Circuit Judge: Judge of the Circuit Court, addressed as “My Lord” whether male or female.

Class action: Legal action taken by a number of different persons where the facts and the defendants are similar. Class action lawsuits may occur, for example, after a public transport accident or in the case of a faulty drug, where all the victims sue the same defendant.

Clayton”s Case: This English case established a presumption that money withdrawn from an account is presumed to be debited against the money first deposited (first in, first out).

Codicil: Written amendment or addition to an existing will.

Collateral: Property committed to guarantee a loan.

Collusion: Illegal and usually secret agreement between two or more people to deceive a court or defraud another person.

Common law: Judge-made law which has developed over centuries, also referred to as “unwritten” law. Common law (as practised in Ireland, England and the USA) is often contrasted with civil law systems (such as in France or Germany) where laws are set down in a written code.

Company: Legal entity which permits a group of shareholders to create an organization to pursue set objectives. A company may have legal rights which are usually reserved for individuals, such as the power to sue and be sued, own property, hire employees or lend and borrow money. The main advantage of a company structure is that it gives shareholders a right to participate in profits (through dividends) without any personal liability.

Consent order: Court order agreed between both sides.

Consideration: Consideration has been defined as “some right, interest, profit or benefit accruing to the one party, or some forbearance, detriment, loss or responsibility given, suffered or undertaken by the other”. Under common law, any binding contract must have some consideration, no matter how small. The courts will not normally inquire into the sufficiency of the consideration a “peppercorn rent” would be sufficient.