In
law
Law is a set of rules that are created and are enforceable by social or governmental institutions to regulate behavior,Robertson, ''Crimes against humanity'', 90. with its precise definition a matter of longstanding debate. It has been vario ...
, a test is a commonly applied method of evaluation used to resolve matters of
jurisprudence
Jurisprudence, or legal theory, is the theoretical study of the propriety of law. Scholars of jurisprudence seek to explain the nature of law in its most general form and they also seek to achieve a deeper understanding of legal reasoning ...
.
In the context of a
trial
In law, a trial is a coming together of parties to a dispute, to present information (in the form of evidence) in a tribunal, a formal setting with the authority to adjudicate claims or disputes. One form of tribunal is a court. The tribun ...
, a
hearing
Hearing, or auditory perception, is the ability to perceive sounds through an organ, such as an ear, by detecting vibrations as periodic changes in the pressure of a surrounding medium. The academic field concerned with hearing is audit ...
,
discovery
Discovery may refer to:
* Discovery (observation), observing or finding something unknown
* Discovery (fiction), a character's learning something unknown
* Discovery (law), a process in courts of law relating to evidence
Discovery, The Discove ...
, or other kinds of
legal proceedings, the resolution of certain
questions of fact In law, a question of law, also known as a point of law, is a question that must be answered by applying relevant legal principles to interpretation of the law. Such a question is distinct from a question of fact, which must be answered by reference ...
or
law
Law is a set of rules that are created and are enforceable by social or governmental institutions to regulate behavior,Robertson, ''Crimes against humanity'', 90. with its precise definition a matter of longstanding debate. It has been vario ...
may hinge on the application of one or more legal tests.
Tests are often formulated from the logical analysis of a judicial decision or a court order where it appears that a
finder of fact
A trier of fact or finder of fact is a person or group who determines which facts are available in a legal proceeding (usually a trial) and how relevant they are to deciding its outcome. To determine a fact is to decide, from the evidence present ...
or the
court
A court is any person or institution, often as a government institution, with the authority to adjudicate legal disputes between parties and carry out the administration of justice in civil, criminal, and administrative matters in acco ...
made a particular decision after contemplating a well-defined set of circumstances. It is assumed that evaluating any given set of circumstances under a legal test will lead to an unambiguous and repeatable result.
Kinds of legal tests
*
Bright-line rule
*
Balancing test
International law
*
Berne three-step test
The Berne three-step test is a clause that is included in several international treaties on intellectual property. Signatories of those treaties agree to standardize possible limitations and exceptions to exclusive rights under their respective na ...
*
Habitual residence test
*
''Caroline'' test
Common law
*
"But-for" test
Canada
*
''Andrews'' test
*
Air of reality test (see als
R v Fontaine
*
Assumed Jurisdiction test
*Central management and control test
*
''Collins'' Test
*Community Standards of Tolerance test
Conway Test*Degradation or Dehumanization Test
*
Denial of Bail test
*
''Gladue'' Test
*
''Grant'' Test (see also ''
R v Suberu'')
*
Indecent conduct test (see also ''
R v Kouri
''R v Kouri'' 2005 SCC 81 (CanLII), was a decision of the Supreme Court of Canada that, along with its sister case ''R v Labaye'', established that harm is the sole defining element of indecency in Canadian criminal law. The case involved a club in ...
'')
*
Integral to Distinctive Culture test
*
Interjurisdictional immunity
*Internal Necessities Test or Artistic Defense
*
''Meiorin'' test
*
''Law'' test
*Multiple Access test
*
Necessarily incidental doctrine
*
Oakes test
Section 1 of the ''Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms'' is the section that confirms that the rights listed in the Charter are ''guaranteed''. The section is also known as the reasonable limits clause or limitations clause, as it legally all ...
