prescription

prescription
/pri skrip"sheuhn/, n.
1. Med.
a. a direction, usually written, by the physician to the pharmacist for the preparation and use of a medicine or remedy.
b. the medicine prescribed: Take this prescription three times a day.
2. an act of prescribing.
3. that which is prescribed.
4. Law.
a. a long or immemorial use of some right with respect to a thing so as to give a right to continue such use.
b. the process of acquiring rights by uninterrupted assertion of the right over a long period of time.
adj.
5. (of drugs) sold only upon medical prescription; ethical. Cf. over-the-counter (def. 2).
[1250-1300; ME < ML praescription- (s. of praescriptio) legal possession (of property), law, order, lit., a writing before, hence, a heading on a document. See PRESCRIPT, -ION]

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In property law, the effect of the lapse of time in creating and destroying rights.

Acquisitive prescription allows an individual, after unequivocal possession for a specific period, to acquire an interest in real property, such as an easement, but not the property itself. See also adverse possession.

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      in both domestic and international law, the effect of the lapse of time in creating and destroying rights. Prescription is either acquisitive, in that an individual is allowed, after a specified period of time, to acquire title, or extinctive—i.e., barring for a period of time certain court actions (see limitation, statute of (limitations, statute of)).

      The concept of prescription goes back to the early Roman (Roman law) Empire, when a need arose for a system whereby provincial land, not held by civil title or acquired by usucapio (continuous possession over a period of two years), could still be “owned” after possession over a longer period of time, ranging from 10 to 20 years.

      Initially, long-term prescription merely gave the holder a defense against suit for the land. Later it became acquisitive, and all that was required was good faith and title (even if acquired from a nonowner). Prescription continued in the Frankish period, but its form was not settled. In France, in the 16th century, possession over a period of 10–20 years in good faith and with title conferred ownership; 30 years was necessary without either.

      These same rules continue in modern France, although with extinctive prescription there are many exceptions to the 30-year rule. In Germany, 10 years and good faith are required. In the United States, the term adverse possession (q.v.) is more common than prescription; even if the possessor has taken over land that he knows is not his, title will pass to him if he holds the land continuously for a period of 20 years.

      Modern justifications of prescription are based on several considerations: the desire to avoid the difficulties of proof, which long-continued delay in the assertion of rights occasions; and the argument that long-continued use permits the inference of ownership, since right and use usually go together.

       international law also has a concept of prescription; it recognizes a nation's claim as valid by reason of long-continued assertion and a government's authority as legitimate by reason of its continuation in power.

      The term prescription is also used in some philosophical writing to describe what legal philosophers call custom—that is, long-continued usage or habit as a source of law. Edmund Burke (Burke, Edmund) referred to prescription, or custom, as the basis of law in order to refute the claim of supporters of the French Revolution that the source of law is the present generation.

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Universalium. 2010.

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  • PRESCRIPTION — Aux termes du Code civil, «la prescription est un moyen d’acquérir ou de se libérer par un certain laps de temps, et sous les conditions déterminées par la loi» (art. 2219). Souvent critiquée, cette définition a tout au moins le mérite d’indiquer …   Encyclopédie Universelle

  • prescription — pre·scrip·tion /pri skrip shən/ n [partly from Middle French prescription establishment of a claim, from Late Latin praescription praescriptio, from Latin, act of writing at the beginning, order, from praescribere to write at the beginning,… …   Law dictionary

  • Prescription — • A method created by law for acquiring ownership or ridding oneself of certain burdens on the fulfilment of fixed conditions Catholic Encyclopedia. Kevin Knight. 2006. Prescription     Prescription …   Catholic encyclopedia

  • Prescription — has various meanings.In a health care context::*Medical prescription, written by a health care professional:*Eyeglass prescription, written by an ophthalmologist or an optometrist:*Property prescription, written by a landscape architect or other… …   Wikipedia

  • Prescription — Pre*scrip tion (pr[ e]*skr[i^]p sh[u^]n), n. [F. prescription, L. praescriptio, an inscription, preface, precept, demurrer, prescription (in sense 3), fr. praescribere. See {Prescribe}.] [1913 Webster] 1. The act of prescribing, directing, or… …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • prescription — Prescription. s. f. v. L s & le p. se prononcent. Droit qui s acquiert par certain temps limité par la loy. Prescription par dix ans entre presents, par vingt ans entre absents. prescription centenaire. acquerir prescription. alleguer… …   Dictionnaire de l'Académie française

  • prescription — Prescription, Vsus et authoritas. B. Exception de prescription de trente ou quarante ans, Praescriptio longissimi temporis. B. Prescription de cent ans, Praescriptio temporis memoriam excedentis, vel secularis. B. Interruption de prescription,… …   Thresor de la langue françoyse

  • prescription — UK US /prɪˈskrɪpʃən/ noun [C] ► a doctor s written instruction for the medicine that someone needs and for how it should be used: »These drugs are only available on prescription. »The doctor wrote him a prescription for two tablets, 100 mg each… …   Financial and business terms

  • prescription — [prē skrip′shən, priskrip′shən] n. [ME prescripcion < L praescriptio] 1. the act of prescribing 2. something prescribed; order; direction; prescript 3. a) a doctor s written direction for the preparation and use of medicine, the grinding of… …   English World dictionary

  • prescription — (n.) c.1400, in law, the right to something through long use, from O.Fr. prescription (13c.), from L. praescriptionem (nom. praescriptio) a writing before, order, direction, from praescriptus, pp. of praescribere write before, from prae before… …   Etymology dictionary

  • prescription — ► NOUN 1) an instruction written by a medical practitioner authorizing a patient to be issued with a medicine or treatment. 2) the action of prescribing. 3) an authoritative recommendation or ruling. 4) (also positive prescription) Law the… …   English terms dictionary

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