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custody interference See CUSTODIAl. INTERFERENCE.

custody of the law The condition of property or a person being under the control of legal authority (as a court or law officer). See IN CUSTODIA LEGIS.

custody proceeding An action to determine who is entitled to legal or physical custody of a child. Legal custody gives one the right to make Significant decisions regarding the child, and physical custody gives one the right to physical care and control of the child. See CUSTODY; custody hearing under HEARING.

custom 1. A practice that by its common adoption and long, unvarying habit has come to have the force of law. See USAGE. - customary, adj.

custom and usage General rules and practices that have become the norm through unvarying habit and common use. Cf. CUSTOM (1); USAGE.

custom of york See YORK, CUSTOM OF.

customal See CUSTOMARY.

customary A record of all the established legal and quasi-legal practices within a community. Also termed custumal; customal.

customary court baron See COURT BARON.

customary dispatch See DISPATCH.

customary dispatch- Dispatch that follows the rules, customs, and usages of the port where cargo is discharged.

customary estate See COPYHOLD.

customary freehold See COPYHOLD.

customary international law International law that derives from the practice of states and is accepted by them as legally binding. This is one of the principal sources or building blocks of the international legal system.

customary international law See INTERNATIONAL LAW.

customary interpretation Interpretation based on earlier rulings on the same subject.

customary interpretation See INTERPRETATION.

customary law Law consisting of customs that are accepted as legal requirements or obligatory rules of conduct; practices and beliefs that are so vital and intrinsic a part of a social and economic system that they are treated as if they were laws. - Also termed consuetudinary law. "In contrast with the statute, customary law may be said to exemplify implicit law. Let us, therefore, describe custom· ary law in terms that will reveal to the maximum this quality of implicitness. A custom is not declared or enacted, but grows or develops through time. The date when it first came into full effect can usually be assigned only within broad limits. Though we may be able to describe in general the class of persons among whom the custom has come to prevail as a standard of conduct, it has no definite author; there is no person or defined human agency we can praise or blame for its being good or bad. There is no authoritative verbal declaration of the terms of the custom; it expresses itself not in a succession of words, but in a course of conduct." Lon L. Fuller, Anatomy of the Law 71 (1968).

customary law See CUSTOMARY LAW.

customary seisin See quasi-seisin.

customary seisin See quasi-seisin under SEISIN.

customary tenant See TENANT.

customary tenant A tenant holding by the custom of the manor. Over time, customary tenants became known as copyhold tenants. See COPYHOLD. "The lord has a court; in that court the tenant in villeinage, even though he be personally unfree, appears as no mere tenant at will, but as holding permanently, often heritably, on fairly definite terms. He is a customary tenant. customarius, consuetudinarius; he holds according to the custom of the manor. ... Then gradually ... [d]ealings with villein tenements are set forth upon the rolls of the lords court; the villein tenement is conceived to be holden by roll of court: or even by copy of court roll, and the mode of conveyance serves to mark off the most beneficial of villeinholds from the most onerous of freeholds .... In Henry Ills time this process which secured for the tenant in villeinage a written, a registered title, and gave him the name of copyholder, was but beginning ...." 2 Frederick Pollock & Frederic W. Maitland, The History of English Law Before the Time of Edward 1361,375 (2d ed. 1899).

customers' goods See GOODS.

customers' goods- Goods belonging to the customers of a casualty-insurance policyholder; goods held by a policyholder as a bailee.

customer's man See registered representative under REPRESENTATIVE.

customer's person See registered representative under REPRESENTATIVE.

customhouse A building or office, esp. at a port, where duties or customs are collected and where ships are cleared for entering or leaving the port. - Also spelled customshouse.

customhouse broker A broker who prepares paper-work for the entry or clearance of ships, and for the import or export of goods. Also termed customs broker.

customhouse broker- See BROKER.

customs and patent appeals, Court of See COURT OF CUSTOMS AND PATENT APPEALS.

customs broker See customhouse broker under BROKER.

customs cooperation council A specialized intergovernmental organization for the study of customs questions. Established in 1952, the Council has its headquarters in Brussels. - Abbr. CCc.

customs Court, u.s See UNITED STATES CUSTOMS COURT.

customs duty See DUTY (4).

customs duty- A tax levied on an imported or exported commodity; esp., the federal tax levied on goods shipped into the United States.

customs frontier The territorial boundary at which a country imposes customs duties.

customs union A combination of two or more countries within a single customs area with a common external tariff, though each participating country remains politically independent. The effect is that tariffs originally levied on the traffic of goods between those countries are abolished or else successively dismantled according to an agreed-upon scheme, and that common tariffs are imposed on imports from nonmembers.

