Coloured

Concept of “Color,colour “

Traditional meaning of coloured in the French law history (with some legal use in England and the United States in the XIX Century) [1]: (in French) Apparent or prima facie right. To give colour: to confess sufficiently the truth of the declaration for the purposes of a plea in confession and avoidance; not to deny. To give express colour: to allege in the plea some fictitious fact which enables the defendant to set up his defence by confession and avoidance. It gives the plaintiff an apparent right, and so does away with the necessity of pleading by traverse. Colour of office: the false pretence of authority or official duty. Colore officii: under color of office.

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Notes and References

1. Based on A Concise Law Dictionary of Words, Phrases and Maxims, “Coloured”, Boston: Little, Brown, and Company, 1911, United States. It is also called the Stimson’s Law dictionary. This term and/or definition may be absolete.

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