Also known as: provisos · provided that · condition
Written by attorneys · grounded in primary & secondary sources — see below
2 senses
A limitation, condition, or stipulation upon whose compliance a legal or formal document's validity or application may depend.
A provision that begins with the words provided that and supplies a condition, exception, or addition.
Each sense below has its own examples, sources, and questions.
A limitation, condition, or stipulation upon whose compliance a legal or formal document's validity or application may depend.
Select any source to read its text and confirm it supports the definition.
A provision that begins with the words provided that and supplies a condition, exception, or addition.
Select any source to read its text and confirm it supports the definition.
Patricia Patel faced charges after committing an offense during a psychotic episode. The court examined whether her mental disease caused the act. Because the evidence showed she would not have acted but for the condition, the proviso in the governing rule required acquittal.
Preston Pratt, a state official, enforced a literacy test that disproportionately barred citizens based on race. The proviso in the constitutional text prohibited any denial of the vote on account of race. The court invalidated the test as violating the limitation.
Pilar Pena offered expert testimony that the defendant lacked the required mental state for the charged offense. The proviso in the evidence rule forbade such an opinion. The court excluded the testimony and left the issue for the jury alone.
Patrick Phan, an attorney, suffered a debilitating illness that prevented effective client advocacy. The proviso in the professional conduct rule required withdrawal when the condition materially impaired representation. The lawyer terminated the relationship to comply.
Philip Powell entered an agreement while severely intoxicated. The other party knew of the impairment. The proviso in the contract rule rendered the duties voidable because Powell could not act reasonably and the condition was known.
Pierre Poulin leased property that became unsuitable due to a sudden defect. The proviso in the property rule permitted the tenant to use rent to correct the condition. The landlord's failure to repair triggered the tenant's remedy.
A proviso functions as a limitation or condition that can determine whether a document remains valid or applicable. It often introduces an exception or qualification rather than creating an independent obligation.
Supporting sources
Yes. A proviso in such text supplies a condition or exception that limits the operation of the main provision, such as a restriction on when a right may be denied.
Provisos create long, grammatically awkward sentences that can introduce ambiguity about whether they state a condition, exception, or new substantive rule. Clear separate sentences avoid these problems.
Supporting sources
…he demands? His right originates in an act of Congress passed in February 1801 concerning the District of Columbia which provided that there shall be appointed in and for each county such number of discreet persons to be justices of the peace as the President shall think expedient, to continue in office for five years. It…