Lord Chief Justice 17 page

See easement of necessity.

reserve capital

See authorized capital.

reserve forces

Forces not in active service. They include the Army Reserve, the Territorial Army, the Air Force Reserve, the Royal Auxiliary Air Force, the Royal Naval Reserve, the Royal Naval Special Reserve, and the Royal Marines Reserve. The Reserve Forces Act 1996 provides a new power allowing call-out of reserve forces for humanitarian disaster relief and operations and introduced two new categories of reserve. The high readiness reserve will consist of about 3000 volunteers who have agreed, with their employers' consent, to accept increased liability for being called out. These volunteers will be people with special skills, such as linguists and public information specialists. The sponsored reserve will undertake some support tasks currently restricted to regular personnel. The legislation also makes provision to allow reservists to volunteer to undertake productive tasks other than training without being called out. There are powers to increase the military pay of reservists called out for operations if this pay is less than their civilian pay would be. There are also powers to pay employers for additional costs when the reservists are called out. A Reserve Forces Appeal Tribunal, set up under the 1996 Act, hears appeals from reservists and employers who are dissatisfied.

res extincta

(Latin)

Matter that has ceased to exist.

See mistake.

res gestae

(Latin: things done)

The events with which the court is concerned or others contemporaneous with them. In the law of evidence, res gestae denotes: (1) a rule of relevance according to which events forming part of the res gestae are admissible; (2) an exception to the rule against *hearsay evidence under which statements forming part of the res gestae are admissible, for example if they accompany and explain some relevant act or relate to the declarant's contemporaneous state of mind or his contemporaneous physical sensations.

residence

n.

1. The place in which a person has his home. The term has been defined in various ways for different purposes in Acts of Parliament. For example, the Income and Corporation Taxes Act 1988 provides that, for the purposes of tax, a person is resident in the UK even if he has left the UK for occasional residence abroad. Temporary residents are chargeable to tax in the UK if they stay in the UK for a period (or periods adding up to) six months in any year. It is possible to be a resident of more than one country at the same time.

See also domicile; habitual residence; main residence.

2. In the case of a *company not incorporated in the United Kingdom, the country in which central management and control is located; companies incorporated in the United Kingdom are deemed to reside there irrespective of the location of central management and control. Residence determines the company's liability to *corporation tax.

residence order

See section 8 orders.

residential occupier

A person who is living in a property as a result of his contractual rights, his statutory rights, his rights under a rule of law, or because other people are restricted by law from removing him. It is an offence to force a residential occupier to leave the property without complying with the proper procedure.

See adverse occupation; eviction; forcible entry; harassment of occupier.

residuary devise

See devise.

residuary estate

(residue)

The property comprising a deceased person's estate after payment of his debts, funeral expenses, costs of administration of the estate, and all specific (and demonstrative) bequests and devises. If a will does not dispose of the whole of a testator's property, the residue passes to those entitled under the rules applying on *intestacy.

residuary legacy

See legacy.

residue

n.

See residuary estate.

res ipsa loquitur

(Latin: the thing speaks for itself)

A principle often applied in the law of tort of *negligence. If an accident has occurred of a kind that usually only happens if someone has been negligent, and the state of affairs that produced the accident was under the control of the defendant, it may be presumed in the absence of evidence that the accident was caused by the defendant's negligence.

resisting arrest

Taking any action to prevent one's arrest. A person may use *reasonable force to resist an illegal arrest. If he resists a legal arrest, however, he lays himself open to a charge of assaulting or *obstructing a police officer in the course of his duty. The fact that the police officer was in plain clothes is no defence to such a charge. The House of Lords has ruled that it is the right and duty of every citizen to take reasonable steps to prevent a breach of the peace by detaining the offender. The offender therefore has no right to resist such an arrest on the grounds of *self-defence; if he uses force to do so, he may be guilty of an assault.

res judicata

(Latin: a matter that has been decided)

The principle that when a matter has been finally adjudicated upon by a court of competent jurisdiction it may not be reopened or challenged by the original parties or their successors in interest. It is also known as action estoppel. It does not preclude an appeal or a challenge to the jurisdiction of the court. Its justification is the need for finality in litigation.

See also estoppel.

resolution

n.

1. A decision reached by a majority of the members at a company meeting.

See elective resolution; extraordinary resolution; ordinary resolution; special resolution; written resolution.

