The name comes from the complete statement of doctrine, a legal maxim in Latin: Lex specialis derogat legi generali. Lex specialis is a Latin expression meaning « law that governs a particular subject ». It follows from the legal maxim « lex specialis derogat legi generali ». This doctrine concerns the interpretation of statutes. It can be applied in national and international legal contexts. Traditional meaning of lex in English (with some legal use of this Latin concept in England and the United States in the nineteenth century) [1]: (in Latin) law. Lex agraria: an agrarian law. Lex aliquando sequitur aequitatem: The law sometimes follows equity. Lex Angliae, anglicana: the law or Curtesy of England. Lex Angliae non patitur absurdum: English law is not reduced to absurdity. Lex Angliae sine Parliamento mutari non potest: The law of England cannot be changed without Parliament.
Lex apparens (manifest right): Procedure by torture or combat. Lex citius tolerare rult privatum damnum quam publicum malum: the law will suffer a private loss rather than a public evil. Lex communis: the common law. Lex contractus: the law of contract. Lex deficere non debet in justitia exhibenda: The law must not fail to dispense justice. Lex domicilii: the law of domicile; see Robinson`s Elementary Law Rev. ed.; §§ 18, 161. Lex est ab aetemo: The law is eternal. Lex est norma recti: Law is a rule of law. Lex est ratio summa, quae jubet quae sunt utilia et necessaria, et contraria prohibet: The law is the supreme reason that determines what is useful and necessary and prohibits the opposite. Lex et consuetudo Parliamenti: Law and custom of Parliament.
Lex favet doti: The law favors dowry. Lex feudi: the law of royalties. Lex fingit ubi subsistit sequitae: The law claims [to make a fiction] where justice exists [in a case where justice requires it]. lex fori: the law of the court [to which the appeal is lodged]; see 112 U. p. 452; 160 Mass 571. Lex judicat de rebus necessario faciendis quasi de re ipsa factis: The law judges the things that must necessarily be done as if they had really been done. Lex ligeantiae: the law of the country to which one owes loyalty.
Lex loci: the law of place. Lex loci contractus, delictus, actus: the law of the place where the contract, the crime, the act took place. Lex loci rei sitae: the law of the place where the thing is located. Lex loci solutionis: the law of the place of payment. Lex manifesta: manifest right; see 3rd book (« Of Private Wrongs »), Blackstone`s Commentaries on the Laws of England 344; APPARENS LEX. Lex mercatoria: the merchant of laws. Lex necessitatis est lex temporis: The law of necessity is the law of the moment. Lex neminem cogit ad vana seu inutilia: The law does not compel anyone to do vain or useless things. Lex neminem cogit ostendere quod nescire praesumitur: The law does not require anyone to show what they probably do not know.
Lex nemini operator iniquum: The law doesn`t hurt anyone. Lex nil frustra facit: The law does nothing for free. Lex non cogit ad impossibilia: The law does not oblige anyone to do impossible things. Lex non curat de minimis: The law does not take trivialities into account. Lex non favet votis delicatorum: The law does not take into account the wishes of the applicants. Lex non patitur fractions and divisions statutorum: The law does not suffer from fractions and divisions of statutes. Lex non requirit verificari quod apparet curiae: The law does not require proof of what is obvious to the court. Lex non scripta: the unwritten law. Lex patriae: the law of one`s own country. Lex plus laudatur quando ratione probatur: The law is more commendable when it is in accordance with reason. Lex posterior derogat priori: An earlier law takes precedence over a later law. Lex rei sitae: the law of the place where the thing is located; see 6 Selection.
286. Lex rejicit superflua, pugnantia, incongrua: The law rejects superfluous, contradictory and incongruous things. Lex reprobat moram: The law blames delay. Lex respicit aequitatem: The law is about equity. Lex scripta: the written law. Lex semper dabit remedium: The law will always remedy the situation. Lex semper intendit quod convenit rationi: The law always hears what pleases reason. Lex spectat naturae ordinem: The law concerns the order of nature. Lex succurrit minoribus: The law favours minors.
Lex talionis: the law of punishment; see Book 4 (« Of Public Wrongs »), Blackstone`s Commentaries on the Laws of England 12. Lex terrae: the law of the land; due process. Lex specialis, in legal theory and practice, is a doctrine related to the interpretation of laws and can be applied in national and international law.