Legal & Compliance Glossary from A to Z — Legal & Compliance

Legal & Compliance Glossary — 145 definitions

All terms defined in the guide's 29 sections, listed alphabetically.
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Auto-renewing subscription: Contract that renews on its own; its disclosure and ease of cancellation are increasingly regulated.
Active acceptance: Obtaining explicit agreement (an unchecked checkbox) rather than a passive notice; strengthens enforceability.
Accountability: The duty not only to follow the rules but to be able to PROVE it (documentation, register).
Administrative fine: Financial penalty imposed by the data protection authority; can be very high (sometimes a percentage of turnover) for serious breaches.
Impact assessment: Evaluation of risks for individuals, required before starting processing that presents a high risk.
Capital contribution: What a partner puts into the company (money, assets, sometimes work) in exchange for shares.
Preventive approach: Guiding principle: manage legal matters upstream (reduce the likelihood and impact of problems) rather than reacting once the problem has occurred.
Arbitration: Entrusting the dispute to arbitrators (chosen private judges) whose decision (award) is binding; confidential, often fast, but costly.
Insurance (principle): Transferring to an insurer, for a premium, the financial burden of certain risks; exchanging a certain cost for protection against an uncertain loss.
Cookie banner: Mechanism collecting consent for non-essential trackers, offering a genuine choice (accept/refuse/customize).
Legal basis: Grounds authorizing processing (consent, contract, legal obligation, legitimate interest…); without a legal basis, no lawful processing.
Battle of the forms: Conflict between two professionals' general terms (seller/buyer) that contradict each other; the outcome depends on applicable law.
Bias and discrimination: Risk that an AI system treats people unfairly, engaging the company's liability and harming its reputation.
Good faith: Requirement of loyalty in negotiating, concluding and performing the contract; an increasingly central principle.
Risk mapping: Reasoned inventory of the company's legal risks, area by area (contracts, data, IP, liability, compliance…).
Assignment of rights: Contractual transfer of economic rights in writing; paying for a creation is NOT enough to acquire its rights without an express assignment.
Terms of Use (ToU): General Terms of Use: rules for using a service (website, app) — what users may/may not do.
General Terms of Sale (GTC): General Terms of Sale: framework of the commercial relationship (price, order, payment, delivery, warranties, disputes) applied to each sale.
Document chain: Quote → order → delivery → invoice sequence; each document has evidential value (commitment, receipt, billing).
Burden of proof: Everyone must prove what they claim; hence the importance of documents and writings kept from the start of the relationship.
Res judicata / enforcement: Authority of a final decision, which can then be enforced, by force if needed, through authorized professionals.
Unfair (imbalanced) term: Term creating a significant imbalance to one party's detriment; may be set aside under local law protections.
Jurisdiction / applicable law clause: Clause designating the competent court and applicable law in case of dispute; crucial whenever there is an international dimension.
Arbitration / mediation clause: Clause inserted in advance in a contract, providing for arbitration or the obligation to attempt mediation before any lawsuit.
Termination clause: Clause organizing the end of the contract: grounds for termination, notice, conditions and consequences.
Limitation of liability clause: Clause capping what a party will owe in case of breach; read closely as it can sharply reduce compensation.
E-commerce: Sale of goods or services remotely by digital means; governed by contract law, consumer law and digital-specific rules.
Unfair competition: Dishonest behavior between competitors: disparagement, confusion (imitation), free-riding, unlawful diversion of customers.
Conflict of interest: Situation where a personal interest interferes (or may interfere) with a professional decision, impairing objectivity.
Compliance: All the mechanisms by which a company ensures it respects the legal, regulatory and ethical rules applicable to its activity.
Legal advice: Opinion of a professional (lawyer, in-house counsel) tailored to a specific situation and jurisdiction; the only one with real binding value.
Direct marketing consent: Basis often required for marketing emails (especially to individuals), with a systematic right to unsubscribe.
Cookie consent: Agreement required to place non-essential trackers on a website; the banner must offer a genuine choice (accept/refuse).
Free and informed consent: Agreement given without duress, deception or mistake on an essential element; otherwise the contract may be voided.
