Legal Term 004

#legalterms  004

academic freedom n. 

1 The right of a teacher or student, especially at the college or university level, to discuss or investigate any issue, or to express opinions, on any topic without interference or fear of penalty or other reprisal from either the school or the government. 

2 A school’s freedom to control its own policies without government interference, penalty, or reprisal. The extent to which academic freedom exists depends on many facts, including whether the school is a private or public institution and whether it is a primary or secondary school or a college or university.

acceleration n. 

1 The shortening of the time, or the immediate creation or vesting, of a legal duty, interest, or right that was to arise or vest in the future.

2 The hastening of a real property owner’s enjoyment, or the vesting, of his remainder interest in an estate because of the failure or premature termination of a preceding estate.

acceleration clause n. 

A provision in a contract or in a testamentary or other legal document that, upon the occurrence of specific events, a party’s future interest in certain property will prematurely vest. For example, in many loan or mortgage agreements, provision is made that if some specified event occurs, such as the debtor’s failure to pay an installment, the creditor may declare the entire outstanding balance to be immediately due.

acceptance 

1 The act of voluntarily agreeing, expressly or by implication, to the terms of an offer, thereby creating a contract. However, if the act modifies or adds to the terms of the offer, it is not an acceptance, but a counteroffer.

2 To accept delivery of property or to otherwise agree, expressly or by implication, to become its owner, either in exchange for the performance of a contractual obligation or the completion of an inter vivos gift. 

3 The receipt of a check or other negotiable instrument by a bank or another drawee.

access n. 

The ability, opportunity, permission, or right to approach, communicate, enter, pass to and from, or view without interference or obstruction.

accession n. 

1 The act of acceding or agreeing, especially when it involves the yielding of part or all of one’s own position.

2 The act of acceding to, or coming into possession of, an office, right, or title. 

3 In international law, the formal assent by one county to a treaty between other countries. By doing so, the country becomes a party to the treaty. 

4 The acquisition of title to personal property by applying labor that converts it into an entirely different thing (such as turning leather into shoes) or incorporates it into other property. 

5 An artificial or natural addition or improvement to property. 

6 A real property owner’s right to all that the property produces and to all that is artificially or naturally added to it, such as land reclaimed by the use of dams or the construction of buildings and other improvements.