12 February, 2016

Glossary of Common Legal Terms (L)

Laches
Neglect of a person to assert his right within reasonable time. This results in barring of a remedy which would have been otherwise available.

Lawyer
See advocate.

LCR or TCR
It means the Lower Court Record or Trial Court Record i.e. the record of the lower court which is brought for perusal by the Appellate Court.

Legal Aid
A system by which legal services are rendered at government cost to those in financial need and who cannot afford the cost of litigation. This is mandated by Article 39A of the Constitution. In Delhi, the Delhi High Court Legal Services Committee (DHCLSC) and the Delhi Legal Services Authority (DLSA) provide legal aid on behalf of the State.

Legal Representative
A person who in law represents the estate of a deceased person, and includes any person who intermeddles with the estate of the deceased and where a party sues or is sued in a representative character the person on whom the estate devolves on the death of the party so suing or sued;

Liability
The assignment of responsibility and accountability for correcting a legal wrong or the violation of a legal right.

Litigation
The totality of the legal proceedings in any dispute.

Locus Standi

Translated from Latin as ’place of standing’, locus standi gives the right to pursue a litigation. Under this rule, only a person or group of persons affected by the issue may petition the Court. A petition may be dismissed on the preliminary ground that the petitioner lacks locus standi. However, in PIL, the locus standi of public spirited persons to petition on behalf of others has been recognized. This relaxation of the rule of standing is an important feature of PIL—for instance, journalists, lawyers, politicians, social activists, students, or any ’concerned individual’ not acting for personal interest or gain, and not as a ’busy body’, have been given standing.

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