Also known as: virtute cuius · by virtue of which
Written by attorneys · grounded in primary & secondary sources — see below
A Latin maxim used to introduce a clause that justifies an action or transfer by reference to a prior authority or right.
Select any source to read its text and confirm it supports the definition.
Federal Aviation executed a written document transferring its success fee entitlement to Bryce for project funding and delivered notice to Ridge Aviation. Bryce later claimed the right after Federal Aviation attempted to amend the underlying contract. The assignment document recited the prior contract rights by virtue whereof Bryce acquired the sole claim to any resulting performance.
UOP directors approved a cash-out merger with Signal after receiving a fairness opinion prepared solely for the acquirer. Minority shareholders challenged the transaction for inadequate disclosure of the opinion's contents. The court held the directors' disclosure duty arose by virtue whereof the merger could not proceed without full information to the minority.
Veterans applied for a property tax exemption but refused to sign a loyalty oath required by state statute. The state denied the exemption on that basis alone. The Court ruled the state could not shift the burden of proving eligibility by virtue whereof the denial violated due process.
California prosecuted a driver for bringing an unemployed relative into the state. The statute imposed criminal penalties on anyone who knowingly transported an indigent person across state lines. The Court invalidated the law by virtue whereof the right to travel freely among the states could not be burdened by such penalties.
Federal candidates challenged statutory caps on independent expenditures made to support their campaigns. The limits applied regardless of whether the spending was coordinated with the candidate. The Court struck the caps by virtue whereof candidates retained the ability to receive unlimited independent support consistent with the First Amendment.
A borough ordinance prohibited all live entertainment, including coin-operated adult films and nude dancing, within its commercial zone. Business owners operating such devices challenged the total ban. The Court applied heightened scrutiny by virtue whereof the ordinance could not stand without narrow tailoring to a substantial government interest.
The phrase introduces the legal effect that follows from a valid manifestation of intent to transfer. Once the assignor expresses that intent, the phrase signals that the assignor's rights are extinguished and the assignee steps into those rights.
No. Modern authorities continue to employ the phrase when describing the operative legal consequence that flows from a prior act or instrument, such as the extinguishment of rights upon assignment.
A prior valid act or instrument must exist that supplies the authority or right being relied upon. The phrase then links that authority directly to the resulting legal effect.
…postulate of the legal order. The policy of protecting contracts against impairment presupposes the maintenance of a government by virtue of which contractual relations are worth while, — a government which retains adequate authority to secure the peace and good order of society. This principle of harmonizing the constitutional…