Legal Definitions - abolition

Abolition refers to the formal act of ending, canceling, or doing away with a law, system, or practice. It signifies the complete termination or annulment of something that was previously in effect.

• Example 1: Abolishing a Discriminatory Law

  A country's parliament votes to abolish a decades-old law that restricted property ownership based on a person's ethnicity. This means the discriminatory law is formally repealed and no longer has any legal force.

  This example illustrates abolition because it involves the legislative body formally terminating a specific law, thereby removing its legal effect and ending the practice it enforced.

• Example 2: Abolishing a System of Governance

  After a successful revolution, a new government declares the abolition of the monarchy, establishing a republic in its place. All royal titles, privileges, and the system of hereditary rule are permanently ended.

  Here, abolition refers to the complete termination of an entire system of governance—the monarchy—and all its associated practices and structures, replacing it with a new political order.

• Example 3: Abolishing Criminal Charges

  In a criminal case, after new evidence emerges that exonerates the defendant, the prosecutor decides to abolish all charges against them. This action formally withdraws the accusation, and the legal proceedings against the individual are terminated.

  This demonstrates abolition in the context of criminal law, where it means the formal withdrawal of a criminal accusation, effectively dropping the charges and ending the prosecution against a defendant.