Legal terms explained in an easy and a different way.

Something different from your boring textbook explanations, We have tried to use hypothetical situations to elaborate the terms, by reading these you are more likely to remember them for a longer period.

Imagine you have a group of friends playing together, and sometimes, one of your friends does something that they shouldn't have done, like taking a toy that wasn't theirs or breaking something by accident. When this happens, they might get in trouble with you or your parents. But sometimes, if your friend says sorry and promises to not do it again, you and your parents might decide to forgive them and not punish them. This is kind of like amnesty - it's when someone does something wrong, but they're forgiven and not punished for it. In real life, governments can also grant amnesty to people who have broken the law, but then they decide to forgive them and not punish them. This might happen if the government thinks that punishing these people would cause more harm than good, or if they want to encourage them to start following the law again. So, amnesty is a way of forgiving someone for something they did wrong and not punishing them for it.

"Ab initio" is a Latin phrase that means "from the beginning." It's like when you start a game or a puzzle from the very first step or the very beginning. Imagine you're playing a video game and you accidentally make a mistake that causes you to lose a life. If you want to try again and do it right this time, you might need to start the level "ab initio" or from the beginning. It means you'll go back to the very start of the level and try to complete it without making the same mistake again. Similarly, in other situations, "ab initio" can mean starting something from scratch or starting over from the very beginning. It's like when you're drawing a picture and you make a mistake, you might need to erase it and start again "ab initio" or from the beginning, so that you can get it right. So, when you hear the phrase "ab initio," you can think of it as starting something from the very beginning, like pressing the reset button and starting fresh, without any previous mistakes or errors. It's a way of emphasizing the importance of starting from the very beginning or the original starting point.

"Actionable per se" is a fancy way of saying that something can be acted upon directly or immediately. It means that there is a clear and practical course of action that can be taken in response to a situation or a problem. Imagine you have a toy that is missing a wheel, and you want to fix it. If you have a spare wheel that fits perfectly and you know how to attach it, then fixing the toy is "actionable per se" because you can take immediate action to solve the problem. On the other hand, if you don't have a spare wheel or you don't know how to attach it, then fixing the toy may not be actionable per se because you might need to figure out a solution first, like buying a new wheel or asking for help. So, when something is "actionable per se," it means that it's straightforward and doable without needing any additional steps or information. It's like having a clear and simple plan that you can put into action right away to solve a problem or achieve a goal.

Audi alteram partem" is a fancy Latin phrase that means "listen to the other side." It's like when you have an argument with your friend and you both want to talk and be heard. It's important to listen to what your friend has to say, even if you disagree, and let them explain their side of the story. It's like taking turns to talk and not interrupting each other. Just like how you would want your friend to listen to you, it's also important to give them a chance to speak and express their thoughts and feelings. So, "audi alteram partem" reminds us to be fair and listen to both sides of a story before making a decision or forming an opinion.

"Crimen trahit personam" is a Latin phrase that means "the crime involves the person." It's a legal concept that refers to the idea that a crime is not just an offense against society or the law, but also a violation against an individual person. Think of it like this: Imagine someone steals your bike. It's not just a crime against society because it's against the law to steal. It's also a crime against you personally because it's your bike that was taken without your permission. So, the offense not only affects the rules of society, but it also harms you as an individual. In legal terms, "crimen trahit personam" means that crimes have a personal element to them, and the victim of the crime is directly impacted. It recognizes that crimes can cause harm not only to society as a whole, but also to the individual victim who has been directly affected by the wrongdoing. So, when you hear the phrase "crimen trahit personam," you can understand it as meaning that a crime is not just a violation of the law, but also a harm against a person or an individual. It emphasizes that crimes have a personal impact on those who are directly affected by them.

So, imagine you have a group of friends who are playing a game together. They have a leader who makes decisions for the group, like what game to play and what rules to follow. But sometimes, some of the friends might not be happy with the leader's decisions or the way they are playing the game. In the Indian Parliament, which is like a big group of people who make decisions for the country, there is also a leader called the Prime Minister who leads the government. Just like the leader of your friends in the game. Now, sometimes, some of the members of the Parliament might not be happy with the decisions or actions of the Prime Minister or the government. They might want to show that they don't have confidence in the government, which means they don't trust the government to make good decisions for the country. To do this, they can bring something called a "confidence motion" in the Parliament. It's like a way of expressing their dissatisfaction with the government's performance, just like when your friends might say "we don't like the way you're playing the game, we don't have confidence in you as our leader." If a confidence motion is passed, it means that the majority of the members in the Parliament, which is more than half of them, have voted to show that they don't have confidence in the government. If this happens, it can lead to big changes, like the government having to resign and a new government being formed. So, just like in the game when your friends express their unhappiness with the leader's decisions, in the Indian Parliament, a confidence motion is a way for members to express their lack of confidence in the government's decisions and potentially bring about changes in the leadership.

Embezzlement is when someone takes money or property that doesn't belong to them, but instead of stealing it outright, they do so by using their position of trust or authority to wrongfully take or misuse those funds or assets for their own benefit. Imagine you have a piggy bank at home where you keep your allowance money. Your mom or dad might be in charge of keeping track of how much money is in the piggy bank and using it to buy things for the family. But if one day, your mom or dad takes some money from the piggy bank without telling you or using it for things that are not related to the family, like buying something for themselves, that would be like embezzlement. Similarly, in a more serious example, embezzlement can happen in a business or organization. For instance, if an employee is responsible for managing the company's finances and they take money from the company's accounts and use it for their personal expenses without permission, that would be considered embezzlemen

"Suo motu" is a Latin term that means "on its own motion" or "on its own initiative." It's a legal term that is used when a judge or a court takes action without being asked to by someone else. Imagine you have a toy robot that can move around and do things on its own, without you controlling it with a remote. That's like "suo motu" because the toy robot is taking action on its own, without you telling it what to do. In the same way, a judge or a court can take action "suo motu" by making decisions or taking steps without being asked to do so by anyone else. It's like the judge or court is acting on its own, using its own judgment and authority to make things happen. "Suo motu" is a legal term that might be a little bit tricky to understand at first, but it basically means that someone is taking action on their own, without being told to do so by someone else, just like a toy robot that moves on its own.

5 types of writs

Habeas Corpus is a fancy legal term that means you have the right to be seen by a judge or a court if someone is keeping you somewhere against your will. It's like if you're playing a game of hide-and-seek and your friend hides somewhere and won't come out, you can ask an adult to help you find your friend and make sure they're okay. Habeas Corpus is like asking an adult to help you find your friend, but instead of playing hide-and-seek, it's for grown-up stuff like the law.

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