2. The decision of a meeting of any other assembly, such as the *United Nations. Such a resolution, strictly speaking, has no binding effect on either the Security Council or the United Nations as a whole.

respondeat superior

(Latin: let the principal answer)

The doctrine by which an employer is responsible for certain wrongs committed by his employee in the course of his employment.

See vicarious liability.

respondent

n.

The defending party in an appeal or petition to the courts.

Compare defendant.

respondentia

n.

See hypothecation.

restitutio in integrum

(Latin)

Restoration to the original position.

See damages; rescission.

restitution

n.

The return of property to the owner or person entitled to possession. If one person has unjustifiably received either property or money from another, he has an obligation to restore it to the rightful owner in order that he should not be unjustly enriched or retain an unjustified advantage. This obligation exists when, for example, goods or money have been transferred under compulsion (duress), under mistake, or under a transaction that fails because of illegality, lack of formality, or for any other reason or when the person who has taken the property has acquired a benefit through his actions without justification.

In certain circumstances the courts may make a restitution order in respect of property. Under the Theft Act 1968, if someone is convicted of any offence relating to stolen goods the court may order that the stolen goods or their proceeds should be restored to the person entitled to recover them. The court will only exercise this power, however, in clear cases that do not involve disputed questions of fact or law. Under the Police (Property) Act 1897, magistrates' courts are empowered to make a restitution order in favour of a person who is apparently the owner of property that has been obtained by the police in connection with any crime, even when no charge can be brought or the goods are seized under a search warrant. If the owner cannot be found, the court may make any order it thinks fit (usually an order for sale by auction). The police have no power to retain property lawfully seized merely because they think the court will probably make a restitution order.

restraint of marriage

A condition in a contract or other disposition intended to prevent someone from marrying. Such conditions are usually (unless they are very limited) void, as they are considered to be against *public policy.

restraint of trade

A contractual term that limits a person's right to exercise his trade or carryon his business. An example is a term in an employment contract or partnership agreement prohibiting a party from engaging in a similar business for a specified period after the relationship ends. Such a term is void unless the party relying on it shows that it does not offend *public policy; it must also be reasonable as between the parties. Many such terms are reasonable and therefore valid.

See also garden leave clause.

restraint on alienation

Provisions in a grant or conveyance of land that purport to prevent the owner from disposing of it. Restraints of an absolute nature are generally void. Partial restraints on alienation may be upheld by the courts.

restraints of princes

(in marine insurance)

Political or executive acts causing loss or damage, as distinct from such acts as riots or ordinary judicial processes. Such acts, more common in time of war, need not be done by officials of governments, but may be done by individuals exhorted or compelled to them by the states of which they are nationals.

restricted contract

For the purposes of the Rent Act 1977, a contract granting someone the right to occupy a dwelling for a rent that includes payment for the use of furniture or for services. A contract creating a *regulated tenancy is not, however, a restricted contract. No new restricted contracts can be made since the Housing Act 1988 came into force. However, the occupant may qualify for *security of tenure as an *assured tenant.

restricted-use credit agreement

(under the Consumer Credit Act 1974)

A regulated *consumer-credit agreement that either (1) finances a transaction (which mayor may not form part of the agreement) between the debtor and the creditor, e.g. a purchase of goods; (2) finances a transaction between the debtor and a person (the supplier) other than the creditor; or (3) refinances any existing indebtedness of the debtor's, to either the creditor or another person.

restriction

n.

(in land law)

A limitation of the right of a registered proprietor to deal with the land or charge in a registered title. For instance, a beneficiary may enter a restriction against his trustees if the trust provides that the land may not be sold without the beneficiary's consent. A restriction may also be entered by, or with the concurrence of, the registered proprietor, and there are cases in which the Chief Land Registrar is obliged to enter a restriction (for example, when persons are registered as joint proprietors, and the survivor will not have power to give a valid receipt for *capital money arising on a disposition of the land).

restriction order

An order placing special restrictions (for a specified period or without limit of time) on the discharge from hospital of a person detained there by "a *hospital order. It may be made by the Crown Court (but not a magistrates' court) when this appears necessary for the public protection, and its principal effects are that discharge may be authorized only by the Home Secretary and may be subject to conditions (e.g. subsequent supervision by a mental welfare officer).

