Law Dictionary Definitions

actor. 1. One who acts; a person  whose  conduct is in question. 2.Archaic. A  male  plaintiff. 3.Hist. An advocate or pleader; one who acted for another in legal matters. Cf. REUS(1).4.Roman law.  (ital.)  A  person  who  sues;  a  claimant.  —  Also  termed  (in  sense  4)  petitor.  Pl.  (in  sense  4) actores.[Blacks Law 8th]

Act of Union.Any of several acts of Parliament uniting various parts of Great Britain. • The term applies to (1) the Laws in Wales Act (1535), which united Wales with England and made that principality subject to English law, and (2) the Union with Ireland Act (1800), which abolished the Irish Parliament and incorporated Ireland…

Act  of  Uniformity.Hist.  Any  of  several  16th-  and  17th-century  acts  mandating  uniform religious  practices  in  England  and  Ireland;  specif.,  an  act  requiring  the  use  of  the  Book  of Common Prayer. [Blacks Law 8th]

act of the Scottish Parliament.A statute passed by the Parliament of Scotland created by the Scotland Act of 1998. • It is typically cited by year, the letters ASP, and a serial number. — Also termed act of Parliament of Scotland. [Blacks Law 8th]

act of the party.See act in the law under ACT. [Blacks Law 8th]

act of the law.See ACT. [Blacks Law 8th]

Act of  Supremacy.Hist. A statute that  named the English sovereign as supreme  head  of the Church of England (26 Hen. 8, ch. 1). • The Act was passed in 1534 during Henry VIII’s reign and confirmed in 1559 (1 Eliz., ch. 1) to counteract pro-Catholic legislation enacted during the reign of Mary Tudor. In addition…

act-of-state doctrine.Int’l law. The principle that no nation can judge the legality of a foreign country’s sovereign acts within its own territory. • As originally formulated by the U.S. Supreme Court in 1897, the doctrine provides that “the courts of one country will not sit in judgment on the acts of the government of another…

Act of Settlement.Hist. An act of Parliament (12 & 13 Will. 3, ch. 2 (1701)) that resolved the question of royal succession unsettled after the Glorious Revolution of 1688. • The question was resolved  by  limiting  the  Crown  to  Protestant  members  of  the  House  of  Hanover.  The  Act  also provided that the sovereign  must be…

act of sederunt (s<<schwa>>-deer-<<schwa>>nt).Scots law. A regulation issued by the Court of Session to regulate procedure in that court or in the lower civil courts. [Blacks Law 8th]