常见常用法律英语词汇笺注 全

常见常用法律英语词汇笺注（修订稿）作者：春风秋水（QQ昵称“东门小生”）原文由春风秋水发表于天涯法律论坛现征得其同意转载至此，非常感谢春风秋水提供了如此精彩的文章！作者：春风秋水提交日期：2007-8-19 21:18:00【按】余翻阅西文法律报刊书籍之时，凡有不知者、可疑者，则笔而记之。

为日既久，得百数词。

遂求诸中西著述，抉其可否，溯厥源流，加以疏证而明通之。

余以所见未能精确，现帖之于网络，望诸君子有以教我。

1、a fortiori——更加prep. Latin for "with even stronger reason," which applies to a situation in which if one thing is true then it can be inferred that a second thing is even more certainly true. Thus, if Abel is too young to serve as administrator, then his younger brother Cain certainly is too young.【注】a fortiori（更加），系拉丁语，意为“有更充分的理由”。

2、A mensa et thoro——法定分居A mensa et thoro is a Latin term meaning "from table and bed" which became used in English as "from bed and board."A kind of divorce which does not dissolve the marriage bond, but merely authorizes a separate life of the husband and wife. Neither spouse has the right to remarry where there is a divorce a mensa et thoro; only parties who have been awarded a divorce a vinculo matrimonii, the more common type of divorce, can do so.【注】即一种不解散婚姻关系的离婚。

处于此种状态的配偶均不得再婚。

3、A vinculo matrimonii——解除婚姻、离婚literally "from the bond of marriage." Such a divorce generally enables the parties to marry again.【注】意为“解除婚姻关系”。

4、Ab initio——自始无效[Latin, From the beginning; from the first act; from the inception.]。

An agreement is said to be “void ab initio（自始无效）”if it has at no time had any legal validity. The illegality of the conduct or the revelation of the real facts makes the entire situation illegal ab initio (from the beginning), not just from the time the wrongful behavior occurs.【注】形容事件由开始时的状态，例如合约从开始便已经无效，称为“The contract was void ab initio”。

『笺』“自始无效”（void ab initio）是一项合同法律关系中广泛运用的制度，它的意义在于，一旦某个合同或某项合同条款因违反法律或公共秩序而被宣告无效，那么宣告无效的效力将上溯到合同签订的那一刻起，即合同自始都是无效的。

如果合同已部分履行，那么被宣告自始无效的合同的已履行部分将被恢复原状，回到合同履行前的状态。

自始无效是一项古老的法律制度，它对于保护无效合同中善意当事人一方的利益具有极其现实的意义。

一般而言，合同的无效都是指自始无效。

合同的无效要和合同的“撤销”区别开来，“撤销”指的是合同自撤销一刻起丧失效力，而“无效”则是自始无效，经撤销的合同在撤销前的履行行为依然有效。

在英美法系国家，不论在以判例形式出现的普遍法中，还是以制定法形式出现的成文法中，也都贯穿着“自始无效”的原则。

5、Aberemurder——故意杀人犯obsolete：An apparent, plain, or downright murder. It was used to distinguish a wilful murder, from a chance-medley, or manslaughter. （Source: Bouviers Law Dictionary 1856 Edition）【注】它通常指别于过失杀人、无过失杀人。

6、Abet——教唆、唆使、煽动①To approve, encourage, and support (an action or a plan of action); urge and help on. ②To urge, encourage, or help (a person): abetted the thief in robbing the bank.This word is usually applied to aiding in the commission of a crime. The word abet is most commonly used as part of the comprehensive phrase aid and abet.【注】指鼓动、煽动或怂恿别人做某事，特指实施犯罪。

经常用在“怂恿并教唆”短语中。

这种行为称之为教唆或实施教唆,实施这种行为的人称为教唆犯。

教唆犯不同于从犯。

从犯必须在犯罪进行时在场并鼓励或帮助主犯。

犯罪前进行的帮助主要是同谋与促成犯罪,犯罪后进行的帮助如逃跑,均不构成教唆；只是犯罪时到场,并且未阻止犯罪也不构成教唆。

教唆犯以前在重罪中，作为第二级主犯承担刑事责任。

现在，在任何情况下，教唆犯都是作为主犯来承担责任的。

（见《牛津法律大辞典》，光明日报出版社1988年版，第2页）7、Abscond——潜逃、避债to travel covertly out of the jurisdiction of the courts, or to conceal oneself in order to avoid their process.【注】秘密地躲藏起来以躲避逮捕或诉讼。

8、accessory——从犯An accessory is a person who assists in the commission of a crime, but does not actually participate in the commission of the crime as a joint principal. The distinction between an accessory（从犯）and a principal（主犯）is a question of fact and degree:●The principal is the one whose acts or omissions, accompanied by the relevant mens rea（犯罪意图）, are the most immediate cause of the actus reus (Latin for "guilty act"，即犯罪行为).●If two or more people are directly responsible for the actus reus, they can be charged as joint principals (see common purpose. The test to distinguish a joint principal from an accessory is whether the defendant independently contributed to causing the actus reus rather than merely giving generalised and/or limited help and encouragement.In some jurisdictions, an accessory is distinguished from an accomplice（同谋、帮凶）, who normally is present at the crime and participates in some way. A person who incites another to a crime will become a member of a conspiracy if agreement is reached, and may then be considered an accessory or a joint principal if the crime is eventually committed.The concept of accessory is part of English common law, and been inherited by those countries with a more or less Anglo-American legal system. The concept is less used in countries with completely different legal traditions. The specific terms accessory-before-the-fact and accessory-after-the-fact are more commonly used in England and the United Kingdom than in the United States and are more common inhistorical than in current usage.【注】从犯，是相对于主犯在犯罪活动中的地位而言，是指在共同犯罪中起次要或者辅助作用的罪犯。