Search Result for "mala prohibita":

The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48:

Mala \Ma"la\, n. pl.; pl. of Malum. [L.] Evils; wrongs; offenses against right and law. [1913 Webster] Mala in se [L.] (Law), offenses which are such from their own nature, at common law, irrespective of statute. Mala prohibita [L.] (Law), offenses prohibited by statute, as distinguished from mala in se, which are offenses at common law. [1913 Webster]
Bouvier's Law Dictionary, Revised 6th Ed (1856):

MALA PROHIBITA. Those things which are prohibited by law, and therefore unlawful. 2. A distinction was formerly made in respect of contracts, between mala prohibita and mala in se; but that distinction has been exploded, and, it is now established that when the provisions of an act of the legislature have for their object the protection of the public, it makes no difference with respect to contracts, whether the thing be prohibited absolutely or under a penalty. 5 B. & A 5, 340; 10 B. & C. 98; 3 Stark. 61; 13 Pick. 518; 2 Bing. N. C. 636, 646.