An Overview of Oran’s Dictionary of the Law
Oran’s Dictionary of the Law 4th Edition was the first legal dictionary published by Butterworths in 1969. It has been in continuous publication and continuous revision ever since.
Oran’s Dictionary of the Law exploded the long-standing belief that ‘either you know the law or you don’t’ and was the first legal dictionary ever written for the layman. Since its early days, Oran’s Dictionary of the Law 4th Edition has had a readership of millions outside the profession. Oran’s Dictionary of the Law 4th Edition made a potentially difficult legal world accessible to the reader in a clear, simple, non-legalistic way. Oran’s Dictionary of the Law 4th Edition introduced the tabulated glossary and expanded on its predecessor’s concept of defining legal terms by including a full explanatory-style description supported by instances of practical application. It defined a word in a legal context, without using difficult legal terms or points of law, thus making it easier to understand. Oran’s Dictionary of the Law 4th Edition is not to be confused with a conventional dictionary: it is not an alphabetically arranged list of words. Oran’s Dictionary of the Law 4th Edition is structured with the chapters and tables of contents of a legal text . Oran’s Dictionary of the Law 4th Edition is more of a legal encyclopaedia. The standard of Oran’s Dictionary of the Law 4th Edition’s content was immediately recognised as of the highest order. Oran’s Dictionary of the Law 4th Edition led the way in clarifying the concepts and structures of the law of England and Wales. Oran’s Dictionary of the Law 4th Edition did this by providing a readable cross-reference to the law books where legal points were explained in greater detail. Oran’s Dictionary of the Law 4th Edition also referred to classic judgement extracts. Oran’s Dictionary of the Law 4th Edition was the first text to refer to the simple fact that law is made by people, and that the people making the law are judges: a simple but ground-breaking statement. Oran’s Dictionary of the Law 4th Edition, by Butterworths, in addition to being widely read by the general public, is also read by both judges and law librarians. Oran’s Dictionary of the Law 4th Edition then, for the first time ever, took over from all those dusty old textbooks, and pre-eminent publications such as Stroud’s Judicial Dictionary of words and Phrases and Halsbury’s Laws of England. Oran’s Dictionary of the Law 4th Edition brought these readers an accessible dictionary of the law.
Features of the 4th Addition
Among the notable improvements in the 4th edition, is a new opening panel to the Constitutional section, which highlights the key developments and events in the constitutional arena:
NEW PANEL ON CONSTITUTIONAL LAW
The new Panel on Constitutional Law has been produced by specialist editors because of the complexity and volume of Parliamentary and EU developments that impact on this area of the law.
Interesting features of this new panel include a regular series of tables and diagrams, for example, explaining the complex reforms to EU Regulation 261/2004 on denying compensation to passengers for flight delays. The new European Regulation came into force on 1 July 2018, and is now explained under the heading of CHANGE IN EUROPEAN LAW 1.
There are also a number of new A to Z entries added to the ‘Constitutional and Administrative’ section of the dictionary, covering new law since the third edition of the dictionary was published. These include:
"Veto" – a right to prevent a decision, even if it is supported by most members.
"Public health" – the art of preventing disease, prolonging life, and promoting physical and mental health through organized efforts.
"Negligence liability" – a liability to pay compensation for damage arising from a failure to take care.
The dictionary provides the full legal text of many key statutes. This includes all primary legislation, most secondary legislation and a large number of relevant cases.
The 4th edition of Oran’s Dictionary of the Law has also been expanded to incorporate many new legislative and case law developments that have occurred since its last edition.
Who Is This Legal Resource For?
