Q

QBD See QUEEN'S BENCH DIVISION.

QC See QUEEN'S COUNSEL.

qualified acceptance An *acceptance of a bill of exchange that varies the effect
of the bill as drawn; for example, either by making payment by the acceptor
dependent on fulfilling a condition or by accepting to pay part only of the amount
for which the bill is drawn (a partial acceptance). A qualified acceptance is
distinguished from a general acceptance, which assents without qualification to
the order of the drawer. The holder of a bill may refuse to take a qualified
acceptance; if he does not obtain an unqualified acceptance he may treat the bill as
dishonoured by nonacceptance. If a qualified acceptance is taken (subject to an
exception as to partial acceptances) and the drawer or an endorser has not
authorized the holder to take a qualified acceptance or does not subsequently assent
to it, such drawer or endorser is discharged from his liability on the bill.

qualified privilege The defence that a statement cannot be made the subject of
an action for *defamation because it was made on a privileged occasion and was not
made maliciously, for an improper motive. Qualified privilege covers statements
made fairly in situations in which there is a legal or moral obligation to give the
information and the person to whom it is given has a corresponding duty or
interest to receive it and when someone is acting in defence of his own property or
reputation. Qualified privilege also covers fair and accurate reports of public
meetings and various other public proceedings. The privilege attaching to
professional communications between solicitor and client is probably qualified,
rather than absolute. Compare ABSOLUTE PRIVILEGE.

qualified right A right set out in the European Convention on Human Rights
that will only be violated if the interference with it is not proportionate (see
PROPORTIONALITY). An interference with a qualified right that is not proportionate to
the *legitimate aim being pursued will not be lawful. Compare ABSOLUTE RIGHT.

qualified title Ownership of a legal estate in registered land subject to some
exception or qualification specified in the register. If, for example, X applies to
register his title to land and there is some possibility that part of it may already
have been sold to another person, X's title may be registered subject to the rights of
anyone having a better title to that part. The state's guarantee of good title does not
protect the proprietor in respect of the specified qualification. Compare ABSOLUTE
TITLE.

qualifying child For the purposes of the Child Support Act 1991 (see CHILD SUPPORT
MAINTENANCE), a child who is under the age of 16, or under the age of 19 and
receiving full-time education, and who has not been married. This definition applies
only to "natural" children (i.e. children of both parties) or adopted children; it does
not include stepchildren. See also CHILD OF THE FAMILY.

qualifying distribution Formerly, a distribution of profits pya company on
which *advance corporation tax had to be paid (see also IMPUTATION SYSTEM).
Redeemable securities issued as a bonus were not treated as qualifying distribution.

quango n. quasi-autonomous non-governmental organization: a body appointed
wholly or partly by the government (but not constituting a department of
government) to perform some public function, normally administrative or advisory
and frequently involving the distribution of public moneys. Examples are the
Competition Commission and the Student Loans Company.

quantum n. (of damages) The amount of money awarded by way of damages.

quantum meruit See QUASI-CONTRACT.

quantum valebat [Latin: as much as it was worth] An action to claim the value of
goods that were sold without any price having been fixed, when there was an
implied promise to pay as much as they were worth.

quarantine n. A period of isolation of people or animals that have been in contact
with a communicable disease. The period was originally 40 days (hence the name,
which is derived from the Italian quarantina), but is now approximately the
incubation period of the suspected disease. Quarantine is imposed, for example, by
public health regulations relating to ships and aircraft or by orders made under the
Animal Health Act 1981.

quarter days 25 March (Lady Day), 24 June (Midsummer Day),29 September
(Michaelmas Day),and 25 December (ChristmasDay).Rents are sometimes made
payable on these days.

quarter sessions Originally, a *court of record with quarterly meetings of the
*justices of the peace for a county. City and borough quarter sessions were presided
over by the recorder sitting alone. In modern times quarter sessions became a court
for the trial of offences triable on indictment, other than those that had to be tried
at *assizes. Quarter sessions were abolished by the Courts Act 1971 and their
jurisdiction is now exercised by the *Crown Court.

