Jargon Buster

Absolute

a rule or order absolute is one which is complete and can be enforced at once
Acceptance letter An offer of life assurance that sets out the terms
Accounting Period the time between two consecutive balance sheet dates
Accounts Payable the amount a company owes to its suppliers at any given moment
Accounts receivable the amount a company is owed by its customers at any given moment
Accrual an adjustment made at the end of an accounting period to recognise expenses that have been incurred during the period but for which no invoice has yet been issued
Actuary a person who calculates life assurance premiums based on life expectation and investment returns
Administration Order an order directing that , during the period for which it is in force, the affairs business and property of a company are to be managed by an Administrator
Administrator an administrator appointed by the court (note holders of floating charges are not required to obtain court approval to appoint an administrator)
Adverse Witness a witness hostile to the party wishing to rely on his or her evidence
Amortisation the amount by which the book value of an intangible asset is deemed to have fallen during a particular accounting period
Annuity payment of regular amounts to an individual in exchange for a lump sum investment

Anton
Pillar Order

A search and seize order, frequently referred to as a Dawn Raid. The court empowers a party, that has alleged wrongdoing, the opportunity to enter premises and search for evidence. This mechanism is often used in Copyright cases
Asset anything of value which is owned by a company or individual
Authorised Person a person or body which carries on investment business having been authorised to do so by the FSA
Authorised Share Capital the total number of shares a company has available to issue to shareholders (see issued share capital)
Bad Debt money owed by a customer that will never be repaid
Balance Sheet a statement of a company's assets and the claims over those assets at any given moment

Bid Price

 the price at which an investor can sell a security or a unit in a unit trust
Bond a certificate for a loan which is not due to be repaid for at least 12 months
Book Value the value of an asset in the company's books

Bona Fides

Good Faith. To act without the intention to defraud or deceive
Bonus in life assurance, with-profits policies have interim and final bonuses added to the basic sum assured

Broadband

Network bandwidth capable of supporting multi-media applications such as video-conferencing

Caching

A process whereby retrieved data (e.g. from abroad) is stored locally, on a temporary basis, in the expectation that it will shortly be required by others. Caches can be local (to a site or institution) or national (see JANET web caching service). Also see Mirroring
Child Trust Fund a long-term savings and investment account for children born after 1st September 2002 with initial Government contribution of £250.00 

CIS

collective investment schemes such as investment trusts, OEICs, investment trusts and unit trusts (see  OEICs)
Collecting Friendly Society Mainly local societies collecting small premiums from the house for modest sums assured
Collective Investment Marketing Firm Firm marketing OEICs, investment trusts and unit trusts
Collective Investment Schemes Investments trusts, OEICs, authorised unit trusts or unauthorised unit trusts
Company Limited By Guarantee a company without shares with limited liability usually £1 and generally used by non-profit making organisations
Compound Interest Rate interest which is added to the principal sum to which the same interest rate is then applied to the larger amount

Conduit

A passive communication systems provider. The definition has relevance in the assessment of ISP liability

Conflict of Laws

Lack of clarity of the law on the same subject between jurisdictions

Contempt of Court

Disregard for the authority of the courts of justice e.g. ignoring a court order

Copyright

One of the suite of Intellectual Property Rights
Corporate body A body, such as a company, which has a legal identity quite separate from that of its shareholders
Coupon Refers to the fixed rate of interest earned on British Government stock. It is expressed as an annual rate of £100 (nominal) of the stock.

Damages

Monetary award granted by the court to compensate the successful litigant for a civil wrong or injury sustained

Data

Information that is recorded or processed

Data Controller

Individual or organisation with final control to gather and process data

Data Mining

The seeking and gathering of individual pieces of data from different sources, to compile a more detailed profile of a data subject

Data Subject

The individual or organisation to whom the data refers
Decreasing Term Assurance Life assurance for a fixed period where the sum assured reduces to nil over the term of policy

Defamation

A term which embraces concepts of libel and slander. The use of words to injure a person's reputation

DNS

Domain Name Server

DPA

Data Protection Act

DRC

Disability Rights Commission
Endowment Life assurance contract where the sum assured is paid out at the end of a specified term or on earlier death of the life assured

EPO

European Patent Office
Execution-only Customer Such customers use a firm to conduct investment transactions, but not to give them advice on the sustainability of the transactions
Exempted Person A person (or body) who may carry on investment business without applying for authorisation under the Financial Services and Markets Act 2000
Experienced Investor A person who has managed their own investments for at least a year with exposure to risks which they can be expected to understand

Fair Dealing

A statutory arrangement which allows limited copying, without permission, provided it is fair, and the commercial interests of the rights holder are not damaged
Family Income Policy A policy paying out regular instalments of capital from the death of the life assured until the end of the policy term

FOI

Freedom of Information
FSA Financial Services Authority
FSMA Financial Services and Markets Act 2000
Gearing Factor Refers to the proportion of a company's capital which is raised in the form of loans in relation to its equity shareholdings
Gilt-edged Stock British Government and/or local authority stock
Guaranteed Minimum Pension (GMP) A minimum amount which an occupational pension used to have to provide before employees could be contracted out of the second tier of the State Pension scheme
Guidance Notes Circulars, issued by centralised bodies such as HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC), the Pensions Regulator or the Institute of Actuaries, to members and interested parties, amplifying or explaining matters which may not be immediately clear

HEAnet

HEAnet provides Internet connectivity and related services to third level institutions in Ireland

HECA

Higher Education Copying Accord

HTML

Hyper-text Markup Language, used to mark up documents for use on the World Wide Web. It enables hypertext links to be followed, thus linking documents over the web.

