Simple English definitions for legal terms
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Corpus: Corpus means the body or main part of something. In law, it can refer to the body of a prisoner or the property that a trustee is responsible for in a trust.
Corpus is a Latin word that means "body". It can have different meanings depending on the context it is used in.
In criminal law, corpus refers to the body of the prisoner. For example, the writ of habeas corpus is a legal order that requires a person who is detained or imprisoned to be brought before a court or judge. This is to ensure that the person is not being held unlawfully.
In trust law, corpus means the property or assets that are held in a trust. For example, if a person creates a trust and transfers their property into it, the property becomes the corpus of the trust. The trustee is responsible for managing and protecting the corpus for the benefit of the beneficiaries.
These examples illustrate how the term corpus can have different meanings depending on the context it is used in. In criminal law, it refers to the body of the prisoner, while in trust law, it refers to the property or assets held in a trust.