NEMO - The Law Mind Legal Dictionary

NEMOAuthored

The Law Mind • 925 words

Definition

A Latin prefix-term meaning "no one" or "no man," used in law not as a standalone doctrine but as the opening word of numerous Latin maxims that together form a significant body of common law principle. NEMO appears in scores of legal phrases governing property transfer, self-incrimination, judicial impartiality, and procedural fairness. It is, in essence, a lexical building block of the classical common law vocabulary.

Because NEMO is a gateway term rather than a self-contained doctrine, its legal significance lies entirely in the maxims it introduces. The most consequential of these include:

— Nemo dat quod non habet ("no one gives what he does not have"): the foundational rule that a transferor cannot convey greater title than he himself holds. This maxim underpins property and commercial law and remains operative in modern doctrine.

— Nemo debet esse judex in propria causa ("no man ought to be a judge in his own cause"): a cornerstone of natural justice and due process, prohibiting a decision-maker from adjudicating a matter in which he has a personal interest.

— Nemo bis vexari pro eadem causa ("no one is to be twice vexed for the same cause"): an ancestor of the modern double jeopardy principle.

— Nemo tenetur seipsum accusare ("no one is bound to accuse himself"): the Latin root of the privilege against self-incrimination.

— Nemo admittendus est inhabilitare seipsum ("no man is to be admitted to incapacitate himself"): the rule that a party cannot by his own act disqualify himself from a legal position he holds.

— Nemo agit in seipsum ("no man acts against himself"): the principle that a person cannot both act and be acted against simultaneously, supporting the rule that one cannot be judge and party.

Common Confusion

NEMO as a dictionary entry is sometimes confused with the specific maxim nemo dat (quod non habet), which is its most widely cited descendant in modern law. The two are not the same: NEMO is the prefix common to dozens of maxims; nemo dat is one specific rule of property and commercial law with its own body of case authority and recognized exceptions. Researchers should locate the specific maxim needed rather than treating the NEMO entry itself as the controlling authority.

Why It Matters in Research

Researchers encountering NEMO in historical legal sources should treat it as a cross-reference prompt, not a terminal entry. The word itself carries no independent doctrine; its operative content is always in the maxim that follows. When a historical court opinion or pleading invokes "nemo" without completing the phrase, check surrounding context carefully — abbreviation and shorthand citation of Latin maxims was common in nineteenth-century American and English case law.

Several NEMO maxims have been absorbed into constitutional doctrine under different names. Nemo tenetur seipsum accusare is now litigated primarily under the Fifth Amendment privilege against self-incrimination; researchers working on pre-twentieth-century materials will find the Latin maxim cited far more frequently than modern constitutional vocabulary. Similarly, nemo debet esse judex in propria causa is the classical formulation of what modern administrative law discusses as bias, impartiality, or due process.

Pay close attention to which specific NEMO maxim a historical source is invoking. Black's first and second editions provide partial glossaries but do not list all variants; Anderson's directs researchers to see other entries under operative words (DARE, JUDEX, TESTIS, etc.), which is the more useful navigation strategy for deep research. Rapalje & Lawrence does not appear to contain a substantive NEMO entry, and any apparent reference in that source likely reflects a typographical artifact or cross-reference to adjacent material on negotiable instruments.

Historical Dictionary Support

Black's first and second editions are in close agreement: both define NEMO as the Latin "no one; no man" and treat the entry primarily as a gateway to a partial catalogue of maxims. The first edition begins listing maxims and their translations; the second edition follows substantially the same structure with minor typographic variation. Neither edition is exhaustive — both appear to have been cut off mid-catalogue in available transcriptions, suggesting a longer original list.

Anderson's Dictionary of Law takes a different approach, providing a briefer headnote and directing readers to subentries organized under the operative Latin noun in each maxim (e.g., DARE for nemo dat, JUDEX for nemo debet judex). This cross-referencing structure is actually more useful for focused research because it connects the NEMO phrase directly to the substantive doctrine. Researchers using Anderson's should follow those cross-references rather than treating the NEMO entry as the primary locus.

Rapalje & Lawrence does not appear to contain relevant material on this term; the transcription associated with that source clearly pertains to NEGOTIABLE and related commercial law terms, indicating either a misfiled entry or a digitization artifact. Do not rely on Rapalje & Lawrence for NEMO research.