quash vb. To invalidate a conviction made in an inferior court or to set aside a
decision subject to judicial review. See also QUASHING ORDER.

quashing order A discretionary remedy, obtained by an application for *judicial
review, in which the High Court orders decisions of inferior courts, tribunals, and
administrative authorities to be brought before it and quashes them if they are
*ultra vires or show an *error on the face of the record. The claimant must apply
for it within three months. As it is discretionary, a quashing order may be refused if
alternative remedies exist. Originally called certiorari, it was renamed in 1999under
Part 54.1(2)(d) of the Civil Procedure Rules.

quasi-contract n. A field of law covering cases in which one person has been
unduly enriched at the expense of another and is under an obligation quasi ex
contractu (as if from a contract) to make restitution to him. In many cases of quasicontract,
the defendant has received the benefit from the claimant himself. The
claimant may have paid money to him under a mistake of fact, or under a void
contract, or may have supplied services under the mistaken belief that he was
contractually bound to do so. In that case, he is entitled to be paid a reasonable sum
and is said to sue on a quantum meruit (as much as he deserved). Alternatively, the
claimant may have been required to pay to a third party money for which the
defendant was primarily liable. The defendant's receipt of the benefit need not
necessarily, however, have been from the claimant. It is enough that it was at the
latter's expense, and he may therefore be liable in quasi-contract for money paid to
him by a third party on account of the claimant.

quasi-easement n. A right in the nature of an *easement enjoyed over a plot of
land for the benefit of another plot owned by the same person: it would be an
easement if the two plots of land were owned and occupied by different persons. If
the second plot (the quasi-dominant tenement) is sold, the purchaser will acquire a
full easement under the Law of Property Act 1925 provided the two parcels were
occupied by different persons immediately before the sale. For example A, the
owner of Blackacre and Whiteacre, lets Whiteacre to B,who uses a track across
Blackacre. If A then sells the freehold estate in Whiteacre to B,B acquires an
easement of way over the track. If the plots are not separately occupied an easement
may still arise in favour of the purchaser of the quasi-dominant tenement if the
easement claimed is permanent in nature, identifiable from inspection of the land,
and used by the grantor (vendor) at the time of the conveyance for the benefit of
the quasi-dominant tenement.

quasi-entail n. An equitable interest in land that is in the nature of an *entailed
interest but subsists only during the life of a specified person. For example, if a life
tenant A settles his life interest on Band the heirs of his body with remainder to C,
B acquires a quasi-entail. The interests of B, his issue, and C all cease on A's death.

quasi-judicial ad}. Describing a function that resembles the judicial function in
that it involves deciding a dispute and ascertaining the facts and any relevant law,
but differs in that it depends ultimately on the exercise of an executive discretion
rather than the application of law.

queen n. 1. The sovereign if female (see CROWN). 2. The wife of the sovereign
(queen consort). 3. The widow of a sovereign (queen dowager).
Queen n. By the Royal Titles Act 1953, "Elizabeth II by the Grace of God of the
United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland and of Her other Realms and
Territories Queen, Head of the Commonwealth, Defender of the Faith". The Act
empowers Her Majesty to adopt by proclamation such other style and titles as she
may think fit. See also CROWN.

Queen's Bench Division (QBD) The division of the *High Court of Justice whose
principal business is the trial of civil actions based upon contract or tort. It also has
important appellate functions in relation to appeals from *magistrates' courts and
certain tribunals and exercises supervisory jurisdiction over all inferior courts. The
*Admiralty Court and *Commercial Court are part of the QBD.

Queen's Bench Masters See MASTERS OF THE SUPREME COURT.

Queen's Counsel (QC) A senior *barrister of at least ten years' practice who has
received a patent as "one of Her Majesty's counsel learned in the law". QCs are
appointed on the recommendation of the Lord Chancellor and a list of new
appointees is published annually on Maundy Thursday. In court they sit within the
bar and wear silk gowns (hence they are also known informally as silks). If the
monarch is a king these barristers are known as King's Counsel(Ke).

