Glossary of terms by letter
C
Collaborative Law
A form of dispute resolution in which family lawyers and their clients agree in writing to reach a settlement without court involvement
Collective Agreement
An agreement reached through negotiations between a trade union and an employer
Comfort Letter
A document which is issued to back up an agreement but which does not have any contractual standing
Commissioner of Oaths
Solicitors authorised by the Lord Chancellor to administer oaths and affirmations to a statement of evidence
Committal
The procedure of directing the case to the Crown Court to be dealt with, following examination by the Magistrates of a case involving an indictable or either way offence
Committal Order
An order of the Court placing someone in prison
Common Hold
A form of freehold land ownership, as an alternative to long leasehold ownership
Common Law
Law established by precedent from judicial decisions
Common Law Partner
A partner who you live with but to whom you are not married
Commons Registration Search
A search at the local authority to check that the property is not registered as common land
Community Punshment Order
A sentence which requires a young person to complete unpaid community work for a period of 40-240 hours
Community Rehabilitation Order
This is equivalent to a Supervision Order, but it's for young people aged 16-17
Company Voluntary Agreement (CVA)
This is a deal between an insolvent company and its creditors
Compensation
Sum of money paid in respect of loss, breakage, hardship, inconvenience or personal injury
Completion
When the buyer of a property becomes the new owner of the property
Compromise Agreement
This is an agreement which is entered into by an employee and employer, preventing an employee's right to a claim against their employer
Conciliation
This is where disputing parties attempt to reach an agreement out of Court
Concurrent Sentance
A direction by a Court that a number of sentences of imprisonment should run at the same time
Concurrent User Licence
A software licence which depends upon the number of people who use the software at any one time
Concurrent Writ
This is a duplicate of an original Writ
Conditional Discharge
A discharge of a convicted defendant without sentence on condition that they do not re-offend within a specified period of time
Conditions
Conditions form the basis of a contract - if one of them fails or is broken, the contract is breached
Conduct Money
Money paid to a witness in advance of the hearing of a case as compensation for time spent attending Court
Confidentiality agreement
An agreement made to protect confidential information in case it needs to be disclosed to another party
