Calumnia

Lat.

In the civil law. Calumny, malice, or ill design; a false accusation, a malicious prosecution. Inst. 4. 16.1. Cooper's notes. Calumnies jusjurandum; the oath of calumny. An oath imposed upon the parties to a suit, that they did not sue or defend with the intention of calumniating, (calum" niandi animo,) i. e. with a malicious design, but from a firm belief that they had a good cause. Id. ibid. The same oath, under the name oi juramentum calumnicB, was formerly practised in the canon law, but is now disused. 4 JReeves* Hist. Eng. Law, 1 6. Cooper^ s Justinian, Notes, 649.