Law Dictionary Definitions

act of indemnity. 1. A statute that relieves specified persons, esp. government officials, from some penalty to which they might be subject as a result of having exceeded their powers or having otherwise acted illegally. 2. A statute that compensates persons for damage incurred as a result of some public measure or government service. [Blacks Law…

act of hostility.An event that may be considered an adequate cause for war; CASUS BELLI. — Also termed hostile act. [Blacks Law 8th]

act  of  honor.Commercial  law.  A  transaction,  memorialized  in  an  instrument  prepared  by  a notary public, evi-dencing a third person’s agreement to accept, for the credit of one or more of the parties, a bill that has been protested. • The UCC eliminated this type of transaction. [Blacks Law 8th]

act of grace.An act of clemency; esp., such an act performed at the beginning of a monarch’s reign or at some other significant occasion. [Blacks Law 8th]

act  of  God.An  overwhelming,  unpreventable  event  caused  exclusively  by  forces  of  nature, such as an earthquake, flood, or tornado. • The definition has been statutorily broadened to include all natural phenomena that are exceptional, inevitable, and irresistible, the effects of which could not be prevented or avoided by the exercise of due care or foresight.…

act  of  court.  1.  See  judicial  act  under  ACT.  2.Scots  law.  A  memorandum  setting  forth  the proceedings in a lawsuit. 3.Scots law. A rule made by a sheriff regulating proceedings within the sheriffalty. [Blacks Law 8th]

act  of  Congress.A  law  that  is  formally  enacted  in  accordance  with  the  legislative  power granted to Congress by the U.S. Constitution. • To become a law, or an act of Congress, a bill or resolution must be passed by a majority of the members of both the House of Representatives and the Senate. Bills or…

act of commission.See ACT. [Blacks Law 8th]

act  of  bankruptcy.An  event,  such  as  a  debtor’s  fraudulent  conveyance  of  property,  that triggers  an  involuntary  bankruptcy  proceeding  against a  debtor.  • The  1978  Bankruptcy  Reform Act abolished  this  requirement  as  a  condition  to  an  involuntary  bankruptcy  proceeding.  [Cases: Bankruptcy    2281. C.J.S. Bankruptcy § 56.][Blacks Law 8th]

act of attainder.See BILL OF ATTAINDER. [Blacks Law 8th]