Online Encyclopedia

Search over 40,000 articles from the original, classic Encyclopedia Britannica, 11th Edition.

DECLARATION (from Lat. declarare, to ...

Online Encyclopedia
Originally appearing in Volume V07, Page 914 of the 1911 Encyclopedia Britannica.
» Make a correction to this article.
» Add information or comments to this article.
Spread the word: del.icio.us del.icio.us it!

See also:

DECLARATION (from See also:Lat. declarare, to make fully clear, clams) , formerly, in an See also:action at See also:English See also:law, the first step in pleading—the precise statement of the See also:matter in respect of which the See also:plaintiff sued. It was divided into See also:counts, in each of which a specific cause of action was alleged, in wide and See also:general terms, and the same acts or omissions might be stated in several counts as different causes of actions. Under the See also:system of See also:pleading established by the Judicature See also:Act 1875, the declaration has been superseded by a statement of claim setting forth the facts on which the plaintiff relies. Declarations are now in use only in the See also:mayor's See also:court of See also:London and certain See also:local courts of See also:record, and in those of the See also:United States and the See also:British colonies in which the See also:Common Law system of pleading survives. In the United States a declaration is termed a " complaint," which is the first pleading in an action. It is divided into parts,—the See also:title of the court and See also:term; the See also:venue or See also:county in which the facts are alleged to have occurred; the commencement, which contains a statement of the names of the parties and the See also:character in which they appear; the statement of the cause of action; and the conclusion or claim for See also:relief. (See PLEADING.) The term is also used in other English legal connexions; e.g. the Declaration of Insolvency which, when filed in the See also:Bankruptcy Court by any See also:person unable to pay his debts, amounts to an act of bankruptcy (see BANKRUPTCY); the Declaration of Title, for which, when a person apprehends an invasion of his title to See also:land, he may, by the Declaration of Title Act 1862, See also:petition the Court of See also:Chancery (see LAND See also:REGISTRATION); or the. Declaration of See also:Trust, whereby a person acknowledges that See also:property, the title of which he holds, belongs to another, for whose use he holds it; by the See also:Statute of Frauds, declarations of trust of land must be evidenced in See also:writing and signed by the party declaring the trust. (See See also:TRUSTS.) By the Statutory Declarations Act 1835 (which was an act to make See also:provision for the abolition of unnecessary oaths, and to See also:repeal a previous act of the same session on the same subject), various cases were specified in which a See also:solemn declaration was, or might be, substituted for an See also:affidavit. In nearly all civilized countries an See also:affirmation is now permitted to those who See also:object to take an See also:oath or upon whose See also:conscience an oath is not binding. (See AFFIDAVIT; OATH.) An exceptional position in law is accorded to a Dying or See also:Death-See also:bed Declaration. As a general See also:rule, hearsay See also:evidence is excluded on a criminal See also:charge, but where the charge is one of See also:homicide it is the practice to admit dying declarations of the deceased with respect to the cause of his death.

But before such declarations can be admitted in evidence against a prisoner, it must be proved that the deceased when making the declaration had given up all See also:

hope of recovery. Unworn declarations as to See also:family matters, e.g. as to See also:pedigree, may also be admitted as evidence, as well as declarations made by deceased persons in the course of their See also:duty.

End of Article: DECLARATION (from Lat. declarare, to make fully clear, clams)

Additional information and Comments

There are no comments yet for this article.
» Add information or comments to this article.
Please link directly to this article:
Highlight the code below, right click, and select "copy." Then paste it into your website, email, or other HTML.
Site content, images, and layout Copyright © 2006 - Net Industries, worldwide.
Do not copy, download, transfer, or otherwise replicate the site content in whole or in part.

Links to articles and home page are always encouraged.

[back]
DECKER, SIR MATTHEW 		[next]
DECLARATION OF PARIS

Site © 2006 - Net Industries