restrictive covenant

An obligation created by *deed that curtails the rights of an owner of land; for example, a covenant not to use the land for the purposes of any business. A covenant imposing a positive obligation on the landowner (the covenantor), for example to repair fences, is not a restrictive covenant. Third parties who acquire freehold land affected by a restrictive covenant will be bound by it if it is registered (See registration of encumbrances) or, in the case of covenants created before 1926, if they are aware or ought to be aware of it (See constructive notice). The covenant may also be enforceable by successors of the original beneficiary (the covenantee) if it was annexed to (i.e. expressly taken for the benefit of) the covenantee's land or if the benefit of it was expressly assigned. Section 78(1) of the Law of Property Act 1925 has been interpreted as providing a form of statutory annexation. Thus, unless there is an express stipulation to the contrary, all covenants shall be deemed binding on successors to the original covenantee. The benefit of a covenant will not be annexed, however, if the covenantee's land is not actually capable of benefiting from the covenant; for example, if it is too far away to be affected. Restrictive covenants contained in leases are not registrable but are nevertheless generally enforceable between third parties (See covenant running with the land).

See also building scheme.

restrictive endorsement

An *endorsement that prohibits the further negotiation (transfer) of a *bill of exchange (for example, "Pay X only") or states that it is a mere authority to deal with the bill as thereby directed and not a transfer of ownership of the bill (for example, "Pay X or order for collection"). A restrictive endorsement gives the endorsee the right to receive payment of the bill and to sue any party to it that his endorser could have sued, but gives him no power to transfer his rights as endorsee unless it expressly authorizes him to do so.

Restrictive Practices Court

A superior *court of record created by the Restrictive Trade Practices Act 1956.Its jurisdiction was to determine matters arising under the legislation controlling *restrictive trade practices and *resale price maintenance, principally determining whether or not restrictive agreements registered with the *Director General of Fair Trading were contrary to the public interest. It was abolished under the Competition Act 1998 and its functions taken over by the Office of Fair Trading.

restrictive trade practices

Arrangements in industry designed to maintain high prices or earnings or to exclude outsiders from a trade or profession. Examples include *resale price maintenance contracts, agreements between manufacturers to restrict output so that demand remains unsatisfied and a high price is maintained, similar agreements concerning the provision of services, and rules restricting entry to a trade or profession. Under the Competition Act 1998, certain types of restrictive agreement are presumed to be against the public interest (and therefore void) unless they are first registered with the *Director General of Fair Trading and then justified to the Office of Fair Trading (OFT). The OFT can declare whether or not an agreement is contrary to the public interest and make orders restraining the parties from giving effect to it and from making a new similar agreement. It can also decide whether or not goods of any particular class should be exempt from the statutory prohibition on resale price maintenance. Agreements that are important to the national economy or hold down prices may be exempted by the Secretary of State. The provision of certain services (including legal, dental, educational, surveying, and medical and related services) are exempt under the Act, as are ministers of religion and certain exclusive dealings and intellectual property agreements.

resulting trust

A trust arising by operation of law and in some cases based on the unexpressed but presumed intention of the settlor. When the beneficial interest of a trust is not completely disposed of, the undisposed interest results (i.e. goes back) to the settlor or to his estate. A resulting trust is also created when purchased property is transferred to someone other than the person who provides the price (Compare advancement); it may also arise when property is transferred voluntarily. Resulting trusts may be regarded either as similar to *implied trusts or as a category of them. There is sometimes no clear distinction between a resulting trust and a *constructive trust, and the courts sometimes appear to use the terms interchangeably.

resulting use

implied use

(resulting use, implied use)

A *use that arose when legal ownership (seisin) was transferred, but the transferor did not state for whose use (benefit) the property was to be: the benefit of the property therefore still belonged to the transferor.

retention of title

reservation of title

(retention of title, reservation of title)

A stipulation on a contract of sale that the right of ownership of the goods shall not pass to the buyer until the buyer has paid the seller in full or has discharged all liabilities owing to the seller. It is also known as a Romalpa clause, from the case Aluminium Industrie BV v Ramalpa Aluminium Ltd (1976).

retirement age

(in the state pension scheme) The age at which an individual can start to receive a state retirement *pension. The state retirement age for men in the UK is currently 65 and for women 60. However, the government is harmonizing retirement ages at 65 for both men and women, in order to comply with EU law on *equal pay.

retirement of jury

The withdrawal of the *jury from the court at the end of the trial so that they may decide on their verdict in private. The jury members are not allowed contact with the public until they reach (or fail to reach) a verdict. They may not afterwards disclose the content of their discussions in reaching a verdict.

retirement of trustees

A right of trustees to be released from their trusteeship. Originally trustees were not allowed to retire, but retirement is now possible subject to certain safeguards. Under the Trusts of Land and Appointment of Trustees Act 1996, when there is no person nominated to appoint new trustees in the trust instrument and the beneficiaries are of full age, sound mind, and absolutely entitled, the beneficiaries may give a written direction to the trustees to retire from the trust.

retorsion

(retortion)

n.

