Definition
Latin: "as long as he shall behave himself well." A tenure clause securing an office or appointment to the holder for the duration of good behavior, rather than at the pleasure of the appointing authority. When this phrase appears in a commission, letters patent, or other instrument of office, it means the holder cannot be removed arbitrarily — removal requires demonstrated misconduct or abuse of the office. The clause operates as a form of conditional security of tenure: the appointment endures indefinitely unless the holder forfeits it through bad behavior.
Historically rendered in variant Latin forms, most commonly quamdiu bene se gesserint (plural) or quamdiu se bene gesserit (singular). Both forms carry the same legal effect. The phrase contrasts directly with durante bene placito — "during the pleasure of the grantor" — which signals the opposite: tenure at will, revocable without cause at the appointing authority's discretion.
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Common Confusion
QUAMDIU SE BENE GESSERIT vs. DURANTE BENE PLACITO: These two clauses are antonyms, not synonyms, but researchers encountering them in older instruments sometimes treat them interchangeably. Durante bene placito means tenure at will — the grantor may revoke at any time. Quamdiu se bene gesserit means tenure for good behavior — revocation requires cause. The difference is constitutionally and practically significant, particularly for judicial offices, where the shift from one formula to the other marks the transition from dependent to independent tenure.
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Why It Matters in Research
The phrase is one of the most important tenure formulas in Anglo-American constitutional history, and researchers will encounter it across several distinct contexts.
**Judicial independence.** The most significant application is to judicial tenure. Prior to the Act of Settlement (13 Will. III, c. 2, 1701), English judges held their commissions durante bene placito — at royal pleasure, making them removable without cause. The Act of Settlement converted superior court judicial commissions to quamdiu bene se gesserint tenure, a structural change that became foundational to the doctrine of judicial independence. Any research into the development of judicial independence, separation of powers, or tenure protections for judges will require understanding this phrase and its contrast with the pleasure clause.
**American constitutional context.** Article III of the U.S. Constitution provides that federal judges "shall hold their Offices during good Behaviour" — a direct functional equivalent of the quamdiu se bene gesserit formula, though not using the Latin. Researchers connecting English common law tenure doctrine to American constitutional design will find this phrase at the conceptual bridge.
**Letters patent and other offices.** Beyond judicial appointments, the clause appeared in commissions for a range of offices. In colonial and early American instruments, it may appear in grants of administrative or quasi-judicial positions. Researchers working with original land grants, colonial charters, or early government commissions should read tenure language carefully — the presence or absence of this clause signals whether the holder had security of tenure or served at will.
**Variant forms in sources.** Historical sources use multiple Latin orderings: quamdiu se bene gesserit, quamdiu bene se gesserint, quamdiu se bene gesserint. These are not materially different, but researchers searching digital corpora or indexes should use truncated or wildcard searches to capture all variants. Bouvier's entry notes the formula as it appeared specifically when commissions were written in Latin, signaling the era of its peak usage and the point at which it begins to disappear from instruments as English superseded Latin in legal drafting.
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Historical Dictionary Support
The four source dictionaries are in agreement on core meaning. All define the phrase as "as long as he shall behave himself well" or an equivalent, and all identify it as a tenure clause used in commissions and grants of office. There is no meaningful divergence on the translation or basic legal effect.
Burrill provides the most historically useful context, citing Blackstone's Commentaries (1 Bl. Com. 267) and the Act of Settlement by specific chapter, and explicitly identifying the phrase as the standard for judicial commissions after the displacement of the durante bene placito formula. This is the most substantive entry among the four.
Black's (both editions) and Bouvier's are briefer, correctly defining the term and noting the contrast with durante bene placito, but without elaborating the constitutional significance or citing the enabling statute. Bouvier's entry is notable for contextualizing the phrase within the specific practice of Latin-language commissions, which helps date the period of its active use.
None of the four source dictionaries addresses the American constitutional reception of the formula, the Article III parallel, or the broader significance of the 1701 statutory change to judicial independence doctrine. Researchers should not treat these entries as sufficient for constitutional history purposes — they are starting points, not complete analyses.
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Jurisdictional Note
The phrase and its legal effect originate in English law and were carried into American colonial and early federal practice. In the United States, the good behavior tenure standard is most significant at the federal level under Article III. State court judges vary widely — many serve fixed terms or face retention elections rather than holding office during good behavior in the constitutional sense.
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Encyclopedia Cross-Reference
See Law Mind Encyclopedia: Judicial Independence; Tenure of Office; Durante Bene Placito; Act of Settlement (1701)
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