Definition
In Scots law, an abbreviation for "alter" (Latin: the other), used in procedural records and pleading notes to denote the opposite party — specifically, the defender in a civil action. The term appears as a shorthand notation in Scottish court records and marginalia rather than as a substantive legal concept in its own right.
Why It Matters in Research
ALT is a notational artifact rather than a doctrine, and its significance is almost entirely confined to reading Scottish legal records, particularly older printed reports and manuscript court notes. Researchers encountering "alt." in the margin or body of a Scots law source should understand it as a pointer to the opposing party's argument or position, not as a reference to an alternative ruling or alternate disposition — both of which are common modern uses of the abbreviation.
The principal trap is anachronism. In contemporary legal writing and citation practice, "alt." or "ALT" appears in electronic databases as shorthand for "alternative" (as in alternative holdings, alternative dispute resolution, or alternative arguments). Importing that meaning into a historical Scots law source will produce misreadings. The directional meaning — "the other side" — is the only correct reading in historical Scottish context.
A secondary trap involves corpus scope. Burrill's entry under the ALT headword in the Law Mind source material has clearly suffered a printing or digitization error: the text supplied is the tail end of an entry on alluvion, not a definition of ALT at all. Researchers relying on Burrill for this term will find no usable content; the two Black's editions are the authoritative sources here.
Beyond Scots practice, ALT has no recognized legal meaning in English, American, or other common law jurisdictions. It does not appear as a term of art in equity, admiralty, or statutory interpretation in those systems.
Historical Dictionary Support
Both editions of Black's Law Dictionary are in complete agreement: ALT is an abbreviation of alter used in Scots practice to mean "the other" or "the opposite party," specifically the defender. Both cite the same authority — 1 Broun, 336, note — confirming this is a narrow, well-sourced notation rather than a term with contested or evolving meaning.
Burrill's Law Dictionary, as noted above, provides no usable definition for this term in the Law Mind corpus. The entry attributed to ALT in that source is plainly displaced text from the alluvion entry. Researchers should not treat Burrill as a corroborating or diverging source on this point.
No historical dictionary source traces ALT beyond Scots practice or suggests the abbreviation carried substantive legal weight independent of its procedural shorthand function.
Jurisdictional Note
ALT in its legal sense is a Scots law term only. It has no established meaning in English common law, American law, or civil law systems. Researchers working outside historical Scottish court records will not encounter it as a term of art.