H Legal definitions for terms and concepts beginning with H Hospital A health care facility which offers medical treatment including, as may be necessary, board and lodging and necessary incidents such as nursing care or use of technical equipment. Hostile Witness A party's witness who demonstrates such adversity to answering questions that the trial judge allows leading questions to be put to that witness. Hostile Work Environment A pattern of ongoing and persistent harassment severe enough to alter the conditions of employment. Hostis Humani Generis Latin: the enemy of mankind. Hotchpot The mixing of property for the purposing of effecting a proportionate division. House Arrest The judicial obligation upon an individual that she/he be forbidden to leave his or her place of residence except for limited, specified circumstances. Hudud Muslim law: divine punishments; the category of crimes most egregious and therefore most severely punished. Hue and Cry A community fugitive-containment strategy of medieval England where a yell went up denouncing a crime, and all within earshot took up the chase. Human Dignity An individual or group's sense of self-respect and self-worth, physical and psychological integrity and empowerment. Humanitarian and Compassionate Grounds A criteria of immigration law; an unusual, undeserved or disproportionate hardship caused to a person seeking consideration. Humanitarian Doctrine A principle of tort law which requires an individual to take every action at hand to avoid an accident where peril to another human being is otherwise imminent. Human Remains The body of a deceased person, in whole or in parts, regardless of its stage of decomposition. Human Right An individual's statutory right to equal treatment and free from discrimination prohibited by statute and which, generally, provides a civil remedy to provide compensation or to punish such discrimination when it is reported. Human Trafficking The transportation or commercial exchange of an individual by coercion or deception for the purpose of exploitation. Hung Jury A jury which is unable to arrive at a required unanimous or near unanimous verdict. Husband-Wife Privilege A special right that married persons have to keep communications between them secret and even inaccessible to a court of law. Hybrid Offence A criminal offence for which the prosecutor has the option of charging as an offence punishable by summary conviction or as an indictable offence. Hypothec A charge on property upon which an unpaid creditor may enforce payment of the debt. Page1 (Ha - Ho) | Page2 (Ho - Hy) Find you are constantly looking up definitions? Try our search provider (works in most modern browsers) If you find an error or omission in Duhaime's Legal Dictionary, or if you have legal term suggestion, we'd love to hear from you!