Queen's evidence Evidence given on behalf of the prosecution by an accused
person who has confessed his own guilt and who then acts as a witness against his
accomplices. Such evidence is generally considered less reliable than other evidence
because the witness is likely to minimize his own role and exaggerate that of his
accomplices. If it is not corroborated, the judge must warn the jury of the danger of
convicting on the basis of this evidence alone. See also CORROBORATION.

Queen's Proctor A solicitor who, under the direction of the Attorney General,
g~ves legal advice. to the courts on difficult or disputed legal problems involving
divorce and who mterv~nes, generally to prevent a divorce from being made
absolute, in cases in which not all the material facts were before the court earlier.
The office of Queen's Proctor is held by the *Treasury Solicitor.

Queen's Regulations See SERVICE LAW.

Queen's Speech (Speechfrom the Throne) A speech prepared by the
government ~nd read by t.he Queen to Parliament (assembled in the House of Lords)
at ~he beginning of a parliamentary session. lt outlines the government's principal
legislative and policy proposals for the session.

questioning of suspects See INTERROGATION; RIGHT OF SILENCE.
quia emptores .rL~tin: whereas purchasers (the first words of the preamble)] A
stat:-rte of 12~0 (still m force today) that forbids the creation of any new tenures (i.e.
sublnfeudattcn) other than by the Crown. Owners of land wishing to transfer the
property ~ay 0r:l~ do so by selling it, not by creating a new lord-tenant
relationship. ThIS IS the basis of the modern system of conveying estates. The
leasehold (or landlord a~d tenant). relationship fell outside the feudal system of
tenures (only one of which effectively now remains, namely the freehold tenure of
socage) and so can still be freely created as outside the scope of the statute. See
FEUDAL SYSTEM.

quia ti~et [Lati~:.because he fears] A type of *injunction that is sought in order
to restram an anticipated wrong',The .court will only grant such a remedy if the
~P?llc<lfolt can show that there IS imrmnent danger of a substantial kind or that the
injury, If It occurs, will be irreparable.

quicquid plantatur solo, solo cedit See FIXTURE.

~uiet enjoyment One of the obligations of a landlord, which is implied in every
lease unless specifically excluded. lt entitles the tenant to possess and enjoy the
land he leases without interference from the landlord or anyone claiming rights
through the landlord.

quiet possession Freedom from disturbance in the enjoyment of property. In
contracts for the sale of goods, unless the seller makes it clear that he is contracting
:0 transfer only the title tha.t he or a t~ird person has, there is an implied
warranty that t~e buyer WIll enJOY quiet possession of the goods. This warranty is
broken not only If the seller and those claiming through him interfere with the
b;ryer's quiet possession but also if the interference is by a third party claiming by
virtue of a better tltl.e to the goods. The corresponding covenant upon the sale of
land extends only to mterferences by the seller and those claiming through him.

quit rent See RENTCHARGE.

quittance n. A document that acknowledges payment of a debt.

quorum n. 1. The minimum number of people who must be present at a meeting
in OJ~derfor busmess. to. be transacted. The required number is usually laid down in
the articles of association, constitution, or rules of the company or other body
concerned. See also GENERAL MEETING. 2. Formerly, an indication in a Commission of
the Peace of the particular justices (called justices of the quorum) required, at least
one of whom had to be present in order for business to be done.

quota ti. A limited quantity or number of goods or other items that are permitted
by a state or body to be imported, exported, or manufactured. For example, in the
fishing industry the EU sets national quotas for fishing catches (see COMMON FISHERIES
POLIcY). In the practice of "quota hopping", British vessels are bought ~y nationals of
other EU states (especially Spain and the Netherlands) in order to ~ualify as UKbased
and therefore acquire the catch quotas allocated to the UKm respect of those
vessels. Attempts by the UK to prevent this practice have been held as unlawful by
the European Court of Justice (see FISHERY LIMITS).

quotation n. A listing of a share price on the *Stock Exchang:. A price may be
obtained by accessing the Stock Exchange Automated Quotations System (~EAQ).
A quotation can be cancelled or suspended if the con:pany does not comply with the
Rules of the Stock Exchange or if it becomes impossible to rely on market forces to
arrive at a price for the securities (e.g. because of inaccurate accounts or
manipulation of the market).