Encyclopædia Britannica, Ninth Edition/Term

TERM (from the Latin terminus) in English law is used in two senses, the idea common to both being that of a limited and certain period of time.

(1) It denotes (or rather did denote) a fixed time during which the courts are open for legal proceedings. Terms in this sense affected only what used to be called the superior courts,—that is, the Queen's Bench, Common Pleas, and Exchequer. They were originally the leisure seasons of the year which were not occupied by great feasts or fasts of the church or by agriculture. Their origin is no doubt to be traced back to the legislation of the early Christian emperors, the principle being adopted in England through the influence of ecclesiastical judges, and still surviving in the universities and Inns of Court. Terms were regulated by many Acts of parliament, the effect of which was to confine to a comparatively short period the time during which the courts could sit in banco,—that is, for the decision of questions of law as distinguished from the decision of questions of fact. There were four terms, Hilary, Easter, Trinity, and Michælmas, the average duration of each being about three weeks. All legislation on the subject previous to 1873 is now merely of historical interest, for by the Judicature Act of that year the division of the year into terms was abolished so far as related to the administration of justice.

(2) It denotes the time during which an interest in an estate for life or for years is enjoyed, also the interest it self, because such an interest must determine at a definite time. If the interest be for life, it is an estate of freehold; if for years, only a personal interest in real estate, and so personalty, even though the length of the term—for instance, 1000 years—may far exceed in duration any possible life estate. A term of years is of two kinds,—the first that created by an ordinary lease reserving a rent, as of a house or a building lease; the second that created by a settlement or a will, usually without rent reserved, for the purpose of securing payment of money, such as portions to younger children, by the owner of the land. Both kinds have been considerably affected by recent legislation. For instance, the Conveyancing Act, 1881, enables a mortgagor or mortgagee in possession to make certain leases. Before 1845 provision was always made in conveyances for keeping on foot a term to attend the inheritance, as it was called,—that is, for assigning the remainder of a term to trustees for the protection of the owner of the property against rent-charges or other incumbrances created subsequently to the term, although the term had been satisfied,—that is, the purpose for which the term had been created had been fulfilled. By 8 and 9 Vict. c. 112 the assignment of satisfied terms was rendered unnecessary. The Conveyancing Acts, 1881 and 1882, give power to enlarge the unexpired residue of a long term in certain cases into the fee simple.

In Scotland terms are the days at which rent or interest is payable. They are either legal or conventional: the legal are Whit-sunday and Martinmas; the conventional are fixed by agreement between the parties. A recent Act (44 and 45 Vict. c. 39) makes uniform the law as to removal terms in burghs. Terms as times of court sittings were defined by 6 Anne c. 53, which fixed four terms—Martinmas, Candlemas, Whitsuntide, and Lammas—for the now obsolete Court of Exchequer. By 19 and 20 Vict. c. 56, s. 26, the winter and summer sittings of the Court of Session are to be held to correspond with the Exchequer terms.