Legal Definitions - a pari

a pari

The Latin legal term a pari means "equally" or "in like manner." It is used to describe situations where two or more things, cases, or parties are considered to be on the same footing, possess similar characteristics, or warrant identical treatment under the law or an agreement.

• Contractual Obligations: Imagine two individuals, Alex and Ben, enter into a joint venture to develop a new software application. Their formal agreement specifies that all intellectual property rights derived from the software will be owned a pari. This means that Alex and Ben will each hold an equal share of ownership over the intellectual property, treating their rights "equally" in accordance with their agreement.
• Application of Regulations: Consider a new municipal ordinance that requires all commercial establishments within a certain district to install energy-efficient lighting by a specific date. This regulation applies a pari to all businesses in that district, whether they are small independent shops or large chain stores. This demonstrates that the requirement is applied "in like manner" to every commercial establishment that meets the criteria, treating them all the same under the specific rule.
• Legal Precedent: A court is deciding a case involving a novel type of digital contract. The judge might look to a previous ruling concerning traditional paper contracts that share fundamental characteristics, such as offer, acceptance, and consideration. If the judge determines that the underlying legal principles are sufficiently similar, they might decide that the new digital contract case should be treated a pari with the precedent set by the traditional contract case. This means the court would apply the legal reasoning "in like manner" to both situations due to their essential similarities.