A lawful means of retaliation by one state against another. It is usually provoked by an equally lawful, but discourteous, act of the other state, such as trade discrimination measures that single out foreign nationals or by hostile propaganda produced via government-controlled sources of information.

See also reprisals; sanction; self-help.

retour sans protêt

(French: return without protest)

A direction on a *bill of exchange to the effect that the bill should be returned without *protest if it is dishonoured.

retrial

n.

See new trial.

retribution

n.

See punishment.

retrospective legislation

retroactive legislation

(retrospective legislation, retroactive legislation)

Legislation that operates on matters taking place before its enactment, e.g. by penalizing conduct that was lawful when it occurred. There is a presumption that statutes are not intended to have retroactive effect unless they merely change legal procedure (See interpretation of statutes).

retrospective penalties

See penalty.

return

n.

1. A formal document, such as an *annual return or the document giving particulars of shares allotted and to whom (return of the allotment), which must be delivered to the Companies Registry within one month of *allotment.

2. The official result of the votes cast in an election.

return day

The day specified in a summons for the hearing of the summons.

returning officer

Under the Representation of the People Act 1983, a person -generally the sheriff of a county or chairman of a district or London borough council - designated by an order made by the Secretary of State to be responsible for the conduct of parliamentary elections.

revenue statute

An Act of Parliament concerning taxation.

reversal of judgment

The alteration of a *judgment on appeal, either wholly or in part.

reversion

(reverter)

n.

The interest in land of a person (called the reversioner) who has granted some lesser interest than his own to another but has not disposed of the whole of his own interest. For example, if A grants land to B for life, A has an interest in reversion, since the land reverts to him on B's death. Similarly, a person who lets or sublets land to another retains an interest in reversion. The reversionary interest of a lessor can subsist as a legal estate, but the reversion after any other interest than a lease is necessarily an equitable interest.

reversionary lease

Any lease for a term beginning at a future date. However, under the Law of Property Act 1925 a lease granted at a rent or for a capital sum is void if it is to take effect more than 21 years after it is executed.

reverter

n.

See reversion.

reverter of sites

Reversion of land donated for charitable purposes to the donor or his successors in title when the land ceases to be used for the specified purposes. Many of these donations occurred under 19th-century statutes to enable voluntary schools, libraries, museums, and churches and chapels to be established. Since that time, many of these charitable purposes have ceased, and it has often proved difficult to trace the beneficial owners entitled to the reverter. Under the Reverter of Sites Act 1987, when a charitable purpose comes to an end, the trustees holding the land are given a right to manage it and keep it in repair. If the beneficial owner remains unidentifiable, the land can be sold and the proceeds used for charitable purposes.

revival of will

The re-execution with proper formalities of a will that has been revoked other than by destruction, or the execution of a *codicil to it, showing the testator's intention that the will should be effective notwithstanding the earlier revocation. Under the Wills Act 1837 these are the only ways in which a will that has been revoked can be revived. A revived will operates as if executed at the time of its revival.

Compare republication of will.

revocation of offer

The withdrawal of an *offer by the offeror so that it can no longer be accepted. Revocation takes effect as soon as it is known to the offeree (from whatever source); offers can be revoked at any time before acceptance unless they are coupled with an *option.

See also lapse of offer; rejection of offer.

revocation of probate

The cancellation by the court of a grant of probate that was obtained by fraud or mistake. The revocation does not affect those who have purchased assets of the estate from the executors before the revocation.

revocation of will

The cancellation of a will. The testator may revoke his will by destroying it with that intention or by making a new will inconsistent with the original. A will is automatically revoked by the testator's valid marriage, unless it appears from the will that at the time it was made the testator was expecting to marry a particular person and that he intended his will not to be revoked by the marriage. A particular disposition in a will may similarly take effect in spite of the marriage. The dissolution of a marriage does not revoke a will but the Wills Act 1837 provides that in the event of divorce or annulment any devise or bequest to a former spouse lapses in the absence of contrary intention in the will.

right

n.

