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waiver legal definition
noun
- A voluntary relinquishing of a right or privilege. Although a waiver may result from an explicit surrender or by circumstances, courts frown on accepting waivers of constitutional rights. The party waiving a right must have knowledge of that right and the informed intention of surrendering it.
- The paper by which a person surrenders his or her rights; for example, when the courier delivered the package, the recipient may sign a waiver relieving the former of any further responsibility.
express waiver
A deliberate and voluntary waiver.
implied waiver
A waiver of certain rights based upon the action of the waiving
party. For example, if a person tells a courier he does not care what condition
a package is in as long as it arrives by a certain time, that person has waived
the right to require the courier to treat the parcel with the normally expected
care.
prospective waiver
A waiver of something that may occur in the future; for example,
the right to participate in an award from a future, anticipated law suit.Â
Prospective waivers are often deemed to be unenforceable, as the party giving
up a right cannot, by definition, know the parameters of what is being given
up.Â
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