in personam

American  

[in per-soh-nam] / ɪn pərˈsoʊ næm /

adverb

Law.

1. (of a legal proceeding or judgment) directed against a party or parties, rather than against property.

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in personam British  

/ ɪn pɜːˈsəʊnæm /

adjective

1. law (of a judicial act) directed against a specific person or persons Compare in rem

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Etymology

Origin of in personam

Borrowed into English from Latin around 1880–85

Example Sentences

The Court thereupon proceeded to hold that admiralty had jurisdiction in personam as well as in rem, over controversies arising out of contracts of affreightment between New York and Providence.

From The Constitution of the United States of America: Analysis and Interpretation Annotations of Cases Decided by the Supreme Court of the United States to June 30, 1952 by Corwin, Edward Samuel

Rights, in personam or in rem, are objects of economic value, and the exchange of these rights makes up the bulk, if not the whole, of economic exchange.

From The Value of Money by Anderson, Benjamin M.

But he points out, "If the treaty only created a right in personam the case is different."

From Neutral Rights and Obligations in the Anglo-Boer War by Campbell, Robert Granville

An action in personam asserts a right only against a particular person.

From The Project Gutenberg Encyclopedia Volume 1 of 28 by Project Gutenberg

Our process must be in rem, not in personam.

From The Continental Monthly, Vol III, Issue VI, June, 1863 Devoted to Literature and National Policy by Various