Legal Definitions - ab initio

Ab initio is a Latin phrase that translates to "from the beginning" or "from inception." In legal terms, it signifies that a particular condition, status, or fact existed from the very start of a relevant event, agreement, or process. It emphasizes that something was never legally valid or effective, rather than becoming invalid at a later point in time.

• Example 1: Contractual Validity

  Imagine a situation where a person signs a contract to purchase a property, but they were proven to be legally incapacitated (e.g., due to severe mental impairment) at the exact moment they signed the document. In this case, the contract would be considered void ab initio. This means the agreement was never legally binding or valid from the moment it was created, because one party lacked the fundamental capacity to enter into it. It's not that the contract became invalid later; it simply never held legal force.

• Example 2: Professional Licensing

  Consider an individual who obtains a professional license, such as a license to practice engineering, by submitting fraudulent academic credentials. If the licensing board later discovers this deception, they might declare the license void ab initio. This signifies that the individual was never legitimately licensed to practice engineering, even for a single day, because the foundational information used to grant the license was false from its very inception.

• Example 3: Corporate Formation

  Suppose a group of individuals attempts to form a corporation, but they fail to meet a fundamental legal requirement for incorporation, such as filing the necessary articles with the state, or if the purpose of the corporation was illegal from the outset. A court might rule that the corporation never legally existed ab initio. This means that, in the eyes of the law, the entity was never a valid corporation from the moment it was supposedly formed, and therefore never possessed the legal rights or protections afforded to corporations.