Legal Definitions - ex lege

Ex lege is a Latin term that translates to "by virtue of law" or "as a matter of law." It describes situations where a legal right, obligation, or consequence arises automatically and directly because the law dictates it, without requiring a specific agreement between parties or an explicit court order for that particular instance. Essentially, an "ex lege" effect is an inherent outcome that flows directly from existing legal rules.

• Example 1: Inheritance Without a Will

  If a person passes away without leaving a valid will, their assets are distributed among their heirs ex lege according to the state's intestacy laws. The law automatically determines who inherits and in what proportion, regardless of any unwritten wishes the deceased might have had or any informal agreements among family members. The distribution happens "by virtue of law."

• Example 2: Corporate Legal Personality

  When a group of individuals successfully files the required documents to form a corporation with the appropriate government agency, the entity automatically gains legal personality ex lege. This means the corporation, as a separate legal entity, can then own property, enter into contracts, and sue or be sued, simply because the law grants it this status upon proper registration, not through a separate judicial decree or specific agreement among its founders for that legal status.

• Example 3: Statutory Consumer Rights

  When a consumer purchases a product, they are automatically entitled to certain protections, such as implied warranties of merchantability or fitness for a particular purpose, ex lege. These rights exist because consumer protection laws mandate them, not because they were explicitly negotiated or written into the sales contract. The law itself confers these protections on the consumer.