What the historical dictionaries collectively miss is the constitutional migration of these maxims. By the time Black's second edition was published, several NEMO principles had already begun their transformation into constitutional doctrine through American courts, but the dictionary entries do not reflect that transition.

Encyclopedia Cross-Reference

See Law Mind Encyclopedia: Nemo Dat Quod Non Habet; Privilege Against Self-Incrimination; Rule Against Bias (Judicial Impartiality); Double Jeopardy.

NEMOmain

Black's Law Dictionary • 1891

Lat. No one; no man. The initial word of many Latin phrases and maxims, among which are the following: Nemo admittendus est inhabilitare seipsum. Jenk. Cent. 40. No man is to be admitted to incapacitate himself. Nemo agit in seipsum. No man acts against himself. Jenk. Cent. p. 40, case 76. A man cannot be a judge and a party in his Id.; Broom, Max. 216n. own cause. Nemo alienæ rei, sine satisdatione, de- fensor idoneus intelligitur. No man is considered a competent defender of another's property, without security. A rule of the Roman law, applied in part in admiralty cases. 1 Curt. 202. Nemo alieno nomine lege agere potest. No one can sue in the name of another. Dig. 50, 17, 123. Nemo allegans suam turpitudinem est audiendus. No one alleging his own base- ness is to be heard. The courts of law have properly rejected this as a rule of evidence. 7 Term R. 601. Nemo bis punitur pro eodem delicto. No man is punished twice for the same of- fense. 4 Bl. Comm. 315; 2 Hawk. P. C. 377. Nemo cogitationis pœnam patitur. No one suffers punishment on account of his thoughts. Tray. Lat. Max. 362. suam Nemo cogitur rem vendere, etiam justo pretio. No man is compelled to sell his own property, even for a just price. 4 Inst. 275. Nemo contra factum suum venire po- test. No man can contravene or contradict his own deed. 2 Inst. 66. The principle of estoppel by deed. Best, Ev. p. 408, § 370. Nemo dare potest quod non habet. No man can give that which he has not. Fleta, lib. 3, c. 15, § 8. Nemo dat qui non habet. He who hath not cannot give. Jenk. Cent. 250; Broom, Max. 499n; 6 C. B. (N. S.) 478. Nemo de domo sua extrahi potest. No one can be dragged out of his own house. In other words, every man's house is his cas tle. Dig. 50, 17, 103. N NEMO DEBET, ETC.

NEMOmain

Black's Law Dictionary (2nd Ed.) • 1910

Lat. Noone; no man. The initial word of many Latin phrases and maxima, among which are the following: Nemo admittondus est inhabilitare seipsum. Jenk. Cent. 40. No man is to be admitted to incapacitate himself. Nemo agit in seipsum. No man acts against himself. Jenk. Cent. p. 40, case 76. A man cannot be a judge and a party in his own cause. Id.; Broom, Max. 216n. Nemo, aliens rei, sine satisdatione, defensor idoneus intelligitur. No man is considered a competent defender of another's property, without security. A rule of the Roman law, applied in part fn admiralty cases. 1 Curt. 202. Nemo alieno nomine lege agere potest. No one can sue in the name of another. Dig. 50, 17, 123. Nemo allegans suam turpitudinem est audiendus. No one alleging his own base ness is to be heard. The courts of law have

