Legal Definitions - provisione tenus

provisione tenus

"Provisione tenus" is a historical legal Latin phrase that translates to "to the extent of the provision" or "as far as the provision allows." It signifies that a right, power, or action is limited by, or dependent upon, a specific condition, stipulation, or resource that has been made available or set forth. Essentially, something is valid or applicable only up to the point that a particular allowance, condition, or resource permits.

• Example 1: Historical Grant of Authority
  Imagine a medieval monarch granting a local lord the authority to levy taxes within their domain. This authority might be granted provisione tenus, meaning the lord could only collect taxes to the extent that the royal charter specifically outlined the types of taxes and the maximum rates allowed. The lord could not impose new taxes or exceed the specified rates without further royal decree.

  This illustrates "provisione tenus" because the lord's power to tax was not absolute but was strictly limited by the "provision" – the specific terms and conditions detailed in the royal charter.

• Example 2: Conditional Use of Resources
  Consider a historical charitable trust established to provide aid to the poor. The trustees might be empowered to distribute funds provisione tenus, meaning they could only disburse money to the extent of the annual income generated by the trust's investments. They could not dip into the principal capital or spend more than the available yearly funds, even if the need was greater.

  Here, the trustees' ability to provide aid was constrained by the "provision" – the specific amount of income made available by the trust's structure each year.

• Example 3: Limited Legal Representation
  In an older legal system, a court might appoint a lawyer to represent an indigent defendant provisione tenus. This would mean the lawyer's appointment and compensation were limited to the extent of the specific funds allocated by the court for that particular case, or for a defined scope of work, such as only for the preliminary hearing.

  This example shows "provisione tenus" because the scope and funding of the legal representation were not open-ended but were strictly defined and limited by the "provision" made by the court.