Politics and Governance: Some Terms & Their Definitions

a. Due process - Conduct of legal proceedings strictly according to established principles and procedures, laid down to ensure fair trial for every accused. Because the infallibility of court judgments cannot be guaranteed, the legal system aims to secure this second-best but possible option. The guaranty of due process means no accused is punished without an orderly and adequate procedure that is applicable uniformly in all cases. Under a due process, every accused gets an advance notice of trial, and an opportunity to be present, to be heard, and to defend himself or herself. It also includes the rights to (1) legal counsel, (2) confront and cross examine the witnesses, (3) refuse self-incriminating testimony, and (4) have a crime proven by proof beyond a reasonable doubt.
b. Law of Equality - also known as legal equality, is the principle under which all people are subject to the same laws of justice (due process). All are equal before the law.
c. Lite - Contingent on the outcome of a lawsuit still pending in the courts.
d. Liberty - right to something a right-holder cannot be prevented from, such as to speak freely or follow a particular belief
e. Property - Article, item, or thing owned with the rights of possession, use, and enjoyment, and which the owner can bestow, collateralize, encumber, mortgage, sell, or transfer, and can exclude everyone else from it. Two basic kinds of property are (1) Real (land), involving a degree of geographical fixity, and (2) Personal (anything other than real property) which does not involve geographical fixity. Personal property is subdivided into tangible property (any physical animate or inanimate object) and intangible property (intellectual property