Financial compensation ordered by a court to offset losses or suffering caused by another person's action or inaction. Damages are typically awarded in claims for breach of contract, negligence or breach of statutory duty.

Written and signed document which sets out the agreement of the signatories in relation to its contents. Under common law, a deed had to be sealed - marked with an impression in wax. A deed is delivered by handing it to the other person. Usually a deed (or some other written evidence) is required in relation to actions involving land.

Response to claim by plaintiff.

Person, company or organization which defends a civil action taken by a plaintiff and against whom the court is asked to order damages or corrective action to redress some unlawful or improper action alleged by the plaintiff. Also a person charged with a criminal offence.

Person who swears an affidavit or deposition.

A badly drafted lease. If this is serious, the vendor may have to obtain a “deed of variation” getting the freeholder’s permission to change the original terms of the lease.

Persons born of, or from children of, another. Grandchildren are descendants of their grandparents, as children are descendants of their natural parents. The law distinguishes between collateral descendants, such as nephews and nieces, and lineal descendants, such as sons and daughters.

Transfer or conveyance of real property by will. The person who receives such property is called the devisee.

Independent official who decides whether to prosecute in criminal cases and in whose name all criminal prosecutions are taken.

A deed which is used to alter or vary the original document by agreement.

Sworn disclosure of documents and records. Certain types of document which are "privileged" need not be discovered, but they must be identified to the other side.

These are fees paid by the buyer’s solicitor on the buyer’s behalf, such as stamp duty, land registry fees, and search fees.

Lowest court in the Irish judicial system, with power to award damages up to €6,350 in civil cases.

This is a sum of money required from the buyer when he enters into an enforceable agreement. This is usually on the signing of the contract, and can be between 5 and 10 per cent of the purchase price or one months rent if it is a letting.

Judge of the District Court

These refer to disrepair or damage done to a rented property.

A window which projects outwards from a pitched roof.

Proportionate distribution of profits made by a company in the form of a money payment to shareholders. Dividends are declared by the board of directors at the annual general meeting. The shareholders decide the dividend at the meeting, but it must not exceed the directors' recommendation.

This is a preliminary unconfirmed version of the contract, prepared by the vendor’s solicitor.

A sheet of polythene or other impervious material incorporated in a solid floor to prevent rising damp.

A person's fixed and permanent residence; a place to which, even if he is temporarily absent, he intends to return. Legally, a person may have many residences or several nationalities, but only one domicile.

This is a method of finishing to walls whereby they are lined with plasterboard rather than layers of wet plaster based coats. After which, a thin finishing coat of plaster is then applied. This method of finishing an interior wall ensures that the plaster dries significantly quicker (hence the name).

Property or land that benefits from, or has the advantage of, an easement, such as a right of way.

(Latin: gift due to death) Gift made by a dying person with the intent that the person receiving the gift shall keep it if the donor dies from his existing complaint. Such a gift is excluded from the estate of the deceased, as the property is automatically conveyed on the donor's death.

The original meaning refers to an auction in reverse, where an offer price is announced and the auctioneer gradually reduces it until a bid is made. However this meaning has been lost, and a Dutch auction now refers to the informal bidding that takes place when two or more potential buyers are outbidding each other for a property.

Beneficiary of a trust or person given a power of appointment.

Person who gives property for the benefit of another, usually through a trust. Sometimes referred to as a "settlor." Also used to describe the person who signs a power of attorney.

(Latin: bring with you) Type of subpoena which requires a person to appear before a court with specified documents or other evidence.

Threats or force preventing - or forcing - a person to act other than in accordance with free will. A contract signed under duress is voidable at the option of the person forced to sign it. Duress may invalidate a marriage.