Scottish National Dictionary (1700–)
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First published 1952 (SND Vol. III).
This entry has not been updated since then but may contain minor corrections and revisions.
DOMINUS LITIS, n.phr. Sc. law: “the person really though not nominally behind legal proceedings, liable to be mulcted in expenses” (Sc. 1946 A. D. Gibb Legal Terms 30).Sc. 1853 Session Cases (1853–54) 23:
When you find a party with a direct interest in the subject matter of the litigation, and through that interest master of the litigation itself, having the control and direction of the suit, with power to retard it or push it on, or put an end to it altogether, then you have a proper character of dominus litis.
