Glossary of Common Legal Terms (S)

Senior Advocate

An advocate who has been designated as such by either the Supreme Court or the High Court. A Senior Advocate cannot file a vakalathnama, appear in the Court without another advocate or advocate-on-record, cannot directly accept an engagement to appear in a case or draft pleadings. A senior advocate argues cases in Court upon instructions from another advocate. Senior advocates wear gowns that have flaps on the shoulders.

Show Cause

See issue notice, rule nisi.

Solicitor

See advocate.

Special Leave Petition

The correctness of any order made by any court or tribunal can be questioned by filing a petition in the Supreme Court under Article 136 of the Constitution. If the Supreme Court grants permission, i.e. "leave", the petition is registered as an appeal.

Standing

See locus standi.

Stare decisis

The principle that decisions of Courts in previous cases must be followed in subsequent cases of similar nature.

Stare decisis

The principle that decisions of Courts in previous cases must be followed in subsequent cases of similar nature.

Statute

A codified law that is enacted by the Parliament or a State Legislature. A statute may provide for the making of Rules and Regulations by the executive to facilitate its implementation.

Stay Order

A party filing a petition may require some immediate relief, even before the respondents can be heard or a final decision given. An application is filed seeking an interim order either to prevent the respondents from performing an action that will affect the rights of the petitioner or to prevent an order from being carried out.

Sub judice

A matter pending decision by a Court. Parties to such a matter are required not to do anything that would affect the outcome of the case.

Sui generis

Translated from the Latin as ’of his/her own kind’, this means that a person, place or thing is of a distinctive nature.

Suo Motu

The Court may take action on its own when facts requiring legal intervention reach its notice. The Court is then said to be acting suo moto.

Supreme Court

The highest court in the country constituted under Article 124 of the Constitution. Its decisions are law under Article 141 and are binding on all lower courts. It has unlimited powers to do complete justice. It exercises original as well as appellate jurisdiction. Under Article 143 the President of India can ask the Supreme Court for an opinion on questions of law or fact. States can file suits against each other or against the Union of India under Article 131. The Supreme Court can transfer cases to itself from the High Courts or from one High Court to another under Article 139A of the Constitution. It can also transfer civil cases from one Court to another under S 25 of the Code of Civil Procedure, 1908, and likewise criminal cases under S 406 of the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973. Apart from special leave petitions, in certain instances, appeals can be filed directly against the judgments of lower courts and tribunals. Petitions challenging the election of the President or Vice-President of India are also filed directly in the Supreme Court. The chairperson of a public service commission may be removed only after an inquiry by the Supreme Court. The Supreme Court has a sanctioned strength of 31 judges, headed by the Chief Justice of India. The seat of the Supreme Court is New Delhi and its language is English.