Legal Definitions - intendment

The term intendment refers to an underlying meaning, purpose, or expectation within the legal system, often unstated but understood. It can manifest in a few distinct ways:

• 1. The Law's Underlying Understanding: This refers to the inherent meaning or interpretation that the law assigns to a particular concept, document, or action, even if not explicitly written out. It's about what the legal system presumes or intends something to mean.

  • Example A: When two individuals sign a standard residential lease agreement, the intendment of the law is that this creates a legally binding landlord-tenant relationship. This relationship comes with certain implied rights and responsibilities for both parties, such as the tenant's right to a habitable living space and the landlord's right to receive rent, even if every single detail isn't exhaustively spelled out in the document.

    Explanation: This example illustrates how the law understands a common transaction (signing a lease) to carry a deeper, legally recognized meaning and set of obligations beyond just the words on the page.

  • Example B: If a person is found guilty of a serious crime, the intendment of the law is that the punishment serves not only as retribution but also as a deterrent to others and a means of protecting society, even if the sentencing judge doesn't explicitly state these broader goals.

    Explanation: Here, the term refers to the underlying purpose and philosophy that the legal system attributes to a specific action (criminal sentencing).

• 2. A Decision-Maker's Inference of Meaning: This refers to a judge or other legal authority's process of determining the true purpose or intention behind a legal document (like a statute, contract, or will) when its text is ambiguous or unclear.

  • Example A: A city ordinance states that "no loud noises are permitted after 10 PM." If a resident complains about a neighbor's barking dog, a court might need to determine the intendment of "loud noises" by considering the ordinance's purpose (e.g., ensuring peace and quiet for residents) and community standards, rather than just a decibel reading.

    Explanation: The court must infer what the lawmakers truly intended to prohibit when they used the phrase "loud noises," looking beyond the literal words to the underlying purpose.

  • Example B: A will leaves "all my personal effects" to a specific heir. If the deceased owned a valuable antique car, a court might need to decide if the car falls under the intendment of "personal effects" by examining other clauses in the will, the deceased's relationship with the heir, and common legal interpretations of such phrases.

    Explanation: The court is tasked with inferring the testator's (the person who made the will) true intention regarding the disposition of their property, given the potentially ambiguous language.

• 3. Implicit Expectations in Legal Interactions: This refers to the unstated, common-sense assumptions and expectations that individuals hold about how legal processes and institutions will function fairly and correctly, even if these expectations are not formal legal rules or contracts.

  • Example A: When a citizen pays their taxes, there is an intendment that the government will use those funds responsibly and for public services as authorized by law, rather than for corrupt purposes, even though no explicit contract guarantees this to each taxpayer.

    Explanation: This highlights the implicit trust and expectation that underpins the relationship between citizens and their government regarding financial obligations.

  • Example B: When a person reports a crime to the police, there is an intendment that the police will investigate the matter seriously, impartially, and according to proper procedures, even if the reporting individual doesn't have a formal agreement with the police department guaranteeing a specific outcome.

    Explanation: This illustrates the fundamental expectation of due process and professional conduct that individuals have when interacting with law enforcement.