customshouse See CUSTOMHOUSE.

custos (kas-tahs also kas-tas). [Latin]. A keeper, protector, or guardian.

custos brevium (kas-tahs bree-vee-am). [Law Latin "keeper of the writs"]. A clerk who receives and files the writs returnable to the Courts of King's Bench and Common Pleas.o The office was abolished in 1837. Also termed Keeper of the Briefs.

custos maris (kas-tahs mar-is). [Law Latin "warden of the sea"]. A high-ranking naval officer; an admiral. Also termed seaward; seward.

custos morum (kas-tahs mor-am). [Law Latin]. Custodian of morals <H.L.A. Hart believed that courts should not be seen as the custos morum>.This name was sometimes used in reference to the Court of King's Bench. "[H]e [Viscount Simonds] approved the assertion of Lord Mansfield two centuries before that the Court of King's Bench was the custos morum of the people and had the superintendency of offences contra bonos mores." Patrick Devlin, The Enforcement of Morals 88 (1968).

custos placitorum coronae (kas-tahs plas-a-tor-am ka-roh-nee). [Law Latin]. See CORONATOR.

custos rotulorum (kas-tahs roch-ya-lor-am or rot-ya-lor-am). [Law Latin "keeper of the pleas of the Crown"]. The principal justice of the peace in a county, responsible for the rolls of the county sessions of the peace. Also termed Keeper of the Rolls.

custos sigilli See KEEPER OF THE GREAT SEAL.

custos spiritualium (kas-tahs spir-i-choo-ay-Iee-am or -tyoo-ay-Iee-am). [Law Latin "keeper of the spiritualities"]. Eccles. law. A member of the clergy responsible for a diocese's spiritual jurisdiction during the vacancy of the see.

custos terrae (kas-tahs ter-ee). [Law Latin "keeper of the land"]. Guardian, warden, or keeper of the land.

custuma (kas-cha-ma or kas-tp-ma). [French coustum "toll" or "tribute"]. A duty or impost.

custumal See CUSTOMARY.

cutoff date See DATE.

cutoff date- A deadline; esp., in the sale of a note or other interest-paying asset, the last date on which the seller is entitled to any interest due on the note or asset.

cutpurse A person who steals by cutting purses; a pickpocket.

cva abbr. United States Court of Veterans Appeals. See UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS FOR VETERANS CLAIMS.

cvsg abbr. A call for the view of the Solicitor Generalan invitation from the U.S. Supreme Court for the Solicitor General's views on a pending petition for writ of certiorari in a case in which, though the government is not a party, governmental interests are involved.

cwth abbr. COMMONWEALTH (4).

cxt abbr. See common external tariff under TARIFF (2).

cy pres (see pray or sI). [Law French "as near as"]. 1. The equitable doctrine under which a court reforms a written instrument with a gift to charity as closely to the donor's intention as possible, so that the gift does not fail. Courts use cy pres esp. in construing charitable gifts when the donor's original charitable purpose cannot be fulfilled. It is also used to distribute unclaimed portions of a class-action judgment or settlement funds to a charity that will advance the interests of the class. More recently, courts have used cy pres to distribute class-action-settlement funds not amenable to individual claims or to a meaningful pro rata distribution to a nonprofit charitable organization whose work indirectly benefits the class members and advances the public interest. Cf. DOCTRINE OF APPROXIMATION. "The cy pres doctrine has been much discussed, if not a little severely criticised, and in many cases misunderstood ....The cy pres doctrine is one under which Courts of Chancery act, when a gift for charitable uses cannot be applied according to the exact intention of the donor. In such cases the courts will apply the gift, as nearly as possible (cy pres) in conformity with the presumed general intention of the donor; for it is an established maxim in the interpretation of wills, that a court is bound to carry the will into effect if it can see a general intention consistent with the rules of law, even if the particular mode or manner pointed out by the testator cannot be followed." George T. Bispham, The Principles ofEquity§ 104, at 113-14 (11th ed.1931).

cybedaw (si-bar-law). The field of law dealing with the Internet, encompassing cases, statutes, regulations, and disputes that affect people and businesses interacting through computers. Cyberlaw addresses issues of online speech and business that arise because of the nature of the medium, including intellectual property rights, free speech, privacy, e-commerce, and safety, as well as questions of jurisdiction. - Also termed cyberspace law. "Much of the hoopla about 'cyberspace law' relates more to climbing the steep learning curve of [the Internet'sl tech· nological complexities than to changes in fundamental legal principles. To the extent there was 'new' law, it was almost entirely case·by-case development, in accordance with accepted and well·understood basic legal principles, albeit applied to new technology and new circumstances." Jay Dratler Jr., Cyberlaw § 1.01, at 1·3 (2001).

