Legal Latin in the context of "Law Latin"

In Legal Latin, the phrase praeter legem ("outside of the law") "refers to an item that is not regulated by law and therefore is not illegal". It is thus distinct from the phrase contra legem, which refers to something that is directly against the law and therefore illegal or in conflict with statutes or other written regulation without being illegal or invalid, and it may also be compared to intra legem, "within the law" (legal).

Items that are generally called praeter legem include certain customs.

Dominium directum et utile is a legal Latin term used to refer to the two separate estates in land that a fief was split into under feudal land tenure. This system is more commonly known as duplex dominium or double domain. This can be contrasted with the modern allodial system, in which ownership is full and not divided into separate estates—a situation known as dominium plenum "full ownership".

Mare clausum (legal Latin meaning "closed sea") is a term used in international law to refer to a sea, ocean or other navigable body of water under the jurisdiction of a state that is closed or not accessible to other states. Mare clausum is an exception to mare liberum (Latin for "free sea"), meaning a sea that is open to navigation to ships of all nations. In the generally accepted principle of international waters, oceans, seas, and waters outside national jurisdiction are open to navigation by all and referred to as "high seas" or mare liberum. Portugal and Spain defended a Mare clausum policy during the Age of Discovery. This was soon challenged by other European nations.