Legal maxims are short, time-tested principles — often in Latin — that capture the wisdom of centuries of jurisprudence. Indian courts cite them constantly. Mastering these maxims helps you understand judgments and think like a lawyer.

Maxims of Justice and Fairness

• Audi alteram partem — “hear the other side”; no one should be condemned unheard. The core of natural justice.
• Nemo judex in causa sua — no one should be a judge in his own cause; the rule against bias.
• Ubi jus ibi remedium — where there is a right, there is a remedy.
• Justice delayed is justice denied — the moral basis for speedy trial.

Maxims of Criminal Law

• Actus non facit reum nisi mens sit rea — an act does not make a person guilty unless the mind is also guilty. The foundation of mens rea.
• Actori incumbit onus probandi — the burden of proof lies on the one who asserts.
• Nemo debet bis vexari pro una et eadem causa — no one should be punished twice for the same offence (double jeopardy).
• Ignorantia juris non excusat — ignorance of the law is no excuse.
• Falsus in uno, falsus in omnibus — “false in one thing, false in everything”; a rule of evidence Indian courts treat as a rule of caution, not a mandatory rule.

Maxims of Civil and Property Law

• Caveat emptor — “let the buyer beware.”
• Pacta sunt servanda — agreements must be kept.
• Nemo dat quod non habet — no one can give what he does not have.
• Volenti non fit injuria — a person who consents to a risk cannot later claim injury.
• Res ipsa loquitur — “the thing speaks for itself”; used in negligence.
• Qui facit per alium facit per se — he who acts through another acts himself; the basis of vicarious liability.

Maxims of Interpretation and Procedure

• Res judicata — a matter already decided cannot be re-litigated.
• Stare decisis — to stand by decided cases; the doctrine of binding precedent.
• Ejusdem generis — “of the same kind”; a rule for interpreting general words following specific ones.
• Ex post facto — a law applying to acts done before it was enacted; barred for criminal offences under Article 20(1).
• De minimis non curat lex — the law does not concern itself with trifles.

Why Maxims Matter

Maxims are not binding law by themselves, but they encapsulate principles that run through statutes and judgments alike. When a judge writes audi alteram partem or mens rea, an entire body of reasoning is invoked in two words. That is the enduring power of the legal maxim.