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F
Legal definitions for terms and concepts beginning with F

Facilitate
To make easy or less difficult.
Expanded Legal Definition of Facilitate
Fair Comment
A comment made which though defamatory, is not actionable as it is an opinion on a matter of public interest.
Expanded Legal Definition of Fair Comment
Fair Dealing
A limited exception to the exclusivity of intellectual property allowing fair critique or private study use of the protected material, and with appropriate acknowledgment.
Expanded Legal Definition of Fair Dealing
Fair Market Value
The hypothetical most probable price that could be obtained for a property by average, informed purchasers.
Expanded Legal Definition of Fair Market Value
Fair Use
A statutory exemption to copyright for criticism, comment, news reporting, teaching, scholarship, or research.
Expanded Legal Definition of Fair Use
Falsa Demonstratio Non Nacet
A wrong description of an item in a legal document (such as a will) will not necessarily void the gift if it can be determined from other facts.
Expanded Legal Definition of Falsa Demonstratio Non Nacet
False
An intentional or accidental untruth.
Expanded Legal Definition of False
Fascism
A form of government which is authoritarian, oppressively conservative, who believe in the supremacy of the stated national group, and which, at least initially, purports to vest law-making and administrative authority in the hands of workers or their organizations.
Expanded Legal Definition of Fascism
Fault
A breach of duty or negligence and, in some circumstances, the errors or omissions of others or of things under a person's control.
Expanded Legal Definition of Fault
Federalism
A system of government which has created, by written agreement, a central and national government to which it has distributed specified legislative (law-making) powers, and called the federal government, and regional governments (or sometimes called provinces or states) governments to which is distributed other, specified legislative powers.
Expanded Legal Definition of Federalism
Fee
A legal right in land; or a money payment to purchase a service or a right.
Expanded Legal Definition of Fee
Fee Simple
The most extensive tenure allowed under the intestate. In many common law jurisdictions, land is held in fee simple: as close as one can get to absolute ownership.
Expanded Legal Definition of Fee Simple
Fee Tail
A form of ownership which passes onto successive lineal descendants of the owner.
Expanded Legal Definition of Fee Tail
Felony
A serious crime for which the traditional punishment is prison for more than a year or death.
Expanded Legal Definition of Felony
Fence
A structure which encloses real property, wholly or partially, to impede entry and exit.
Expanded Legal Definition of Fence
Ferae Naturae
Latin: wild in nature; usually in reference to animals such as monkeys or lions.
Expanded Legal Definition of Ferae Naturae
Feudal System
A social structure that existed throughout much of Europe between 800 and 1400 and that revolved around a multi-level hierarchy between lords (who held land granted under tenure from the king), and their tenants (also called 'vassals').
Expanded Legal Definition of Feudal System
Fiat
A shortly-worded and short-form, often truncated, Court order.
Expanded Legal Definition of Fiat
Fiduciary
A legal duty of loyalty and faithfulness towards another.
Expanded Legal Definition of Fiduciary
Fieri Facias
A legal proceeding which commands a sheriff to take and sell enough property from the person who lost a law suit, to pay the debt owed by the judgment.
Expanded Legal Definition of Fieri Facias
Fifth Amendment
A US Constitution article which provides fundamental rights in regards to legal process such as the immunity in regards to self incrimination.
Expanded Legal Definition of Fifth Amendment
Fiqh
The law of Islam. Also spelled fikh.
Expanded Legal Definition of Fiqh
Firefighters' Rule
Public safety officers have no claim for injuries suffered during the performance of their duties on the premises of a hazard, even if intentionally created.
Expanded Legal Definition of Firefighters' Rule
First Amendment
The amendment to the US Constitution which sets out freedom of expression.
Expanded Legal Definition of First Amendment
Fixtures
A chattel which has become real property by having been affixed thereto.
Expanded Legal Definition of Fixtures
Flesch Reading Ease Test
A legalese test against which insurance contracts are assessed.
Expanded Legal Definition of Flesch Reading Ease Test
Flotilla Principle
A method of calculating the ceiling of liability in the event of loss while ships are under tow, using the tonnage of all ships in the flotilla.
Expanded Legal Definition of Flotilla Principle
Flotsam
Things found floating on the sea, issue from a ship that has been lost.
Expanded Legal Definition of Flotsam
F.O.B.
