Principal in the United States

Principal Definition

Leading; chief; more important. This word has several meanings. It is used in opposition to accessary, to show the degree of crime committed by two persons. In estates, principal is used as opposed to incident or accessory, to denote the more important subject to which others are appurtenant or ancillary, as in the rule: The incident shall pass by the grant of the principal, but not the principal by the grant of the incident, accessorium non ducit, sed sequitur suum principale. Co. Litt. 152a. It is used in opposition to agent, and in this sense it signifies that the principal is the prime mover. It is used in opposition to interest; as, the principal being secured, the interest will follow. It is used also in opposition to surety, to denote the person for whom the surety is bound.

Thus, we say, the principal is answerable before the surety. Principal is used also to denote the more important; as, the principal person. In the English law, the chief person in some of the inns of chancery is called principal of the house. Principal is also used to designate the best of many things; as, the principal bed, the principal table, and the like. In Contracts’. One who, being competent sui juris to do any act for his own benefit or on his own account, confides it to another person to do for him. 1 Domat, bk. 1, tit. 15, Introd.; Story, Ag. § 3. In Criminal Law. Principals in crime are either in the first or second degree. A principal in the first degree is the one who actually commits the crime, either by his own hand, or by an inanimate agency U Bl. Comm. 34; 2 Sumn. [U. S.] 482), or by an innocent human agent (1 N. Y. 173; 1 Mass. 136). A principal in the second degree is one who, being present at the commission of a crime by another, aids and abets him therein.

There must be a guilty principal in the first degree. The principal in the second must be present, but constructive presence, as by keeping watch at a distance, is sufficient (83 N. Y. 408; 13 Nev. 386), and the principal in the second degree must in some manner assist or abet the principal offender; mere presence and acquiescence not being enough (81 111. 333; 45 Cal. 293). See Aiding and Abetting; Presence. The distinction between principals and accessaries is not recognized in treason or in misdemeanors. [1]

For other meanings of it, read Principal in the Legal Dictionary here.

One who employs an agent or a servant. See master and servant, agency, agent.

Principal in Foreign Legal Encyclopedias

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Practical Information

• A sum loaned, borrowed, or invested; the sum of money on which interest is paid.
• One who authorizes another, called an agent or broker, to act on one’s behalf in dealings with third persons. A principal may be an individual, a partnership, or a corporation (in U.S. law) acting through its authorized officers.
• When transactions are being handled by an agent for a principal, the principal is disclosed if the party has notice of the principal’s existence and identity; the principal is partially disclosed if the party has notice only of the principal’s existence; the principal is undisclosed if the party is not aware of the principal’s existence or identity

(Revised by Ann De Vries)

Principal in Mortgage Law

In the field of mortgage refinancing, a concept of Principal may be the following: The amount of money borrowed or the amount still owed on a loan.

Principal, Interest, Taxes, And Insurance in the context of Real Estate

Resurces

Notes

This definition of Principal Is based on the The Cyclopedic Law Dictionary .

See Also

• PITI