Legal Definitions - a cancellando

A CANCELLANDO

A cancellando is a term that comes from Law Latin and means "canceling." It refers to the act of canceling something, usually a legal document or letter, because it was granted contrary to the law.

According to William Blackstone's Commentaries on the Laws of England, the lord chancellor or cancellarius is called a cancellando because he cancels the king's letters patents when they are granted contrary to law.

For example, if the king were to grant a patent to someone who did not meet the legal requirements, the lord chancellor would cancel the patent, or "cancellando" it, because it was granted contrary to the law.

Another example of a cancellando would be if a court were to cancel a contract because it was entered into under duress or fraud.