decrees definition of decrees in the Free Online Encyclopedia.

decree, in law, decision of a suit in a court of equity equity, principles of justice originally developed by the English chancellor. In Anglo-American jurisprudence equitable principles and remedies are distinguished from the older system that the common law courts evolved.
..... Click the link for more information. . It is the counterpart in equity of the judgment judgment, decision of a court of law respecting the issues before it. The term ordinarily is not applied to the decree (order) of courts of equity . The outstanding characteristic of a legal judgment, in contrast to an equitable decree, is its finality and fixity;
..... Click the link for more information. in a court of law, although in those jurisdictions where law and equity have merged, judgment is sometimes used to include both. The difference between the two, however, is fundamental. A judgment must be unconditionally for one party or another, but a decree is adaptable to the peculiar necessities of each case and may include rights and duties of both parties. A decree may impose conditions on its enforcement upon either party. The decree may act against the person of the defendant; it is not restricted to the award of money damages. It may contain an injunction injunction, in law, order of a court directing a party to perform a certain act or to refrain from an act or acts. The injunction, which developed as the main remedy in equity , is used especially where money damages would not satisfy a plaintiff's claim, or to
..... Click the link for more information. against the performance of certain acts. One of the most familiar of the decrees given by courts of equity is the decree of divorce divorce, partial or total dissolution of a marriage by the judgment of a court. Partial dissolution is a divorce "from bed and board," a decree of judicial separation , leaving the parties officially married while forbidding cohabitation.
..... Click the link for more information. , adjudicating the dissolution of a marriage marriage, socially sanctioned union that reproduces the family . In all societies the choice of partners is generally guided by rules of exogamy (the obligation to marry outside a group); some societies also have rules of endogamy (the obligation to marry within a
..... Click the link for more information. and awarding alimony alimony, in law, allowance for support that an individual pays to his or her former spouse, usually as part of a divorce settlement. It is based on the common law right of a wife to be supported by her husband, but in the United States, the Supreme Court in 1979
..... Click the link for more information. . Decrees are enforced by proceedings for contempt contempt of court can be classified as civil or criminal, direct or constructive. Civil and criminal contempts are distinguished by the function of the punishment—if it is to vindicate judicial authority, the contempt is criminal; if it is to enforce the rights and remedies
..... Click the link for more information. of court.

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