cybercrime See computer crime.

cybercrime- See computer crime under CRIME.

cyberpatent See business-method patent and Internet patent under PATENT (3).

cyberpatent 1. See business-method patent. 2. See Internet patent.

cyberpayment A transfer of money over the Internet, usu. through a payment service. Also termed Internet payment.

cyberpiracy The act of registering a wellknown name or mark (or one that is confusingly similar) as a website's domain name, usu. for the purpose of deriving revenue. One form of cyberpiracy is cybersquatting. Another is using a similar name or mark to mislead consumers. For example, a site called Nikee.com that sells Nikee branded athletic shoes and sporting goods would draw customers away the famous Nike brand- cyberpirate, n.

cyberspace law See CYBERLAW.

cybersquatting The act of reserving a domain name on the Internet, esp. a name that would be associated with a company's trademark, and then seeking to profit by selling or licensing the name to the company that has an interest in being identified with it. The practice was banned by federal law in 1999. See ANTICYBERSQUATTING CONSUMER PROTECTION ACT.

cyberstalking The act of threatening, harassing, or annoying someone through multiple e-mail messages, as through the Internet, esp. with the intent of placing the recipient in fear that an illegal act or an injury will be inflicted on the recipient or a member of the recipient's family or household.

cyberterrorism See TERRORISM.

cybertheft The act of using an online computer service, such as one on the Internet, to steal someone else's property or to interfere with someone else's use and enjoyment of property.o Examples of cybertheft are hacking into a bank's computer records to wrongfully credit one account and debit another, and interfering with a copyright by wrongfully sending protected material over the Internet.

cyclical (si-kla-kal or sik-la-kal). (Of a stock or an industry) characterized by large price swings that occur because of government policy, economic conditions, and seasonal changes.

cyrographarius (sI-roh-gra-fair-ee-s). [Law Latin]. See CHIROGRAPH (4).

cyrographum (sl-rog-ra-fam). [Law Latin]. See CHIROGRAPH (2).

D abbr. 1. DISTRICT. 2. DEFENDANT. 3. DIGEST.

D reorganization A reorganization in which the corporation transfers some or all of its assets to another corporation that is controlled by the transferor or its shareholders, and then the stock of the transferee corporation is distributed.

d reorganization See REORGANIZATION (2).

D&O insurance See directors and officers liability insurance.

D&O liability insurance See directors' and officers' liability insurance under INSURANCE.

D.A abbr. 1. DISTRICT ATTORNEY. 2. See deposit account under ACCOUNT.

d.b abbr. DOMESDAY BOOK.

d.b.e abbr. DE BENE ESSE.

d.b.n abbr. See administration de bonis non under ADMINISTRATION.

d.b.n.c.t.a abbr. See administration de bonis non cum testamento annexo under ADMINISTRATION.

D.C abbr. 1. DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA. 2. See district court (1) under COURT.

d.e.r.i.c abbr. DE EA RE ITA CENSUERE.

D.J. See district judge under Jt:DGE.

d.p abbr. DOMUS PROCERUM.

d.s.b abbr. DEBET SINE BREVE.

d.t.'s abbr. DELIRIUM TREMENS.

d/b/a abbr. Doing business as. The abbreviation usu. precedes a person's or business's assumed name <Paul Smith d/b/a Paul's Dry Cleaners>. It signals that the business may be licensed or incorporated under a different name. Cf. TRADENAME.

dactylography (dak-ta-Iog-ra-fee), The scientific study of fingerprints as a method of identification. Also termed dactyloscopy. dactylographic (dak-til-a-graf-ik), a'dj.

dactyloscopy See DACTYLOGRAPHY.

daf abbr. DELIVERED AT FRONTIER.

dailia See DALUS.

dailus See DALUS.

daily balance The final daily accounting for a day on which interest is to be accrued or paid.

daily newspaper See NEWSPAPER.

daisy chain A series of purchases and sales of the same stock by a small group of securities dealers attempting to drive up the stock's price to attract unsuspecting buyers' interest. Once the buyers have invested (i. e., are caught up in the chain), the traders sell for a qUick profit, leaving the buyers with overpriced stock. This practice is illegal.

dalus (day-Ias), [Law Latin "a dale"]. 1. A dale; a ditch. 2. A measure of land being a thin strip of pasture between two plowed furrows. Also termed dailus; dailia.

damage Of or relating to monetary compensation for loss or injury to a person or property <a damage claim> <a damage award>. Also termed damages <a damages claim>. Cf. DAMAGES.