Words / D / Law

doli incapax

adjective/ˈdəʊlaɪ ɪnˈkeɪpæks/

C2CEFR level
98/100Rarity: very rare
TechnicalRegister

Presumed incapable of forming criminal intent by reason of youth.

The defence invoked doli incapax, arguing the ten-year-old could not appreciate the gravity of the act.

Similar: incapable of wrong

Topic: Criminal law in Legal English

Rarity runs from 0 (a word everyone knows) to 100 (almost never seen outside specialist or literary writing). Level is the word's real difficulty on the CEFR scale, from A1 to C2.

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More law words: Criminal law