Confederacy

In Criminal Law. An agreement between two or more persons to do an unlaw- The technical term usually employed to signify this oflfense is "conspiracy." In Equity Pleading. An improper combination alleged to have been entered into between the defendants to a bill in equity. A general charge of confederacy is made a part of a bill in chancery, and is the fourth part, in order, of the bill, but it has become merely formal, except in cases where the complainant intends to show that such a combination actually exists or existed, in which case a special charge of such confederacy must be made. Story, Eq. PI. §§ 29, 30; Mitf. Eq. PL (Jeremy Ed.) 41; Cooper, Eq. PL 9. — ^In International Law. An agreement between two or more states or nations, by which they unite for their mutual protection and good. This term is applied to such an agreement made between two independent nations, but it is also used to signify the union of different states of the same nation, as, the confederacy of the states.