Valid consent: Free, specific, informed and unambiguous agreement (clear affirmative act); it must be as easy to withdraw as it was to give.
Consult upstream: The habit of seeking a professional BEFORE committing (to prevent and secure) rather than after the problem (when you can only limit the damage).
Litigation: The judicial phase of a dispute, before the courts, following strict procedural rules.
AI-generated content: Outputs of an AI system whose protectability, ownership and infringement risk remain open questions, varying by country.
Contract: Agreement between two or more persons intended to create legal obligations.
Adhesion contract: Non-negotiable, take-it-or-leave-it contract (often from large service providers); as opposed to genuinely negotiable contracts.
Service agreement: Contract under which a provider performs work for payment; the precise definition of the services is decisive.
Sales contract: Contract under which a seller transfers ownership of goods to a buyer for a price.
Bilateral contract: Contract where each party undertakes obligations toward the other (reciprocal obligations), as opposed to a unilateral contract.
Corruption: Offering or accepting an undue advantage in exchange for behavior (contract, decision, favor); prohibited and severely punished.
Reputational cost: Loss of trust and damage to image following a leak or breach; often greater than the fine itself.
Creditor / debtor: The creditor is the one owed something; the debtor is the one who owes (a sum, a service).
Legal culture: General knowledge for spotting legal issues and consulting at the right time; no substitute for a professional's advice.
Risk disclosure: Accurate information given to the insurer about the activity and risks; inaccurate disclosure can reduce or void coverage.
Payment term: Time allowed to pay an invoice; often legally capped between professionals, with rules varying by country.
Filing / registration: Formality with an office (e.g. INPI in France) conferring the exclusive right to the trademark; use alone protects poorly or not at all.
Publication director: Person responsible for content published on the website, to be identified in the legal notices.
Availability / distinctiveness: Before filing: check that the sign is free (no prior rights) and distinctive (neither descriptive, generic nor deceptive).
Personal data: Any information relating to an identified or identifiable individual (name, email, IP, photo, identifier…); a very broad concept.
Sensitive data: Special category (health, opinions, origin, biometrics…) benefiting from reinforced protection.
Data entered into AI: Information provided to an online AI tool; potentially transmitted to a third party, hence a risk for confidentiality and personal data.
Evidence file: Set of elements (timestamping, identity verification, traceability) kept by a reputable platform to prove the signature.
DPO (Data Protection Officer): Officer in charge of monitoring compliance; mandatory for certain organizations or processing (depending on country).
Right to erasure (to be forgotten): Right to obtain deletion of one's data, under conditions (with exceptions: legal obligations, third-party rights).
Copyright: Protection of original intellectual creations (texts, images, music, software…), arising automatically without registration.
Right of withdrawal: Option, for a consumer buying remotely, to change their mind without reason within a time limit and be refunded (with exceptions; varies by country).
Public vs private law: Public law governs relations with the State; private law governs relations between individuals and businesses (civil, commercial, labor…).
Individual rights: All the rights allowing a person to control their data: information, access, rectification, erasure, objection, restriction, portability.
Economic vs moral rights: Economic: exploiting the work (transferable, time-limited). Moral: respect of name and integrity (often perpetual and inalienable).
Supervising processors: Obligation to contractually bind any provider processing data on your behalf, with precise commitments.
Cartel / abuse of dominant position: Serious market infringements: secret agreements between competitors (cartel); abusive exploitation of dominance to crush competition.
Sole proprietorship: Activity carried on in one's own name by an individual; simple, but with a risk of mixing personal and business assets (mitigated depending on the regime).
Business ethics: Requirement of responsible behavior beyond strict legality (honesty, respect, sustainability); often formalized in a code of conduct.
Assessment factors: Elements considered by the authority (seriousness, good faith, measures in place, cooperation) that adjust the sanction.
Invoice: Document (often mandatory) detailing the sale, triggering payment and serving as accounting and tax proof; the key piece in debt collection.
Triggering event / damage / causation: The three classic elements of civil liability: a breach, real harm, and a link between the two.
Legal function: All activities securing the company legally (contracts, obligations, risks, disputes), handled by an in-house counsel, a lawyer or an informed manager.
