The Law Dictionary

Your Free Online Legal Dictionary • Featuring Black’s Law Dictionary, 2nd Ed.

RESPITE Definition & Legal Meaning

Definition & Citations:

The temporary suspension of the execution of a sentence; a reprieve; a delay, forbearance, or continuation of time. 4 Rl. Comm. 394; Mishler v. Com., 02 Pa. 55, 1 Am. Rep. 377. Continuance. In English practice, a jury is said, on the record, to be “respited” until the next term. 3 Rl. Comm. 354. In the civil law. A respite is an act by which a debtor, who is unable to satisfy his debts at the moment, transacts (compromises) with his creditors, and obtains from them time or delay for the payment of the sums which it owes to them. The respite is either voluntary or forced. It is voluntary when all the creditors consent to the proposal, which the debtor makes, to pay in a limited time the whole or a part of the debt It is forced when a part of the creditors refuse to accept the debtor’s proposal, and when the latter is obliged to compel them by judicial authority to consent to what the others have determined, in the cases directed by law. Civ. Code La. arts. 3084, 30S5.

Disclaimer

This article contains general legal information but does not constitute professional legal advice for your particular situation. The Law Dictionary is not a law firm, and this page does not create an attorney-client or legal adviser relationship. If you have specific questions, please consult a qualified attorney licensed in your jurisdiction.