Legal Definitions - stipulatio juris

Stipulatio juris refers to an agreement made between the parties involved in a legal dispute regarding a specific point of law or how a particular law should be applied to their case.

Essentially, it's when opposing sides in a lawsuit agree on what the law is, or how it should be interpreted, for the purposes of their case. While parties are permitted to make such agreements, a court is not bound to accept a stipulatio juris if it determines that the parties' understanding or application of the law is incorrect.

• Example 1: Contractual Dispute over Governing Law

  Imagine two companies, one based in Texas and the other in Florida, are in a lawsuit over a breach of contract. Their contract did not explicitly state which state's laws would govern any disputes. To streamline the legal process, both companies' attorneys agree and inform the court that they will proceed under the assumption that New York contract law applies to their dispute. This agreement on which body of law will govern their case is a stipulatio juris. The court would typically accept this agreement unless it found a compelling reason why New York law could not legally apply to their specific contract.

• Example 2: Defining a Legal Standard in a Negligence Case

  In a personal injury lawsuit, a pedestrian sues a driver for negligence after being hit by a car. The parties might agree that, for the purposes of their trial, the legal standard for "reasonable care" for a driver in that specific intersection includes checking for pedestrians for at least five seconds before turning. This agreement between the pedestrian and the driver on how to legally define "reasonable care" in that context is a stipulatio juris. The court would consider this agreement, but if it believed that the five-second rule was an incorrect or legally unsupported standard, it could choose not to adopt it.

• Example 3: Interpretation of a Zoning Ordinance

  Two neighbors are in a dispute over the construction of a new fence, with one claiming it violates local zoning laws regarding height. To simplify the legal arguments, both neighbors and their lawyers agree that a specific clause in the city's zoning ordinance, rather than a more general state statute, is the definitive legal authority on fence height in their particular neighborhood. This mutual agreement on which specific law applies and how it should be interpreted for their property dispute constitutes a stipulatio juris. The judge would likely respect this agreement, provided the chosen ordinance is indeed relevant and legally sound for the situation.