Binding force: Once validly concluded, the contract obliges the parties to honor it ("it acts as law for those who made it").
Legal form: Legal status under which an activity is carried on; it determines liability, taxation, governance and rules between partners.
Coverage / exclusions: What the contract covers (coverage) and what it does not (exclusions); exclusions are a frequent cause of nasty surprises.
Statutory warranties: Protections benefiting the buyer (conformity, defects) regardless of commercial warranties; strengthened for consumers.
Legal risk management: Process of identifying, assessing, ranking and addressing legal risks, before they materialize.
Hosting provider: Provider storing the website on its servers; its contact details generally appear in the legal notices.
Hierarchy of norms: Organization of legal rules into levels: a lower rule must respect the rules above it.
Identity / integrity / consent: What a signature must guarantee: who signed, that the document was not altered, and that the signatory intended to commit.
Order for payment: Simplified, fast and inexpensive procedure to recover a certain and undisputed debt (exists in varying forms by country).
Case law: Body of decisions rendered by courts; it interprets legislation and its weight varies by legal system.
Reading in full: The habit of reading the entire contract before signing (general terms, appendices, fine print included) — the most widespread mistake is not doing so.
Freedom of competition: Principle that one is free to do business and compete, within the limits of fairness rules and market protections.
License (incl. Creative Commons): Authorization to use a work under conditions; "royalty-free" content is governed by licenses to read and respect.
Dispute: Disagreement between two parties (unpaid invoice, poor performance, disagreement) that may be settled amicably or in court.
Statute vs regulation: Statutes are voted by parliament; regulations (decrees, orders) are issued by the executive to implement statutes, at a lower rank.
Trademark: Sign (name, logo, slogan…) distinguishing a company's products or services from competitors'.
Mediation / conciliation: A neutral third party helps the parties find THEIR OWN solution; it facilitates dialogue but does not decide (nuances vary by country).
Legal notices: Mandatory identification information of a website: publisher, publication director, hosting provider, registration details (depending on country).
Formal notice (mise en demeure): Formal letter ordering the debtor to pay within a deadline; records the breach, starts interest running, prepares legal action.
Alternative modes (ADR): Dispute resolution paths other than classic judgment: negotiation, conciliation, mediation, arbitration, settlement.
NDA (non-disclosure agreement): Contract committing parties not to disclose exchanged confidential information; often signed before a negotiation or collaboration.
Negotiate before signing: Key principle: negotiating power exists mostly BEFORE signature and collapses afterwards.
Levels (simple / advanced / qualified): Increasing degrees of assurance; the qualified level (certificate + identity verified by a trusted third party) offers the strongest evidential value.
Notification: Obligation, in case of a risky breach, to inform the authority (often within a short deadline) and sometimes the individuals concerned.
Nullity / termination: Nullity cancels an act retroactively (as if it never existed); termination ends a validly formed contract.
Subject matter: What the commitment covers (service, goods); its precise description prevents a large share of disputes.
Duty to inform: Duty to clearly inform people about what is done with their data and their rights (notices/privacy policy).
Best-efforts vs result obligation: Best efforts: seriously applying one's know-how without guaranteeing the outcome; result: guaranteeing a precise outcome. Decisive in disputes.
Enforceability (opposability): A term applies to the customer only if it was brought to their knowledge AND accepted BEFORE the contract was concluded.
Mandatory vs default rules: A mandatory rule applies even against the parties' agreement; a default rule applies only absent a clause to the contrary.
Originality: Protection requirement: the work must bear its author's personal imprint (not mere banal data or ideas).
Free-riding (parasitism): Riding on a competitor's coattails to benefit from their efforts and reputation without having invested oneself.
Late-payment penalties: Interest (and sometimes a flat fee) due for late payment; to be provided in your terms to apply them.
Natural / legal person: A natural person is a human being; a legal person is an entity (company, association) with its own legal existence.
Cap / deductible: The cap limits the amount covered (beyond it, the company pays); the deductible is the share always remaining at its charge.
Priority points: Clauses on which to focus negotiation: price, deadlines, liability, ownership, exit conditions.
