''Ad litem'' (
Latin
Latin (, or , ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic languages, 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 ...
: "for the suit"
) is a term used 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 ...
to refer to the appointment by a court of one party to act in a lawsuit on behalf of another party such as a child or an incapacitated adult, who is deemed incapable of representing themself. An individual who acts in this capacity is generally called a
guardian ''ad litem'' in such legal proceedings;
in Scotland,
curator ''ad litem'' is the equivalent term.
In England and Wales, since the amendment of the
Children Act 1989
The Children Act 1989 is a United Kingdom Act of Parliament which allocates duties to local authorities, courts, parents, and other agencies in the United Kingdom, to ensure children are safeguarded and their welfare is promoted. It centres on t ...
established the role of children's guardian, the term is now used only in the term "guardian ''ad litem'' in
Private Law
Private law is that part of a civil law legal system which is part of the '' jus commune'' that involves relationships between individuals, such as the law of contracts and torts (as it is called in the common law), and the law of obligations ...
proceedings under rule 9.5. The
United States legal system, which at its inception was based on the English legal system, continues to use the terms "guardian ''ad litem''
and "attorney ''ad litem''. The legal system in the Republic of Ireland also uses the term guardian ''ad litem''.
The term is also used in property
litigation
-
A lawsuit is a proceeding by a party or parties against another in the civil court of law. The archaic term "suit in law" is found in only a small number of laws still in effect today. The term "lawsuit" is used in reference to a civil act ...
, where a person may be appointed to act on behalf of an
estate in court proceedings, when the estate's proper representatives are unable or unwilling to act.
The term is also sometimes used to refer to a
judge
A judge is a person who presides over court proceedings, either alone or as a part of a panel of judges. A judge hears all the witnesses and any other evidence presented by the barristers or solicitors of the case, assesses the credibility an ...
who participates in only a particular case or a limited set of cases and does not have the same status as the other judges of the court. Such a jurist is more commonly called a judge ''
ad hoc
Ad hoc is a Latin phrase meaning literally 'to this'. In English, it typically signifies a solution for a specific purpose, problem, or task rather than a generalized solution adaptable to collateral instances. (Compare with ''a priori''.)
Com ...
''. Judges ''ad hoc'' are particularly common in
international court
International courts are formed by treaties between nations or under the authority of an international organization such as the United Nations and include ''ad hoc'' tribunals and permanent institutions but exclude any courts arising purely under ...
s, and are fewer in number elsewhere.
The Latin term (''ād lītem'') translates literally as "for the suit"
or "for the proceeding".
See also
*
Citations
References
*
Latin legal terminology
{{Latin-legal-phrase-stub