Legal Dictionary

puisne

Legal Definition of puisne

Adjective

  1. Junior or lower in rank, as opposed to the Chief Justice.

    Example: There are 8 puisne judges on the Supreme Court of Canada and a chief justice

Related terms


Definition of puisne

Pronunciation

  • IPA: /ˈpjuː.ni/

Etymology

    French puisné, now obsolete form of puîne, contraction of puis (“later”) + (“born”).

Adjective

puisne (not comparable)

  1. (law) Inferior in rank. A Puisne Justice of a court is a judge other than the Chief Justice.

Usage notes

  • The term is used almost exclusively in common law jurisdictions such as England, Australia, Canada, Sri Lanka, and formerly in Hong Kong. The equivalent term in the United States is Associate Justice.

References:

  1. Wiktionary. Published under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.



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