Page:Black's Law Dictionary (Second Edition).djvu/74

Rh the insurer shall nevertheless he answerable for the full extent of the sum subscribed by him, without right to claim contribution from subsequent underwriters. American Ins. Co. v. Griswold, 14 Wend. (N. Y.) 399.

In French law. A species of agreement which by a notion gives to imniovzibie goods the quality of mov- able. Merl. Repert.; 1 Low. Can. 25, 58.

AMI; AMY. A friend; as alien ami, an alien belonging to a nation at peace with us; prochein mm‘. a next friend suing or defending for an infant, married woman. etc.

AMICABLE. Friendly; mutually for- hearing; agreed or assented to -by parties having oonliit-ting interests or a dispute; as opposed to hostile or adversary.

-—Amicn‘Iale action. In practice. An action between friendly parties. An action brought and carried on by the mutual consent and arrangement of the parties, in order to obtain the Judgment of the court on a doubtful question of law, the fact: being usually settled by agreement. Lord v. Veazie, 8 How. 251, 12 L. Ed. ]O67.—Amioable componnders. in Louisi- ana law and ractice. "There are two sorts of arh‘it:rato1s,— e arbitrators properly so called, and the amicable ooinpounders. The arbitrators ought to determine as judges, agreeably to the strictness of law. Amicnble conipounders are authorized to abate something of the strictness of the law in favor of natural equity. Amicnble compounders are in other respects subject to the same rules which are pror-ided for the arbitrators by the present title." Civ. rle I11. arts. 3100. ‘ii icable suit. The words "arhitration" and "amicable lawsuit," used in an obligation or agreement between parties, are not convertible terms. The former carries with it the idea of settlemt by disinterested third paities, and the latter by a friendly submission of the points in dispute to a judicial tribunal to he determined in accordance with the forms of law. Thompson v. Monlton, 20 La. Ann. 535.

AMICUS CURIE. Lat. A friend of the court. A by-stander (usually a counsellor) who interposes and volunteers information upon some matter of law in regard to which the judge is doubtful or mistaken, or upon a matter of which the court may take judicial cognizance. Couiisei in court fre- quently act in this capacity when they happen to be in possession of a case which the judge has not seen, or does not at the mo- ment remember. Taft v. Northern Transp. Co., 56 N. H. 416; Birmingham Loan. etc., Co. v. Bank, 100 Ala. 249, 13 South. 945, 46 Am. St. Rep. 45: In re Columhia Real F5- tale Co. (D. (1) 101 Fed. 970.

it is also applied to persons who have no right to appear in a suit, but are allowed to introduce evidence to protect their own interests. Bass v. l3‘ontleroy. 11 Tex. 699, 701, 702.

AMIRAL. E‘:-. In French maritime law. Admiral. Ord. de la Mar. UV. 1, tit. 1, 5 1.

AMITA. Lat. A paternal aunt. An aunt on the father's side. Amita magma.

A great-aunt on the father's side. Amita major. A meat-great nun-t on the father's side. Amita 7mz.r-ima. A great-gren‘t-great aunt, or a great-great-grandfather's sister. Calvin.

AMITINUS. The child of a brother or sister; a cousin; one who has the same grandfather, but different father and mother. Calvin.

AMITTERE. Lat. In the Civil and old English law. To lose. Hence the old Scotch "amitt"

—.A.nnittere curinln. To lose the court; to be deprived of the privilege of attending the court.—Amittere legem tel-rm. To lose the Kotection nlIorderl by the law of the land.-

mittere libel-am legem. To lose one's frank-law. A term having the same meaning as mriitterc legem. terraz, (g. 1:.) He who lost his law lost the protection extendcvl by the law to a freeman, and became subject to the same law as thrails or serfs attached to the land.

AMNESTY. A sovereign act of pardon and oblivion for past acts. granted by a government to all persons (or to certain persons) who have been guilty of crime or de- lict, generally poilticai oEtenses,—t_renson. sedition, rebeli1‘on,—41nd often conditioned upon their return to obedience and duty within a prescribed time.

A declaration of the person or persons who have newly acqulred or recovered the sovereign power in a stste, by which they pardon ail persons who composed, supported, or obeyed the government which has been overthrown.

The word "amnesty" properly belongs to international law, and is applied to treati s of peace following a state of war, and _-:ni5es there the burial in oblivion of the particular cause of strife, so that that shall not be again a L"llISe for war between the nnrties: and th signification of "amnesty" is fully and poeti . ly expressed in tho liidian custom of burying the bntchet. And so amnesty is applied to re- bellions uhicli by their magnitude are brought within the mics of international law, and in which mnltiturlos nf men are the subjects of the clemency of the government. But iii ti-iese_ cases, and in all cases. it lTll"'1 s onlv "fl'llllE|'ln€'

DD 9

and never r~xpi':-ssos or impli:-s a, grant. V. United States, 10 Ct. Cl. 407

"Amncsl'_v" and "pardon" are very different. The former ls an act of the sovereign power, the object of which is to elIace and to cause to be forgotten :1 crime or misdemeanor: the iatter is an act of the same authority, which exempts the individual on whom it is hcstowed from the punishment the law inflicts for the crime he has committed. Bouvir-r-, United States V. Bassott, 5 Utah, 131, 13 Pac. 2317; Davies V. Mcl{oL-hy. 5 ‘\’cv. 373: Eltnte v. Blnlnck. 61 V. C. 247: Knnte v. United States, 95 U. S. 1-319, 152. 24 L. Ed. 442.

AMONG. Interruingled With. "A thing which is among others is lnterminglt.-d with them. Commerce among the ststes cannot stop at the external boundary line of each state, but may he introduced into the iiiterior." Glbhous v. Ogden, 9 Wheat. 19}. 6 I. Ed. 23.

Where property is directed by will to be