1. Title to or an interest in any property.

2. Any other interest or privilege recognized and protected by law.

3. Freedom to exercise any power conferred by law.

See also human rights; natural rights.

right of abode

See immigration.

right of action

1. The right to take a particular case to court (See claim).

2. A chose in action (See chose).

right of audience

The right of an *advocate to be heard in legal proceedings. Barristers have the right of audience in the Crown Court, High Court, Court of Appeal, and House of Lords. Solicitors have a limited right of audience in some Crown Court centres specified by the Lord Chancellor. In the county courts and magistrates' courts both barristers and solicitors can appear. Many administrative tribunals have no rules concerning rights of audience and a party may be represented by any person he chooses.

right of common

See common.

right of establishment

The right under the Treaty of Rome of a national of a member state of the European Community to engage in and manage businesses in any other member state.

right of light

An *easement giving the owner of a dominant tenement the right to the access across the servient tenement of a sufficient quantity of light for the ordinary purposes to which the dominant tenement may be put. No easement can be acquired for a greater amount of light than is necessary for such purposes.

See ancient lights.

right of re-entry

See re-entry.

right of resale

The right that the seller in a contract of sale has to resell if the buyer does not pay the price as agreed. When the goods are perishable or the *unpaid seller gives notice to the buyer of his intention to resell, and the buyer does not pay the price within a reasonable time, if the Seller is in possession of the goods he may resell them and recover from the first buyer damages for any loss.

right of silence

The right of someone charged with an offence or being tried on a criminal charge not to make any statement or give any evidence. Often cited as a prime example of the fairness of the English criminal system, being intended to protect the innocent, it was also criticized as unduly hampering the conviction of the guilty and has therefore been modified. If a suspect fails to mention something at the time of his arrest or charge that is later relied on in his defence, this may result in a court at a subsequent trial drawing such inferences as appear proper (See caution). Sometimes, however, statute obliges him to answer, as in certain fraud investigations by the *Serious Fraud Office (although this has been held contrary to the European Convention on Human Rights).

Failure of an accused aged 14 or over to give evidence in his own defence or refusal to answer questions without good cause will also allow such inferences to be drawn. Inferences may also be drawn from a suspect's failure to account for any object, mark, or substance found on his person, in his clothing or footwear, or otherwise in his possession at the time of arrest. The police officer must reasonably believe that such items are attributable to an offence and inform the suspect accordingly. Inferences may also be drawn from a suspect's failure to account for his presence at a particular place.

right of support

1. An *easement conferring on the owner of the dominant tenement the right to have buildings on his land supported by those on the servient tenement. For example, houses forming a semidetached pair are likely to have mutual rights of support.

2. For the right to preserve support for land in its natural state, See natural rights.

right of survivorship

(jus accrescendi)

The right of a joint owner of property to acquire absolute ownership of the entire property on the death of the other owner(s).

See joint tenancy.

right of water

1. An *easement conferring on the owner of a *dominant tenement rights in connection with water, such as the rights to take water or to discharge water onto another's land, or a right to enter another's land to open sluice gates in order to prevent flooding of the dominant tenement.

2. A *natural right to use water flowing through a channel on one's land.

right of way

The right to pass over another's land. It may exist as a public right exercisable by anyone; as an *easement for the benefit of a particular piece of land; or as a *licence, purely personal to the person to whom it is granted.

rights issue

A method of raising share *capital for a company from existing members rather than from the public at large. Members are given a right to acquire further shares, usually in proportion to their existing holding and at a price below the market value of existing shares. This right may be sold (renounced) to a third party.

See also pre-emptive right.

right to air

The right to a flow of air over land or buildings from neighbouring premises. It may be enjoyed on any terms agreed by personal arrangement between neighbouring landowners, but can only exist as an *easement if the right can be sufficiently defined. Thus an easement for the flow of air through a specific ventilation passage may exist, but a right to a general flow of air over the chimneys of a house does not qualify as an easement so is not an interest in the land itself.

right to begin

The right of a party at trial to present his case to the court first (i.e. to open the case) by making the opening speech and presenting his evidence. The right to begin usually belongs to the party who carries the persuasive *burden of proof. Thus, in a criminal case the prosecution always has the right to begin; in civil cases the claimant normally begins, but the defendant may do so when he has the burden of proving all issues.

Date: 2015-01-29; view: 694