Vi coactus (V.C.) is a Latin term meaning "having been forced" or "having been compelled". In Latin, cōgō means "I compel" or "I force". The passive participle of cōgō is coāctus, meaning "having been forced" or "having been compelled" or "coerced" .[1]
"Vi coactus" or "V.C." is used with a signature to indicate that the signer was under duress. The signer uses such marking to signal that the agreement was made under duress, and that it is their belief that it invalidates their signature.[2]
Cornelis de Witt, a Dutch 17th century statesman, was forced to sign the act for the restoration of the stadtholderate. After entreaties by his wife, he signed the contract but added "V.C." to his signature.[3]
After being elected as leader of the UK Independence Party in September 2016, Diane James added "Vi coactus" after her signature on the official document informing the Electoral Commission of her election, which the commission said they could not accept as a result. She subsequently relinquished the leadership role 24 hours later, 18 days after winning the election to replace Nigel Farage.[4][5]
In literatureedit
In the early chapters of his historical novel The Black Tulip, Alexandre Dumas describes the use of "V.C." by Cornelis de Witt, along with the role and meaning of the two letters.[6]
A description of "V.C." in The Black Tulip:
This young man was, in 1672, twenty-two years of age. John de Witt, who was his tutor, had brought him up with the view of making him a good citizen. Loving his country better than he did his disciple, the master had, by the Perpetual Edict, extinguished the hope which the young Prince might have entertained of one day becoming Stadtholder. But God laughs at the presumption of man, who wants to raise and prostrate the powers on earth without consulting the King above; and the fickleness and caprice of the Dutch combined with the terror inspired by Louis XIV., in repealing the Perpetual Edict, and re-establishing the office of Stadtholder in favour of William of Orange, for whom the hand of Providence had traced out ulterior destinies on the hidden map of the future.
The Grand Pensionary bowed before the will of his fellow citizens; Cornelius de Witt, however, was more obstinate, and notwithstanding all the threats of death from the Orangist rabble, who besieged him in his house at Dort, he stoutly refused to sign the act by which the office of Stadtholder was restored. Moved by the tears and entreaties of his wife, he at last complied, only adding to his signature the two letters V. C. (Vi Coactus), notifying thereby that he only yielded to force.[6]
In US federal courtedit
In Merrick v. Warden, the United States District Court for the Southern District of Ohio, Merrick claimed his "guilty plea was involuntary because at the time he entered into it, he signaled that he was acting under duress by putting the initials “V.C.” before his signature on the Memorandum of Understanding which embodies the plea agreement in the case."[7] The court reasoned that since Merrick failed to cite "a single case in which a court has held that signing with “V.C.” actually relieves a person of the obligation to perform under a contract..." that signing V.C. in front of Merrick’s signature had no "legal significance."[8]
^Prior, Richard; Wohlberg, Joseph (1995). 501 Latin Verbs. Hauppauge, NY: Barron's Educational Series, Inc. ISBN0-8120-9050-0.
^Cahal Milmo (2016-10-05). "Diane James and the Latin phrase that confirmed her doubts". Inews.co.uk. from the original on 2016-10-07. Retrieved 2016-10-22.
^"It works!". Exfacie.com. from the original on 2016-03-04. Retrieved 2016-10-22.
^"Theresa May speech to Conservatives and UKIP leadership". BBC News. 2016-10-03. from the original on 2016-10-28. Retrieved 2016-10-22.
^Kate Devlin. "Ex-Ukip leader signed papers with Latin term for 'under duress'". Herald Scotland. from the original on 2016-10-09. Retrieved 2016-10-22.
^ abThe Black Tulip by Alexandre Dumas - Free Ebook. 1997-07-01. from the original on 2016-11-12. Retrieved 2016-10-22 – via Gutenberg.org.
