Sui generis
Pronunciation
SOO-eye jen-ER-ihs
Sui generis is a (post) Latin expression, literally meaning of its own kind/genus or unique in its characteristics. The expression was effectively created by scholastic philosophy to indicate an idea, an entity or a reality that cannot be included in a wider concept, and in the structure genus > species a species that heads its own genus.
In law, it is a term of art used to identify a legal classification that exists independently of other categorizations because of its uniqueness or due to the specific creation of an entitlement or obligation. In intellectual property there are rights which are known as being sui generis to owners of a small class of works, such as intellectual property rights in mask works, ship hull designs, databases, or plant species.
In British town planning law, certain uses of land are labelled "sui generis" to indicate that they are outside a legally-defined Use Class, effectively in a class of their own. Such uses include laundrettes, taxi or vehicle hire businesses, amusement centres, petrol filling stations, hostels and theatres. Under this style of regulation, changes of land use within an agreed "Use Class" can be undertaken without an explicit application being made to a local municipal authority. Changes in the use of a property or site across the boundaries of those Use Classes, or to a "sui generis" activity, can thus be subject to some democratic influence.
The term has also been used in the context of aboriginal law in Canada to describe the nature of aboriginal title.
In political science the unparallelled development of the European Union as compared to other international organizations has led to its designation as a sui generis geopolitical entity. The EU has often been described as "somewhere inbetween a confederation and a federation. A similar case which has led to the use of the label sui generis is the unique relationship between France and New Caledonia, since the legal status of New Caledonia can aptly be said to lie "somewhere between an overseas department and a sovereign nation". Whereas there are perhaps other examples of such a status for other disputed or dependent territories, this arrangement is certainly unique within the French Republic.
In the sociology of Emile Durkheim "sui generis", is used to illustrate his theories on social existence. He maintains that society, as it was there before any living individual was born, is independent of all individuals. His "sui generis" (its closest English meaning in this sense being 'independant') society will furthermore continue its existence after the individual ceases to interact with it.