Definition
RIAM is not a recognized standalone legal term. The source dictionary entries collected under this heading are unrelated Latin and Law Latin phrases that appear to have been catalogued together in error or as an artifact of indexing. Each entry represents a distinct legal maxim or procedural formula:
1. Secundum subjectam materiam ("according to the subject matter"): A canon of construction holding that agreements and legal instruments must be interpreted in light of their subject matter when the language permits such a reading. Applied in contract interpretation, it directs courts to give effect to the evident purpose of the parties as revealed by the nature of the transaction.
2. In perpetuum rei memoriam ("in perpetual memory of a thing"): A Latin formula historically associated with formal instruments, depositions, or records intended to preserve evidence or facts for permanent record.
3. "And of this he puts himself upon the country": The concluding formula of a common-law plea in bar by way of traverse, by which a defendant formally submitted a question of fact to jury determination. The phrase signals that the pleader has denied a material allegation and demands trial by jury. Its literal Latin antecedent is carried forward in modernized common-law pleading forms.
Common Confusion
Do not conflate secundum subjectam materiam with the broader principle of purposive interpretation or with the parole evidence rule. The maxim is specifically a construction aid operating on the face of an instrument when the language is capable of bearing more than one reading — it does not license resort to extrinsic evidence. Similarly, "puts himself upon the country" belongs to the formal grammar of common-law pleading and should not be confused with a substantive waiver doctrine or a modern jury demand under procedural codes.
Why It Matters in Research
Researchers encountering "RIAM" as a headword or index entry in historical legal dictionaries should treat it as a probable cataloguing artifact rather than a term of art. The three substantively different entries gathered here — a hermeneutical maxim, a formal notarial phrase, and a pleading formula — share no conceptual relationship. Each should be researched independently under its proper Latin heading.
For the canon secundum subjectam materiam, researchers working in contract law or early equity sources will find it cited to Blackstone's Commentaries (Book I, p. 229) and to Kent's Commentaries on American Law. These are the controlling citations in Burrill and Black alike; the maxim is well-settled and consistently stated across sources.
For in perpetuum rei memoriam, the phrase appears primarily in notarial and evidentiary contexts in civil law and ecclesiastical practice. Rapalje & Lawrence's terse entry reflects limited common-law application; researchers in civil law or Scots law sources will find it more developed.
For the pleading formula "puts himself upon the country," the second edition of Black's confirms that the literal Latin translation is retained in modernized pleading forms, making this a useful bridge term when reading between classical and reformed common-law procedure. The formula is directly connected to the mechanics of general traverse and the right to jury trial in pleading practice.
Historical Dictionary Support
The four source dictionaries do not agree on what "RIAM" means because they are not, in fact, defining the same thing. Black's (1st ed.) and Burrill give identical content on secundum subjectam materiam, both citing Blackstone and the same unreported argument at 2 Modern Reports 80. Burrill adds Kent's Commentaries for the delivery application of the maxim — a useful extension into American commercial law. Rapalje & Lawrence supply only the in perpetuum phrase without commentary. Black's (2nd ed.) gives the pleading conclusion without cross-referencing the others.
No source acknowledges that these entries are substantively unrelated. Historical legal dictionaries organized by initial letter or syllable occasionally clustered unrelated terms under compressed headings; this entry is likely a product of that practice. Researchers should not infer doctrinal connection from their proximity on the shelf.