Words / E / Law

ex turpi causa

phr./ɛks ˈtɜːpaɪ ˈkɔːzə/

C2CEFR level
98/100Rarity: very rare
TechnicalRegister

No claim can be founded on the claimant's own illegal or immoral conduct.

Ex turpi causa barred the burglar from suing over injuries sustained during the break-in.

Similar: illegality defence

Topic: Legal Latin 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.

Get words like ex turpi causa on your lock screen, a few a day, with review that makes them stick.

Download on the App Store Lexfall puts a new word on your home and lock screen through widgets, so you learn without opening an app. Free to download. After a free trial, a subscription unlocks every field. Built for iPhone, iOS 15.1 or later.
QR code that opens Lexfall on the App Store
On a computer?Scan with your iPhone camera.

More law words: Legal Latin