A legal maxim is an established principle or proposition of law, and a species of

aphorism An aphorism (from Greek ἀφορισμός: ''aphorismos'', denoting 'delimitation', 'distinction', and 'definition') is a concise, terse, laconic, or memorable expression of a general truth or principle. Aphorisms are often handed down by t ...

and general maxim. The word is apparently a variant of the

Latin Latin (, or , ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally a dialect spoken in the lower Tiber area (then known as Latium) around present-day Rome, but through the power ...

, but this latter word is not found in extant texts of

Roman law Roman law is the legal system of ancient Rome, including the legal developments spanning over a thousand years of jurisprudence, from the Twelve Tables (c. 449 BC), to the '' Corpus Juris Civilis'' (AD 529) ordered by Eastern Roman emperor Jus ...

with any denotation exactly analogous to that of a legal maxim in the Medieval or modern definition, but the treatises of many of the Roman jurists on and are to some degree collections of maxims. Most of the Latin maxims originate from the Medieval era in European states that used Latin as their legal language. The attitude of early English commentators towards the maximal of the law was one of unmingled adulation. In

Thomas Hobbes Thomas Hobbes ( ; 5/15 April 1588 – 4/14 December 1679) was an English philosopher, considered to be one of the founders of modern political philosophy. Hobbes is best known for his 1651 book '' Leviathan'', in which he expounds an influ ...

, '' Doctor and Student'' (p. 26), they are described as of the same strength and effect in the law as statutes. Not only, observes

Francis Bacon Francis Bacon, 1st Viscount St Alban (; 22 January 1561 – 9 April 1626), also known as Lord Verulam, was an English philosopher and statesman who served as Attorney General and Lord Chancellor of England. Bacon led the advancement of both ...

in the preface to his collection of maxims: The use of maxims will be "in deciding doubt and helping soundness of judgment, but, further, in gracing argument, in correcting unprofitable subtlety, and reducing the same to a more sound and substantial sense of law, in reclaiming vulgar errors, and, generally, in the amendment in some measure of the very nature and complexion of the whole law". A similar note was sounded in

Scotland Scotland (, ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a border with England to the southeast and is otherwise surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean to th ...

; and it has been well observed that a glance at the pages of ''Morison’s Dictionary of Decisions'' or at other early reports will show how frequently in the older

Scots law Scots law () is the legal system of Scotland. It is a hybrid or mixed legal system containing civil law and common law elements, that traces its roots to a number of different historical sources. Together with English law and Northern Ireland ...

questions respecting the rights, remedies and liabilities of individuals were determined by an immediate reference to legal maxims. In later times, less value has been attached to the maxims of the law, as the development of

civilization A civilization (or civilisation) is any complex society characterized by the development of a state, social stratification, urbanization, and symbolic systems of communication beyond natural spoken language (namely, a writing system). C ...

and the increasing complexity of business relations have shown the necessity of qualifying the propositions which they enunciate. But both historically and practically, they must always possess interest and value.

The principal collections of legal maxims

Canon law

*'' Regulæ Juris'' of Boniface VIII (1298)

English law

*Francis Bacon, ''Collection of Some Principal Rules and Maxims of the Common Law''
1630
; *

Noy In atmospheric chemistry, is shorthand for nitric oxide () and nitrogen dioxide (), the nitrogen oxides that are most relevant for air pollution. These gases contribute to the formation of smog and acid rain, as well as affecting tropos ...

, ''Treatise of the principal Grounds and Maxims of the Law of England''
1641
8th ed., 1824); * Wingate, ''Maxims of Reason''
1728
; *Francis, ''Grounds and Rudiments of Law and Equity'' (2nd ed. 1751); *Lofft (annexed to his Reports, 1776); *

Broom A broom (also known in some forms as a broomstick) is a cleaning tool consisting of usually stiff fibers (often made of materials such as plastic, hair, or corn husks) attached to, and roughly parallel to, a cylindrical handle, the broomstick. ...

, ''Legal Maxims'' (7th ed. London, 1900).

Scots law

*Lord Trayner, ''Latin Maxims and Phrases'' (2nd ed., 1876); * Stair, ''Institutions of the Law of Scotland, with Index by More'' (Edinburgh, 1832).

American treatises

*A. I. Morgan, ''English Version of Legal Maxims'' (Cincinnati, 1878); *S. S. Peloubet, ''Legal Maxims in Law and Equity'' (New York, 1880). * John Bouvier, ''A Law Dictionary: Adapted to the Constitution and Laws of the United States of America and of the Several States of the American Union'', Revised Sixth Edition, 1856. A long list of maxims is contained in the section for the letter
M
. *Anonymous, ''Latin for without name'', Chapter II, "A Collection of over one thousand Latin maxims, with English translations, explanatory notes, and cross-references", Sweet and Maxwell, 1915.

Notes