legal duty
2
4.0
- noun
- /ˈliːɡəl ˈdjuːti/
- Formal
- Court action has continually modified the legal duties of physical educators and coaches.
- legal duties of landlords
- moral and legal duty
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Watch on YouTubeSo it's our, it's our legal duty to do this.
- So it's our, it's our legal duty to do this.
- But the reason why might surprise you because most people believe that the police have a legal duty to help.
- But the problem with that is that it's not clear how to sue a board whose legal duty was to the safety of humanity, not to investors.
Examples
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The company has a legal duty to provide a safe working environment for its employees.
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However, there is no legal duty to look out for the rank-and-file employee, and I guess that is what concerns me.
Academic text (1996) -
So it's our, it's our legal duty to do this.
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My moral duty was not in conflict or even in tension with my legal duty.
Academic text (2008) -
The flip side of that is that pedestrians have a legal duty to stay off the road.
Blog text (32) -
Employers have a legal duty to consult with employees or their elected representatives, involving them in the risk-assessment process.
Academic text (2015) -
Such a plaintiff must establish that the therapist owed a legal duty.
Academic text (1993) -
The workplace can also involve traumatic exposures; here, the organization has a legal duty of care towards its workers and a responsibility to do something to reduce the risk of harm.
Academic text (2014) -
The Southwark Judgement, made by the House of Lords in May 2009, ruled that all children's services have a legal duty to provide accommodation and support to homeless 16- and 17-year-olds under the Children Act 1989.
Academic text (2011) -
As a teacher, I have a legal duty to report any suspected abuse to the authorities.
Synonyms
∞
2.7
A duty to do something and answer for what you do
∞
1.0
Something you must do because of law, your job, or what is right
524
3.2
A duty you feel to do something because it is right or someone helped you
4
7.9
Legal responsibility to act in another person's best interest, for example when managing their money
1
4.1
A duty to pay taxes to the government by law
How Binding
Surface Forms
Morphology
The meaning 'an obligation required by law' is directly and transparently derived from combining 'legal' (pertaining to law) with 'duty' (a responsibility). This adjective+noun composition follows a standard, cross-linguistically common pattern, so a B1 learner who knows both constituents would readily understand the MWE.
Etymology
Legal duty joins legal, meaning 'by law', and duty, meaning 'something you owe'. Because 'duty' long ago meant a payment or service owed to someone, a legal duty is a task or responsibility the law says you must do, which is why it means 'an obligation required by law'.