Legal Definitions - durante bene placito

Definition: Durante bene placito is a Latin legal term that means "during good pleasure." It was commonly used in the past to describe a situation where someone was granted a position or tenure for an indefinite period of time, subject to the pleasure of the person who granted it.

Example: In the past, the king's judges were often granted tenure durante bene placito, which meant that they could hold their position as long as the king was pleased with their performance. If the king became dissatisfied with a judge, he could remove them from their position at any time.

Explanation: This example illustrates how the term durante bene placito was used in practice. The judges were granted tenure for an indefinite period of time, but their position was always subject to the pleasure of the king. This meant that they had to be careful to maintain the king's favor if they wanted to keep their job.