudo alicujus patriae vel loci non est alleganda – In those things which common right concedes to all, the custom of a particular country or place should not be brought forward.
- jus descendit, et non terra – Right descends, and not the land.
- in judicio non creditor nisi juratis – In trial, no one’s evidence is accepted unless that person is sworn.
- jus non habenti tute non paretur – It is safe to disobey one who has no legal right.
- justitia debet esse libera – Justice should be free.
- vir et uxor consentur in lege una persona – Husband and wife are held to be one person in law.
- vigilantibus subvenit lex – The law helps the vigilant.
- vim vi repellere licet, modo fiat moderamine inculpatae tutelae – It is legal to repel force with force, as long as it is governed by a desire to defend.
- vox emissa volat, litera scripta manet – The spoken word disappears, the written word remains.
- rex non potest peccare – The monarch can do no wrong.
- legatus regis vice fungitura quo destinatur et honograndus est sicut ille cujus vicemgerit – An ambassador takes the place of the monarch who sent them and should be honoured just as the person in whose place they stand.
- jurare est deum in testem vocare, et est actus divini cultus – To swear is to call a deity to witness, and is an act of religious worship.
- vix ulla lex fieri potest quae omnibus commoda sit – Barely any law can be made which is applicable to everything.
- qui sentit commodum sentire debet etonus – The one who bears the burden should also reap the benefit.
- salus populi est suprema lex – The safety of the people is the highest law.
- quae non valeant singula juncta juvant – Words which have no effect alone are effective when combined.
- quod nullius est, est domini regis – What belongs to no individual belongs to the sovereign.
- quod necessarium est licitum – What is necessary is also lawful.
- impunitas semper ad deteriora invitat – leaving a crime unpunished invites worse crimes to be committed.
- electa una via, non datur recursus ad alteram – Having elected, recourse to the alternative is not permitted.
- donari videtur, quod nullo jure cogente conceditur – A thing is considered given when it is transferred any way except by virtue of right.
- error qui non restitur, approbatur – One who fails to rectify a mistake is deemed to have approved it.
- do ut facias – I give so that you may perform.
- nec veniam, effuso sanguine innocentis, casus habet – If innocent blood is spilled, the case is unforgivable.
- extra legem positus est civiliter mortuus – One placed outside the law is dead civilly.
- omne quod solo inaedificatur solo cedit – Everything built into the ground is merged with it.
- omnia quae jure contrahuntur, contrario jure pereunt – All things accomplished by a law come to naught with a contradictory law.
It is worth noting that rules can have exceptions, such as in the case of maxim #16 listed here. A citizen abroad may still be subject to certain laws due to their citizenship even though they are not within the domestic territory of their native land during that time. In this case, the citizen’s body is considered national territory, and therefore, subject to certain laws which accompany naturalized citizenship.