^"Archived copy" (PDF). (PDF) from the original on 2023-08-13. Retrieved 2023-08-13.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
coactus, latin, term, meaning, having, been, forced, having, been, compelled, latin, cōgō, means, compel, force, passive, participle, cōgō, coāctus, meaning, having, been, forced, having, been, compelled, coerced, used, with, signature, indicate, that, signer,. Vi coactus V C is a Latin term meaning having been forced or having been compelled In Latin cōgō means I compel or I force The passive participle of cōgō is coactus meaning having been forced or having been compelled or coerced 1 Vi coactus or V C is used with a signature to indicate that the signer was under duress The signer uses such marking to signal that the agreement was made under duress and that it is their belief that it invalidates their signature 2 Contents 1 Examples of usage 1 1 In literature 1 2 In US federal court 2 See also 3 ReferencesExamples of usage editCornelis de Witt a Dutch 17th century statesman was forced to sign the act for the restoration of the stadtholderate After entreaties by his wife he signed the contract but added V C to his signature 3 After being elected as leader of the UK Independence Party in September 2016 Diane James added Vi coactus after her signature on the official document informing the Electoral Commission of her election which the commission said they could not accept as a result She subsequently relinquished the leadership role 24 hours later 18 days after winning the election to replace Nigel Farage 4 5 In literature edit In the early chapters of his historical novel The Black Tulip Alexandre Dumas describes the use of V C by Cornelis de Witt along with the role and meaning of the two letters 6 A description of V C in The Black Tulip This young man was in 1672 twenty two years of age John de Witt who was his tutor had brought him up with the view of making him a good citizen Loving his country better than he did his disciple the master had by the Perpetual Edict extinguished the hope which the young Prince might have entertained of one day becoming Stadtholder But God laughs at the presumption of man who wants to raise and prostrate the powers on earth without consulting the King above and the fickleness and caprice of the Dutch combined with the terror inspired by Louis XIV in repealing the Perpetual Edict and re establishing the office of Stadtholder in favour of William of Orange for whom the hand of Providence had traced out ulterior destinies on the hidden map of the future The Grand Pensionary bowed before the will of his fellow citizens Cornelius de Witt however was more obstinate and notwithstanding all the threats of death from the Orangist rabble who besieged him in his house at Dort he stoutly refused to sign the act by which the office of Stadtholder was restored Moved by the tears and entreaties of his wife he at last complied only adding to his signature the two letters V C Vi Coactus notifying thereby that he only yielded to force 6 In US federal court edit In Merrick v Warden the United States District Court for the Southern District of Ohio Merrick claimed his guilty plea was involuntary because at the time he entered into it he signaled that he was acting under duress by putting the initials V C before his signature on the Memorandum of Understanding which embodies the plea agreement in the case 7 The court reasoned that since Merrick failed to cite a single case in which a court has held that signing with V C actually relieves a person of the obligation to perform under a contract that signing V C in front of Merrick s signature had no legal significance 8 See also editUndue influence in English law Duress in English law Duress in American lawReferences edit Prior Richard Wohlberg Joseph 1995 501 Latin Verbs Hauppauge NY Barron s Educational Series Inc ISBN 0 8120 9050 0 Cahal Milmo 2016 10 05 Diane James and the Latin phrase that confirmed her doubts Inews co uk Archived from the original on 2016 10 07 Retrieved 2016 10 22 It works Exfacie com Archived from the original on 2016 03 04 Retrieved 2016 10 22 Theresa May speech to Conservatives and UKIP leadership BBC News 2016 10 03 Archived from the original on 2016 10 28 Retrieved 2016 10 22 Kate Devlin Ex Ukip leader signed papers with Latin term for under duress Herald Scotland Archived from the original on 2016 10 09 Retrieved 2016 10 22 a b The Black Tulip by Alexandre Dumas Free Ebook 1997 07 01 Archived from the original on 2016 11 12 Retrieved 2016 10 22 via Gutenberg org Archived copy PDF Archived PDF from the original on 2023 08 13 Retrieved 2023 08 13 a href Template Cite web html title Template Cite web cite web a CS1 maint archived copy as title link Id Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Vi coactus amp oldid 1200531554, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