*
Overbreadth test
*
Patent unreasonableness test
*
Pith and substance test (see also ''
R v Morgentaler'')
*Provincial Inability test
*Purpose and form test
*
Real and Substantial Connection test
*
Reasonableness StandardSheppard Test*
''Smithers'' test
*
''Sparrow'' test
*
Test for Aboriginal Title
*
Test for biasTest for confusion*
Test for detention
*
Test for exclusion of evidence
*
Test for the inclusion of hearsay evidenceTest for materiality*Test for material causation/contribution
*Test for new principle of fundamental justice
*
Test for Infringement of Title
*
Test for inducement or contributory patent infringement
*
Tests for paramountcy –
Express contradiction test Frustrate the purpose test*Test for patent infringement
*
Test for peace, order, and good government (see also ''
R v Crown Zellerbach Canada Ltd
''R v Crown Zellerbach Canada Ltd'' 9881 S.C.R. 401, is a leading constitutional decision of the Supreme Court of Canada. A deeply-divided Court upheld the validity of the Ocean Dumping Act, now part of the Canadian Environmental Protection Act, b ...
'')
*
Void for Vagueness test
*
''Waterfield'' Test
*
Wigmore Test
European Convention on Human Rights
*
Necessary in a democratic society __NOTOC__
"Necessary in a democratic society" is a test found in Articles 8–11 of the European Convention on Human Rights, which provides that the state may impose restrictions of these rights only if such restrictions are "necessary in a democra ...
United Kingdom
*
Bolam test
''Bolam v Friern Hospital Management Committee'' 9571 WLR 582 is an English tort law case that lays down the typical rule for assessing the appropriate standard of reasonable care in negligence cases involving skilled professionals such as doctor ...
*
Hicklin test
The Hicklin test is a legal test for obscenity established by the English case ''Regina v Hicklin'' (1868). At issue was the statutory interpretation of the word "obscene" in the Obscene Publications Act 1857, which authorized the destruction of ...
*
Wednesbury unreasonableness test
United States
*
Aguilar-Spinelli test
*
Calculus of negligence test (Hand rule)
*
Consumer expectations test
*
Daubert standard
In United States federal law, the ''Daubert'' standard is a rule of evidence regarding the admissibility of expert witness testimony. A party may raise a ''Daubert'' motion, a special motion ''in limine'' raised before or during trial, to exclude ...
*
Frye test
*
Imminent lawless action
"Imminent lawless action" is one of several legal standards American courts use to determine whether certain speech is protected under the First Amendment of the United States Constitution. The standard was first established in 1969 in the Unite ...
*
Lemon test
''Lemon v. Kurtzman'', 403 U.S. 602 (1971), was a case argued before the Supreme Court of the United States.. The court ruled in an 8–0 decision that Pennsylvania's Nonpublic Elementary and Secondary Education Act (represented through David Kurtz ...
*
Miller test
The Miller test, also called the three-prong obscenity test, is the United States Supreme Court's test for determining whether speech or expression can be labeled obscene, in which case it is not protected by the First Amendment to the United St ...
*
Mt. Healthy test
*
Risk-utility test
*
SLAPS test (an element of the Miller test)
*
Reasonable expectation of privacy
Expectation of privacy is a legal test which is crucial in defining the scope of the applicability of the privacy protections of the Fourth Amendment to the United States Constitution. It is related to, but is not the same as, a ''right to privacy ...
*
Clear and present danger
''Clear and Present Danger'' is a political thriller novel, written by Tom Clancy and published on August 17, 1989. A sequel to '' The Cardinal of the Kremlin'' (1988), main character Jack Ryan becomes acting Deputy Director of Intelligence in ...
*
Bad tendency
*
Shocks the conscience Shocks the conscience is a phrase used as a legal standard in the United States and Canada. An action is understood to "shock the conscience" if it is "grossly unjust to the observer."
United States
In US law, the phrase typically describes whether ...
test
*Wambaugh's inversion test.
see: Obiter dictum.
*Sherbert test. see:
Sherbert v. Verner
''Sherbert v. Verner'', 374 U.S. 398 (1963), was a case in which the Supreme Court of the United States held that the Free Exercise Clause of the First Amendment required the government to demonstrate both a compelling interest and that the law in ...
*
McDonnell Douglas burden-shifting framework
Notes and references
{{DEFAULTSORT:Legal Tests
Common law