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{{Short description|Latin phrase with international legal significance}}
{{wiktionary}}
{{more citations needed|date=April 2021}}
'''''Lex lata''''' (also called '''''de lege lata''''') is a [[Latin]] expression used in matters of international law. Its most common translation is "the law as it exists," but it is sometimes seen as "the law that has been borne,"<ref>{{Cite web |title=lex lata |url=https://www.oxfordreference.com/view/10.1093/oi/authority.20110803100103408 |access-date=2022-09-19 |website=Oxford Reference |language=en }}</ref> or "ratified law."<ref>{{Cite book |last=Fellmeth |first=Aaron Xavier |url=https://www.worldcat.org/oclc/656286394 |title=Guide to Latin in international law |date=2009 |publisher=Oxford University Press |others=Maurice Horwitz |isbn=978-0-19-970889-5 |location=Oxford |oclc=656286394}}</ref>
When used in legal proceedings, ''lex lata'' refers to the law that is presently enforced. This rules out any previous laws or laws that have not been passed, and prevents the use of hypothetical arguments from any interpreters of the term.
'''''Lex lata''''' can be compared to '''''lus conditum''''' ("established law"),<ref>{{Cite book |last=Fellmeth |first=Aaron Xavier |url=https://www.worldcat.org/oclc/1243019158 |title=Guide to Latin in international law |date=2021 |others=Maurice Horwitz |isbn=978-0-19-758313-5 |edition=Second |location=New York, NY |oclc=1243019158}}</ref> and its opposite is ''[[lex ferenda]],'' which translates to "future law" or "what the law ought to be."<ref>{{Cite web |title=lex ferenda |url=https://www.oxfordreference.com/view/10.1093/oi/authority.20110803100103322 |access-date=2022-09-17 |website=Oxford Reference |language=en }}</ref>
== Etymology ==
''"Lēx"'' is Latin for "law, and ''"lata''" is derived from the word "''lātus,"'' which means "broad" or "wide."<ref>{{Cite book |last=Morwood |first=James |title=Pocket Oxford Latin Dictionary |publisher=Oxford University Press |year=2005 |isbn=9780198610052 |edition=Third Rev. |location=New York}}</ref>
==References==
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==See also==
*[[List of Latin phrases]]
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[[Category:Latin legal terminology]]
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