Also known as: hereafter · herein · hereinabove · hereinafter · hereinbefore · hereinto · hereinunder · hereof · hereto · heretofore · hereunder · hereunto · herewith · here-words · legal locatives
Written by attorneys · grounded in primary & secondary sources — see below
An adverb used in legal instruments to indicate that the declaration or prohibition takes effect by virtue of the document itself.
Select any source to read its text and confirm it supports the definition.
Hana Huang, a member of the House, introduces a bill stating that Congress hereby vests all legislative power over interstate commerce in a new regulatory commission. The bill passes both chambers and becomes law under Article I. Courts later uphold the commission's authority because the vesting clause operates through the enacted text.
Hazel Hoffman contracts to buy steel from Highland Steel but the seller fails to deliver. Hazel hereby covers by purchasing substitute goods at a higher price from another supplier. She then sues for the difference between the cover price and the contract price plus incidental costs.
Hamid Hassan loses his footing on a wet floor at Helix Biotech and stretches his arm to seize a railing. The motion is hereby an act because it manifests his will even under external pressure. The court treats the reach as volitional conduct rather than a pure reflex.
Hakeem Harris loses a jury verdict on a contract claim and files a motion stating that the court hereby grants a new trial for errors in the jury instructions. The district judge finds grounds that have traditionally supported new trials at law. The order vacates the judgment under Rule 59.
Hope Howard, a customs official, collects a duty on imported persons under a statute that Congress hereby imposes at ten dollars per person. The law respects the constitutional ceiling and timing restriction. Importers challenge the tax as exceeding the permitted amount.
Harold Hunt sells goods to Hammer Construction that a bailee holds in storage. After the buyer repudiates, Harold hereby instructs the bailee to stop delivery under the seller's remedies. The bailee complies, preserving Harold's right to resell the goods.
It signals that the statement takes effect by the force of the document itself rather than by some external act. The word therefore functions as a direct performative marker.
Supporting sources
Legal writing guides classify it among imprecise and outdated terms that can be omitted without loss of meaning. Modern drafters replace it with plain verbs such as 'declare' or 'enact.'
Supporting sources
Yes. The Eighteenth Amendment uses the phrase 'is hereby prohibited' to effect the ban on intoxicating liquors by the amendment's own terms.
'Hereby' refers to the present document's immediate effect. 'Hereinafter' points forward to later provisions within the same instrument.
Supporting sources
…the Hallford complaint. [^maj-8]: A. Castiglioni, A History of Medicine 84 (2d ed. 1947), E. Krumbhaar, translator and editor (hereinafter Castiglioni). [^maj-9]: J. Ricci, The Genealogy of Gynaecology 52, 84, 113, 149 (2d ed. 1950) (hereinafter Ricci); L. Lader, Abortion 75-77 (1966) (hereinafter Lader); K. Niswander,…