inter se

Inter se is used to describe a particular specie of legal right, namely that in relation to the rights or duties between entities of the same collection, cluster, bunch or group of such entities, which arises out of the reason why they are in such collection, cluster, bunch or group.

For instance the shareholders (whether corporations or persons) of a company may have rights and obligations as between one another arising out of their shareholding. Accordingly, they would assert their rights inter se, that is, between or among themselves. Although shareholders in a company may have rights inter se as between themselves, they will not have for the same reason such rights inter se with shareholders in a different company (these rights are known as inter partes rights, if they were to exist in the particular case). Other groupings can be, such as, partners, beneficiaries of trusts, beneficiaries of wills, joint owners of land or joint venturers.

[Latin: between or among themselves]

Usage: The inter se shareholders' rights conferred by the shareholders' agreement were discharged when all shareholders in the class signed the contract.

Related Words: in personam; in rem; inter pars; inter partes; per stirpes; per capita; per annum; per curiam; per incuriam; per diem; per se.