| Ombudsman
A person whose occupation consists of investigating customer complaints
against his or her employer. Many governments have ombudsmen who will
investigate citizen complaints against government services.
Onus
Latin: the burden. It is usually used in the context of evidence. The
onus of proof in criminal cases lies with the state. It is the state that
has the burden of proving beyond reasonable doubt. In civil cases, the
onus of proof lies with the plaintiff who must prove his case by balance
of probabilities. So "onus" refers both to the party with the
burden, and to the scope of that burden, the latter depending whether
the context is criminal or civil.
Open-ended
agreement
An agreement or contract which does not have an ending date but
which will continue for as long as certain conditions, identified in the
agreement, exist.
Ordinance
An executive decision of a government which has not been subjected to
a legislative assembly (contrary to a statute). It is often detailed and
not, as would be a statute, of general wording or application. This term
is in disuse in many jurisdictions and the words "regulations"
or "bylaws" are preferred.
Paralegal
A person who is not a lawyer or is not acting in that capacity but who
provides a limited number of legal services. Each country differs in the
authority it gives paralegals in exercising what traditionally would be
lawyers' work.
Pardon
A pardon is a government decision to allow a person who has been convicted
of a crime, to be free and absolved of that conviction, as if never convicted.
It is typically used to remove a criminal record against a good citizen
for a small crime that may have been committed during adolescence or young
adulthood. Although procedures vary from one state to another, the request
for a pardon usually involves a lengthy period of time of impeccable behaviour
and a reference check. Generally speaking, the more serious the crime,
the longer the time requirement for excellent behaviour. In the USA, the
power to pardon for federal offences belongs to the President.
Parens
patriae
Latin: A British common law creation whereby the courts have the right
to make unfettered decisions concerning people who are not able to take
care of themselves. For example, court can make custody decisions regarding
a child or an insane person, even without statute law to allow them to
do so, based on their residual, common law-based parens patriae jurisdiction.
Pari
delicto
Latin for "of equal fault." For example, if two parties complain
to a judge of the non-performance of a contract by the other, the judge
could refuse to provide a remedy to either of them because of "pari
delicto": a finding that they were equally at fault in causing the
contract's breach.
Pari
passu
Latin: Equitably and without preference. This term is often used in bankruptcy
proceedings where creditors are said to be "pari passu" which
means that they are all equal and that distribution of the assets will
occur without preference between them.
Parole
An early release from incarceration in which the prisoner promises to
heed certain conditions (usually set by a parole board) and under the
supervision of a parole officer. Any violation of those conditions would
result in the return of the person to prison.
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