Receptio

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. A process in Roman law where a party accepts a previously invalid or contested situation as valid or effective
2. An acceptance act in legal terms that allows for recognition of prior agreements or statuses that were initially not valid
3. A legal mechanism used in certain jurisdictions to validate past actions or agreements that were not formally accepted at the time

Etymology: "Receptio" is a Latin noun meaning "a receiving" or "reception," formed from "recipere," "to take back" or "receive," which combines "re-" (back) with "capere" (to take). Its legal sense is the more interesting one. In Roman law, a "receptio" was the taking up of a case or an obligation, and the term was used in medieval and early modern legal writing for what is often called a "reception" of Roman law: the adoption of Roman legal principles into the law of Continental European states, especially Germany from around the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries. The meaning given here, later legal validation, is a more specialised use. It describes a situation where an act that was defective or unauthorised when performed becomes valid later, through a subsequent act of approval or ratification. The idea is ancient, and it is the same logic that lets a principal ratify an agent's unauthorised contract after the fact.

Synonyms: reception, acceptance, welcome, admission, approval

Antonyms: rejection, refusal, denial, dismissal