Mandatory
Dictionary of Terms and Phrases Used in American or English Jurisprudence · Benjamin Vaughan Abbott · 1879
Dictionary of Terms and Phrases Used in American or English Jurisprudence
The principal technical use of this word is in distinguishing statutes which must be obeyed according to the substantial import of their terms under sanction of having the act or proceeding adjudged void, from those which ought indeed to be obeyed, but, if disobeyed, do not invalidate what is done under them; which latter class of enactments are called directoiy. See Statutes; also May; Shall.