Legal Maxim

The maxim “De Minimis Non Curat Lex” literally means “law is not concerned with small things”. This means that the law can not interfere in trifle matters which do not demand an attention of the legal authority. This maxim assumes that the rational people of the State will not bother the Court with trivial matters such as the recovery of ₹1. The exception of this maxim can be seen in the Law of Contract so that people do not go on breaking every contract just because it had negligible consequences. This maxim however finds its application in Section 95 of the Indian Penal Code (IPC), which states that nothing is crime in the eyes of law when the consequence of the offence is so negligible that any person of reasonability would not complain about it.

People v. Durham

In this case, Daniel Durham did not like a traffic rule which was imposed upon him and sought a compensation for $5. The Illinois Appellate Court held that such matters of trivial nature bring disgrace to the Court and harm its esteem. Any rational person would have considered this appeal to be trifle, the amount of resources spent in filing the appeal had to be more than the amount of compensation. Bringing such matters in front of the Court not only wastes the time of the person filing the appeal but also wastes the precious time of the Court which could be spent in going through matters of more importance, like a murder trial. Thus, the maxim of De Minimis Non Curat Lex was applied in this case.

Coward v. Baddeley

In this case, a fireman had accused a man for battery who had touched the fireman’s arm in order to bring his attention to the fire raging in the nearby building. The Court held that the man was just trying the draw the fireman’s attention and thus applying the principle of De Minimis Non Curat Lex said that the matter was too trivial and was not at all related to battery.