Acronym for 'free on board'; a contract whereby the seller of goods agrees to absorb the costs of delivering the goods to the purchaser's transporter of choice.
Expanded Legal Definition of F.O.B.
Forage
The act of searching for provisions.
Expanded Legal Definition of Forage
Force Majeure
French for an act of God; an inevitable, unpredictable act of nature, not dependent on an act of man.
Expanded Legal Definition of Force Majeure
Foreclosure
To eliminate a right of redemption on mortgaged real property.
Expanded Legal Definition of Foreclosure
Forfeiture
Seizure of private property because it was illegally obtained, is an illegal substance or the legal basis for possession has ended.
Expanded Legal Definition of Forfeiture
Forgery
The making of a false document knowing it to be false with intent that it should be used or acted on as genuine to the prejudice of another.
Expanded Legal Definition of Forgery
Formal Reciprocity
A form of international agreement wherein the signatories agree to give each other's citizens and corporations legal treatment no less favourable to that given to their own citizens and corporations.
Expanded Legal Definition of Formal Reciprocity
Forum Conveniens
The court or forum most suitable for the ends of justice.
Expanded Legal Definition of Forum Conveniens
Forward Contract
An agreement to buy or sell a specified thing at a fixed price at some future date.
Expanded Legal Definition of Forward Contract
Fourteenth Amendment
A 1868, post-USA civil war amendment to the US Constitution designed to, inter alia, give full civil and legal rights to former slaves.
Expanded Legal Definition of Fourteenth Amendment
Fourth Amendment
US constitutional protection against unreasonable search or arrest.
Expanded Legal Definition of Fourth Amendment
Frankpledge
A community pledge in medieval England whereby a defined number of people, for example 10 households, were jointly held responsible for the denunciation of any crime within their group.
Expanded Legal Definition of Frankpledge
Fraud
Deceitful or deceptive conduct designed to manipulate another person to give something of value.
Expanded Legal Definition of Fraud
Fraudulent Conveyance
A transfer of an interest in property done with intent to defeat creditors or others of their just and lawful entitlements.
Expanded Legal Definition of Fraudulent Conveyance
Freedom of Contract
That men and women have the liberty of contracting as they see fit with the expectation that those contracts will be judicially enforced if necessary, subject only to public policy.
Expanded Legal Definition of Freedom of Contract
Freedom of Expression
Freedom to communicate ideas without restraint, whether orally or in print or by other means of communication.
Expanded Legal Definition of Freedom of Expression
Freehold
Use of real estate for an indeterminate time.
Expanded Legal Definition of Freehold
Freight
The money paid by a person for the transportation of goods.
Expanded Legal Definition of Freight
Friendly Society
A form of corporate structure in the United Kingdom for the conduct of life or health insurance, pension fund or education-related business.
Expanded Legal Definition of Friendly Society
Frustration
The inability to complete a contract because the object of it has been lost or fundamentally changed.
Expanded Legal Definition of Frustration
Fuck
To denunciate something, or a general swear word without necessarily referring to sex.
Expanded Legal Definition of Fuck
Fugitive
One who runs away to avoid arrest, prosecution or imprisonment.
Expanded Legal Definition of Fugitive
Functus Officio
Latin: an officer or agency whose mandate has expired either because of the arrival of an expiry date or because an agency has accomplished the purpose for which it was created.
Expanded Legal Definition of Functus Officio
Fungibles
Goods which are comprised of many identical parts such as a bushel of grain or a barrel of apples or oil, and which can be easily replaced by other, identical goods. If the goods are sold by weight or number, this is a good sign that they are fungible.
Expanded Legal Definition of Fungibles
Furiosi Nulla Voluntas Est
Latin: mentally impaired persons cannot validly sign a will.
Expanded Legal Definition of Furiosi Nulla Voluntas Est

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Unless otherwise noted, this article was written by Lloyd Duhaime, Barrister, Solicitor, Attorney and Lawyer (and Notary Public!). It is not intended to be legal advice and you would be foolhardy to rely on it in respect to any specific situation you or an acquaintance may be facing. In addition, the law changes rapidly and sometimes with little notice so from time to time, an article may not be up to date. Therefore, this is merely legal information designed to educate the reader. If you have a real situation, this information will serve as a good springboard to get legal advice from a lawyer.

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