This online legal dictionary has been prepared by Legal Aid Alberta. Definitions are arranged alphabetically and any terms that you may need in your dealings with Legal Aid Alberta are given a second definition specific to how they relate to LAA.
The following resources can help you understand legal language.
CPLEA Suggested Resources
Not sure where to begin finding answers to your questions. Get started with our suggested resources. See additional resources below for more information.
Alberta Resources
Canada/Federal
A collaborative dictionary comprised, initially, of terms defined in glossaries of Canadian law books published by Irwin Law. The dictionary is maintained by an Irwin Law editor.
This Glossary of Parliamentary Procedure is produced by Procedural Services of the House of Commons for the information of the general public.
This legal glossary, provided by Justice Ontario, is a basic guide to common legal terms. Different terms may have different meanings based on the specific area of law or the context in which they are being used. You can browse the list alphabetically or search for a specific term.
A glossary of terms created by the Supreme Court of Canada as part of their Resources for Self-Represented Litigants website resource.
The Human Rights Glossary includes terminology related to human rights in the Canadian context. The glossary contains terms used by the Canadian Human Rights Commission (CHRC) and the Canadian Human Rights Tribunal (CHRT). Created in 1977 by Parliament, this tribunal is the only entity that may legally decide whether a person or organization has engaged in a discriminatory practice under the Canadian Human Rights Act. An administrative tribunal specializing in the field of human rights, the CHRT is similar to a court of law, but is less formal. In 1996, the Tribunal’s responsibilities were expanded to include the adjudication of complaints under the Employment Equity Act. According to the Act, the CHRT also operates as the Employment Equity Review Tribunal.
A collaborative dictionary comprised, intially, of terms defined in glossaries of Canadian law books published by Irwin Law. The dictionary will be maintained by an Irwin Law editor. Members of the public are invited to submit new defined terms, edit existing terms and supply citations, sources and related terms.
A dictionary of legal terms offered by the Justice Education Society of British Columbia.
Vancouver Community College has created this glossary of 5000 Canadian legal and court-related terms in English Plain Language, and their equivalents in six other languages (Chinese, Farsi, Punjabi, Russian, Spanish, Vietnamese). The glossary is intended not only for court interpreters, but for everyone participating in court or legal processes.
A glossary of terms that may be encountered when dealing in real estate.
TERMIUM Plus® is the Government of Canada's terminology and linguistic data bank. It is a trilingual data bank that gives the precise English, French or Spanish equivalent to designate anything from a simple tool or a complex machine, to a disease or plant, association or committee. Almost every field of human endeavour is covered; a unilingual data bank that can be used to check the meaning of a specialized term or find the meaning of a term in a leading-edge field; and a writing assistance tool that provides access to 16 electronic resources.
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