ICANN

Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers

Incorporeal Chattels

Intangible personal rights and interests e.g. copyrights
Industrial Life Branch Premiums collected frquently from the home. May include some 'ordinary branch' business

Information Commissioner

Previously called the Data Protection Registrar. The independent supervisory authority over enforcement of the Freedom of Information Act and Data Protection Act. Scotland has a separate office with responsibility for Freedom of Information only.

Infringement

The violation of another person's rights. The term is often used in copyright disputes

Injunction

An order issued by the High Court or Court of Appeal, requiring or restricting a particular action. Failure to comply may result in proceedings for contempt of court and / or damages being awarded against the non-complying party

Interception

Includes monitoring, or interfering with the system, or its operation, or transmissions made by means of the system, so as to make some or all of the contents of the communication available to a person other than the sender or intended recipient
Interest Payable Gross Interest paid out without any income tax deductions
Interest Payable Net Interest paid out after deductions for income tax

Interlocutory Injunction

This injunction maintains the current position, until a final decision can be made by the courts. It is an intermediate stage in the proceedings
Intermediary The middleman; an agent usually acting on behalf of their client
Intestate Dying without having made a valid will
Investment Trust A company approved by HMRC that invests its sharholders' funds in securities

IP

Internet Protocol

ISDN

Integrated Services Digital Network. A form of connectivity, which offers data and voice communications at much higher rates than standard telephone connections

ISP

Internet Service Provider

JILT

The Journal of Information, Law and Technology

Jurisdiction

The power of a court to act as defined by territory (geographical, type of person, type of crime or nature of civil action). Legal textbooks sometimes specify the legal jurisdiction or geographical territory to which the law refers

LAN

Local Area Network

Liability

A legal obligation or duty

Libel

Defamatory matter published in permanent format to a third party e.g. newspaper or television broadcast

Library archive and privilege

Special copying privileges allowed to libraries and archives under the 1988 copyright, designs and patents act. This right is largely restricted to non-profit libraries and archives

Licence

Grants the power or authority to perform an act, which otherwise would be unlawful e.g. Licences can be granted by patent owners, to another party, allowing them to use the patented invention
Limited Liability Company The shareholders have no liability to creditors if the company defaults, beyond any unpaid capital on their shares

Mala Fides

Bad Faith. To carry out an act known to be illegal
Managed Funds Funds produced by a pension scheme are placed with an insurance office which 'manages' the investment. Also used for life assurance funds with wide investment powers
Material Fact Anything that would affect the judgement of a prudent insurer in fixing rates or deciding upon acceptance

Mareva Injunction

An order to freeze assets, particularly where there is a risk of transfer out of the jurisdiction.

Metadata

Information describing an information resource, sometimes referred to as data about data

Notice and Take Down

The practice of removing inappropriate material from media such as a web-site or noticeboard, as soon as notification of its existence has been received
Occupational Pensions Regulatory Authority (OPRA) The regulator of occupational pension schemes set up under the Pensions Act 1995 now replaced by the Pensions Regulator
OEICs Open Ended Investment Companies
Offer Price The price at which an investor can buy a security or unit in a unit trust

Patent

A privilege granted to the first registered inventor of an invention, allowing them to use or sell the invention for a period of time (assuming the annual renewal fees are paid)
Pensions Regulator The regulator of occupational pension schemes and personal pensions for employees

Precedent

A court judgement cited as an authority in later cases with similar facts. A precedent will only bind courts lower than the one in which it was made

Processing

Obtaining, holding and manipulating information or data
Product Bias Where a remuneration system is geared to induce an intermediary to sell a particular contract regardless of its suitability

PRS

Performing Rights Society. Licences public presentation of music, including in digital media and on web-sites

Residuary Right

Rights which stay with the creator e.g. moral rights such as right of paternity, right of integrity.
Retail Prices Index (RPI) A measure of inflation in terms of a sample of commodities which are weighted in significance

Right of Integrity

The right of a creator of a work to prevent it being altered to the detriment of his / her reputation. It is a moral right

Right of Paternity

The right of the creator to claim authorship of a work. It is a moral right
Rights Issue An issue of shares by a company when existing shareholders have the right to buy them in proportion to their original holdings

RIP

Regulation of Investigatory Powers Act 2000. Legislation dealing with issues of encryption, telephone or email monitoring

Safe Harbor

An agreement between the USA and EU seeking to protect privacy of personal data, when transferred to jurisdictions with differing legal systems
SERPS State Earnings Related Pension Scheme. That part of a state retirement pension paid for directly out of a member's earnings related contributions and additional to the basic pension. Now replaced by the State Second Pension (S2P)

Slander

Defamatory matter published in an oral format to a third party

Spam

Unsolicited advertising or communications via email
Stamp Duty Reserve Tax Tax payable on some financial transactions
Surrender Cancellation of a life assurance contract before its full term
Tender An offer made in writing by one party to another to buy or sell goods or financial property, such as government securities
Testator A person who dies leaving a will

Tort

A civil wrong, which can be independent of contract e.g. libel

Tortfeasor

A wrongdoer
Transferor One who transfers some or all of their property to another person
Trust An obligation to deal with property for the benefit of others
Trustee The one who carries out the obligations of a trust
Volume Overrider The increased reward received by a 'person' for selling products above a pre-determined figure
Whole of Life Life policy where the sum assured is payable in full only on the death of the life assured
With-profits Life assurance contract that benefits from additions to the basic sum assured from the life assurer's surplus

Writ

A command from the Courts
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   

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