Gambia Bar Finals flashcards

32 cards. Read the term and the definition here. The deck at the top of this page is optional.

Arrestable offence

An offence for which a police officer may arrest without warrant under the Criminal Procedure Code, typically one punishable by imprisonment or where the officer has reasonable grounds to suspect commission.

Trial within a trial

A procedure in criminal proceedings where the court determines the voluntariness of a disputed confession in a separate hearing before deciding whether to admit it as evidence.

Bail pending trial

The release of an accused person before trial, usually on conditions or sureties, granted at the court's discretion except in capital cases where exceptional circumstances are required.

Default judgment

Judgment entered in favour of the plaintiff where the defendant fails to file a defence or appear, after proof of service, and which may be set aside on showing a defence on the merits.

Summary judgment

A procedure allowing the court to enter judgment without trial where the defendant has no real prospect of defending the claim, typically used for liquidated debts.

Originating summons

A form of commencement used where the facts are largely undisputed and the court's determination concerns construction of a document, a declaration, or a question of law.

Interlocutory injunction

A temporary order restraining a party pending trial, granted where there is a serious question to be tried and the balance of convenience favours it.

Hearsay evidence

An out-of-court statement tendered to prove the truth of its contents, generally inadmissible in criminal cases save for recognised statutory and common law exceptions.

Parol evidence rule

The rule excluding extrinsic evidence to vary or contradict a written contract, subject to exceptions such as ambiguity, fraud, mistake, and condition precedent.

Legal professional privilege

The client's right to withhold confidential communications made with a legal adviser for the purpose of legal advice or litigation, surviving termination of the retainer.

Standard of proof

The degree of certainty required to establish a fact: beyond reasonable doubt in criminal cases and on a balance of probabilities in civil cases.

Salomon principle

The rule from Salomon v Salomon that a company is a separate legal person distinct from its shareholders, with perpetual succession and capacity to sue and be sued.

Ultra vires

An act beyond the powers conferred on a company or public body by its constitution or statute, and therefore void or unlawful.

Bill of exchange

An unconditional written order addressed by one person to another, signed by the drawer, requiring the drawee to pay a sum certain to a named payee or bearer.

Wrongful trading

Liability imposed on directors who continue to trade when they knew or ought to have known that insolvent liquidation was inevitable, requiring them to contribute to the company's assets.

Consideration

Something of value given in exchange for a promise, sufficient in law though need not be adequate, and generally not supplied by past acts.

Postal rule

The rule that acceptance by post takes effect on dispatch, provided the parties contemplated postal communication and the letter was properly addressed and stamped.

Frustration

Discharge of a contract where an unforeseen event, not caused by either party, renders performance impossible, illegal, or radically different from what was agreed.

Vicarious liability

An employer's liability for torts committed by an employee in the course of employment, determined by tests of control, integration, and close connection.

Root of title

The document that establishes the vendor's title to land and from which the purchaser investigates ownership, usually at least fifteen to thirty years old.

Requisition on title

A written inquiry or objection raised by the purchaser's solicitor about defects in the vendor's title, which must be raised within the period stipulated in the contract.

State lease

A grant of land by the State for a fixed term, subject to conditions of development, payment of rent, and restrictions on assignment without consent.

Wednesbury unreasonableness

A ground of judicial review where a decision is so unreasonable that no reasonable authority, properly directing itself, could have reached it.

Audi alteram partem

The natural justice rule that a person affected by a decision must be given a fair hearing, including notice of the case and an opportunity to respond.

Certiorari

A prerogative order quashing a decision of a public body made without jurisdiction or in breach of natural justice, issued by the High Court on judicial review.

Iddat

The waiting period a Muslim woman must observe after divorce or the death of her husband before remarrying, during which maintenance and paternity rules apply.

Hadana

Custody of a young child under Sharia, generally granted to the mother until a specified age, with the welfare of the child as the paramount consideration.

Letters of administration

A grant by the High Court authorising a person to administer the estate of a deceased who died intestate, usually issued to the next of kin with sureties.

Conflict of interest

A situation where a legal practitioner's duties to one client or personal interest conflict with duties owed to another client, requiring disclosure and often withdrawal.

Client account

A separate bank account maintained by a legal practitioner for money held on behalf of clients, distinct from the office account used for the firm's own funds.

Affidavit

A written statement of facts in the first person, sworn or affirmed before a commissioner for oaths or magistrate, with sources of information and belief disclosed.

ECOWAS Court of Justice

The regional court established under the Revised Treaty, with jurisdiction over interstate disputes and, since 2005, individual complaints of human rights violations by member States.