As is evident from the title of this post, the dictionary is aimed primarily at law students with whom I have had some contact in the past. However, there’s no doubt that this dictionary will be useful also for academic lawyers, including experienced experts in their own right. In fact, Professor Oran H. Wardman is very well known in the law schools of this country and other countries. Lastly, there are the young lawyers and other practitioners who are still struggling in this field. If there was any time when they were to find this book useful, that time is now especially while preparing pleadings and other documents. The rules and forms of pleadings formulated in these and other cases have been chosen on the basis of enforceability, especially in federal courts. Therefore, it would not be unreasonable to conclude that this book would serve as a guide to pleadings of the highest quality imaginable in the subject of torts. Let me make this point also clear that this book also covers contracts. By what I mean is that if you are looking for various statutory and case laws with reference to the subject matter, then this book is exactly what you’re looking for. While researching "battery" or miscellaneous offenses like "assault and battery", you want to know what the elements of the offense are so that you can determine liability. This book has a thorough coverage of these areas. It allows you to narrow down the scope of your topics of interest with ease. The high organization of the topics ensures that you’re only groping for related terms without straying into unrelated topics. Whether you are looking for intentional torts, vicarious liability or damages in tort, you can find what you are looking for quickly. Even, you can get a quick comparison of torts and crimes by searching for either of them. In this respect, the book is unequaled by any other resource. I am pretty much confident that law students and people already dealing with the law will definitely be keen on learning from this book and making it a part of their library.
How to Use Oran’s Dictionary of the Law
The dictionary is best used as a quick-reference tool, rather than an exhaustive treatise on the law. We understand that not all of our lists will be current at any one time, due to the speed with which the legal landscape changes. Our goal is to keep the dictionary as current as possible, while at the same time providing lists of the most important, and most commonly used, laws and regulations. As you read through each entry, please remember that we haven’t covered everything. It isn’t possible to cite every law or regulation; if we tried, we’d have a dictionary two feet thick. We assume that as you read through our lists, you’ll start asking more specific questions, such as the question above , that will prompt you to consult other resources, such as the statutes or regulations themselves.
It is our opinion that the best way to use the dictionary is as a jumping-off point for further research. Remember, the dictionary is not the source of your knowledge of a particular area of law as you prepare for an exam; the dictionary is meant to be an aid to more traditional study techniques. We often refer to our lists as "cheat sheets," for want of a better term, because they are only a supplement to your studies. If you work best from lists, Oran’s Dictionary of the Law should prove useful to you in your studying, although don’t be afraid to branch out into your text or other study materials to fill gaps in your study.
Comparing the 4th Addition to Past Editions
An important feature of this edition is the attempt to consider the legal changes that have occurred since the previous editions. To this end, many completely new items have been included in this 4th edition. For instance, the following have been included: absolutely protected right, abatement by the destruction of the thing, accessories to land attached or superimposed, award, bond, change of use, consent, credit agreement, delegation of performance, default, emissions permit, emancipation, formation, instalment credit, joint contract, legal provision, mortgage, negligence, notice, option to purchase, pledge, pledge over, registered rights, renovating, rights in security, service contract, servient tenement, standard form credit agreement, statutory obligation, statutory law, suretyship, trust deed, variation, vicarious delict, waiver, wilful and systematic disregard for information technology, and withdrawal.
Another notable change is the great expansion in the legal terms and topics covered in this edition. For instance, medical malpractice has been introduced as a new key word. But even existing key words have not remained untouched. Thus, bank, brands, credit, company, and close corporation have each been expanded to include new terms. Other significant improvement effects the sections on negligence, marriage, mortgages, peremption, suretyship, and unjustified enrichment.
Apart from the new words in the dictionary there is a wide variety of new information provided that was never included in previous editions. Examples are the 2002 regulations relating to certificates to be issued by the various Registrars of Deeds, in particular section 15A(4) of the Deeds Registries Act 1937, where inter alia the provision of a deed of master bond in cases of transfers by executors or executrixes or liquidators have been expanded to include: (a) formalities in respect of deceased estate accounts; (b) standard provisions applicable to deeds in lieu of mortgage; (c) guidelines for investment property; (d) guidelines for wrt reversionary leasehold leases; (e) guidelines for transfers of short title to property in Sectional Title developments; (f) the first deeds without permission of the EAAB and the 1974 deeds, and (g) mechanical errors in bonds.
Where to Buy Oran’s Dictionary of the Law
Oran’s Dictionary of the Law, 4th Edition, is available for purchase online at stores such as West Academic, as well as other retailers and physical bookstores. You may purchase a print copy from West Academic. There are no known digital editions at this time , but continually check back to see if one becomes available. West Academic has also made introductory chapters and sample content available for free preview here.