Caput lupinum

Caput lupinum or caput gerat lupinum is a term used in the English legal system and its derivatives.[1] The Latin term literally means "wolf's head" or "wolfish head", and refers to a person considered to be an outlaw, as in, e.g., the phrase caput gerat lupinum ("may he wear a wolfish head" / "may his be a wolf's head"). Black's Law Dictionary, 8th edition (2004: 225) reads "an outlawed felon considered a pariah – a lone wolf – open to attack by anyone." A person designated a caput lupinum was a criminal whose rights had been waived. As such, he or she could be legally harmed by any citizen.

References

Look up caput lupinum in Wiktionary, the free dictionary.
  1. Southern Portland Cement v Cooper (Rodney John) (An Infant by his next friend Peter Alphonsus Cooper) Privy Council (Australia), 19 November 1973


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