NEMOmain

Rapalje & Lawrence • 1883

(861) true sense. See DEBENTURE, & 1, note to p. reason for requiring him to exert the 350; EXCHEQUER BILLS; SCRIP. 38 Mich. 299. NEGOTIABLE, (defined). 19 Ind. 247, 250; (not synonymous with "payable"). 3 Cranch (U. S.) C. C. 698. NEGOTIABLE BONDS.-See MuNICIPAL BONDS; NEGOTIABLE, § 1. NEGOTIABLE NOTE, (in a statute). 9 Johns. (Ν. Υ.) 120; 19 Id. 144; 23 Wend. (N. Y.) 71. NEGOTIABLE NOTES, (what are not). 14 Pet. (U. S.) 293. NEGOTIABLE SECURITY, (in a statute). 2 Mass. 524. (862) Nemo alieno nomine lege agere potest (D. 50, 17,123): No one can sue in the name of another. Nemo allegans suam turpitudinem est audiendus: No one alleging his own baseness is to be heard. The courts of law have properly rejected this as a rule of evidence. 7 T. R. 601. (863) Nemo patriam in qua natus est exuere nec ligeantiæ debitum ejurare possit (Co. Litt. 129): No mat can disclaim the country in which he was born, nor abjure the bond of allegiance. Nemo plus commodi heredi suo relinquit quam ipse habuit (D. 50. 17, 120): No one leaves a greater benefit to his heir than he had himself. Nemo plus juris in alium transferre potest quam ipse habet: No one can confer a better right to another than he has himself. But sèe Miller v. Race, 1 Sm. Lead. Cas. 516. Nemo potest contra recordum verificare per patriam (2 Inst. 380): No one can verify by the country [i. e. by jury] against a record. Nemo potest esse simul actor et judex (Broom Max. (5 edit.) 117): No one can be at once suitor and judge. Nemo potest esse tenens et dominus (Gilb. Ten. 142): No one can be tenant and lord. Nemo potest facere per alium, quod per se non potest (Jenk. 237): No one can do through another what he cannot do through himself. Nemo potest facere per obliquum quod non potest facere per directum (1 Eden 512): No man can do that indirectly which he cannot do directly. Nemo potest mutare consilium suum in alterius injuriam (D. 50, 17, 75): No one can change his purpose to the injury of another. Nemo prohibetur pluribus defensionibus uti (Co. Litt. 304a): No one is prohibited from making use of several defenses. Nemo punitur pro alieno delicto (Wing. Max. 336): No one is punished for another's wrong. Nemo punitur sine injuria, facto, seu defalto (2 Inst. 287): No one is punished unless for some injury, deed, or default. Nemo sibi esse judex vel suis jus dicere debet (Broom Max. (5 edit.) 117): No one ought to be his own judge, or the tribunal in his own affairs. See Wildes v. Russell, L. R. 1 C. P. 722, 747. Nemo tenetur ad impossibile (Jenk. Cent. 7): No one is bound to an impossibility. Nemo tenetur armare adversarium contra se (Wing. Max. 665): No one is bound to arm his adversary against himself. Nemo tenetur divinare (3 Co. 28): No one is bound to foretell. Nemo tenetur edere instrumenta contra se: No man is bound to produce writings against himself. Nemo tenetur informare qui nescit, sed quisquis scire quod informat (Branch Pr.): No one is bound to give information about things he is ignorant of, but every one is bound to know that which he gives information about.. Nemo tenetur jurare in suam turpitudinem (Halk. 100): No one is bound to testify to his own baseness. Nemo tenetur prodere seipsum: No one is bound to betray himself. In other words, Nemo potest plus juris ad alium transferre quam ipse habet (Co. Litt. no one can be compelled to criminate himself. 309; Wing. Max. 56): No one can transfer a greater right to another than he himself has. Nemo præsumitur alienam posteritatem suæ prætulisse (Wing. Max. 285): No one is presumed to prefer the posterity of another to his own. Nemo præsumitur esse immemor suæ æternæ salutis, et maxime in articulo mortis (6 Co. 76): No one is presumed to be forgetful of his own eternal welfare, and particularly at the point of death. Nemot enetur seipsum accusare (Wing. Max. 486): No one is bound to accuse himself. Nemo tenetur seipsum infortuniis et periculis exponere: No one is bound to expose himself to misfortunes and dangers. Nemo unquam judicet in se: No one can ever be a judge in his own cause. If a cause come to be tried in which the judge or one of them have ever so little interest, as if one of the parties be a company in which he Nemo præsumitur malus: No one is has one share, he retires from the court, or presumed to be bad. Nemo præsumitur tudere in extremis: No one is presumed to trifle at the point of death. Nemo prohibetur plures negotiationes sive artes exercere (11 Co. 54): No one is restrained from exercising several businesses or arts. adjourns the cause, at all events he does not proceed without the consent of the parties. Nemo unquam vir magnus fuit, sine aliquo divino afflatu (Cic.): No one was ever a great man without some divine inspiration. Nemo videtur fraudare eos qui sciunt et consentiunt (D. 20, 17, 145):

nemoadj

Wiktionary (English) • 2026

Wiktionary contributors • CC BY-SA 4.0 • via Kaikki
Extracted and formatted for display by Law Mind. Source link opens the current Wiktionary page and its contributor history; it is not a frozen copy of this extract.

Acronym of not emanating from main office, i.e. broadcast from some remote location instead.

NEMOname

Wiktionary (English) • 2026

Acronym of northeastern Missouri.

NEMOnoun

Wiktionary (English) • 2026

Initialism of NF-kappa-B essential modulator.

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