25 Legal Maxims Every Law Entrance Aspirant Should Know

Written and reviewed by Shubham Jain, BA LL.B., LL.M. · UILS, Panjab University alumnus · founder with 15+ years of teaching · Jury Law Academy, founded in 2016.

Sep 20, 2026

Criminal law and liability

1. Actus non facit reum nisi mens sit rea — an act is not guilty unless the mind is guilty.
2. Actus reus — the guilty act itself.
3. Mens rea — the guilty mind.
4. Ignorantia juris non excusat — ignorance of law is no excuse.
5. Nemo debet bis vexari pro una et eadem causa — no one should be tried twice for the same cause.
6. Ei incumbit probatio qui dicit — the burden of proof lies on the one who asserts.

Natural justice

1. Audi alteram partem — hear the other side.
2. Nemo judex in causa sua — no one should be a judge in their own cause.
3. Justice delayed is justice denied — delay defeats the remedy.

Rights and remedies

1. Ubi jus ibi remedium — where there is a right, there is a remedy.
2. Injuria sine damno — legal injury without actual loss is actionable.
3. Damnum sine injuria — loss without legal injury is not actionable.
4. Volenti non fit injuria — no injury to one who consents.
5. Res ipsa loquitur — the thing speaks for itself.

Contract and property

1. Consensus ad idem — agreement on the same thing in the same sense.
2. Caveat emptor — let the buyer beware.
3. Nemo dat quod non habet — no one gives what they do not have.
4. Pacta sunt servanda — agreements must be kept.
5. Quantum meruit — as much as is deserved.

Procedure and general principles

1. Qui facit per alium facit per se — one who acts through another acts himself.
2. Res judicata — a matter already decided cannot be relitigated.
3. Obiter dicta — statements said in passing, not binding.
4. Ratio decidendi — the binding reason for a decision.
5. Ubi jus incertum, ibi jus nullum — where law is uncertain, there is no law.
6. Salus populi suprema lex — the welfare of the people is the supreme law.

How to revise

Take five maxims a day. For each, write one sentence describing a situation where it would apply. Test yourself by reading the situation first and naming the maxim.

Related reading

• Legal reasoning method
• Contract law basics
• Tort law basics