Gifts policy: Internal rules governing gifts and invitations (thresholds, transparency) to keep them from sliding into corruption.
Privacy policy: Document informing visitors of collected data, purposes, bases, retention and their rights; it must reflect YOUR actual practices.
Misleading commercial practice: False/deceptive claim or information misleading consumers; prohibited in most countries.
Pre-litigation: Amicable phase before any legal action: dialogue, complaint, formal notice, alternative modes; settles most disputes.
Preparing your consultation: Arriving with a clear file and precise questions for a shorter, more useful and less costly exchange.
Limitation period: Deadline beyond which the right to sue expires; don't let a debt sleep until it becomes time-barred.
Evidence: Element establishing a fact or right; "what is not proven does not legally exist" — hence the importance of writings.
Speciality principle: A trademark is protected only for the classes of goods/services designated at filing (the same word can coexist in different fields).
Likelihood × impact: Two axes for assessing a risk (chance of occurrence and severity) whose combination ranks and prioritizes.
Regulated ordering process: Obligation to let buyers check/correct their order, to summarize, acknowledge receipt and display a clear total price before payment.
Informed caution: Recommended stance toward AI: neither fear nor carelessness, but understanding the issues, applying known principles and monitoring evolving law.
Debt collection: All steps to obtain payment of an overdue debt, from amicable to judicial.
Processing register: Document listing, for each data processing, its purpose, data and persons concerned, legal basis, recipients, retention and security.
AI regulation: Emerging legal frameworks (transparency, risk-level classification, requirements for certain systems) under construction by region.
Ongoing advisory relationship: Having a professional who knows your business and to whom you regularly turn, rather than scrambling for one with each problem.
Retention of title: Clause allowing the seller to remain owner of the goods until full payment; security in case of non-payment (regime varies by country).
Civil / criminal liability: Civil liability repairs harm caused to others (compensation); criminal liability punishes an offense against society (penalties). One situation can involve both.
Professional liability insurance: Insurance covering damage the company may cause to third parties in its activity; often the most important, sometimes mandatory.
Contractual liability: Duty to repair harm caused to a contracting party by non-performance or poor performance of a contract.
Corporate liability: Possibility, in many countries, to hold the company itself liable (including criminally), in addition to its managers.
Tort liability: Duty to repair harm caused to a person with whom one has no contract (fault, negligence, act of a thing or person).
Manager's personal liability: Personal liability of the manager under certain conditions (mismanagement, serious breach), beyond the company's protection.
Limited liability: In certain companies, a partner in principle risks only their contribution, not personal assets — never absolute protection.
Controller vs processor: The controller decides purposes and means (the company); the processor acts on its behalf (provider, software); each has its duties.
Knowing when to walk away: The habit of not signing an overly imbalanced contract; a bad contract often costs more than a missed deal.
Secure vs defend: The two missions of law in business: preventing problems (upstream) and managing them when they occur (downstream).
Electronic signature: Electronic process expressing a person's consent to a deed; legally recognized in most countries, with value varying by level.
Company / legal personality: Legal entity distinct from its founders, with its own assets, debts and contracts.
Professional specialization: Law is vast: business lawyers, IP, labor, litigation… are not interchangeable; choose according to need.
Risk treatment strategies: Options for a risk: avoid it, reduce it (prevention), transfer it (insurance, clauses) or consciously accept it.
Territoriality: A trademark protects only the territory or territories where filed; hence regional or international filings for several markets.
Trusted third party: Recognized provider guaranteeing the signatory's identity and the reliability of the signing process.
Enforceable title: Document (judgment or equivalent) allowing forced enforcement (seizures) through authorized professionals.
Settlement: Contract ending a dispute through reciprocal concessions; well drafted, it prevents reopening the matter.
Transfer of risk: Moment when the buyer bears loss or deterioration of the goods (not always the same as transfer of ownership); key in transport cases.
Variability of law: Fundamental principle: rules differ by country and evolve over time; always check applicable local law.
Legal monitoring: Targeted tracking of legal developments affecting your activity, to stay compliant and anticipate change.
Data breach: Incident leading to destruction, loss, alteration or unauthorized disclosure of personal data (hacking, theft, error, leak).