deemed

Deemed is the past participle of the verb deem, meaning to regard or judge. In legal and bureaucratic language, deemed is used to indicate that something is treated as true for purposes of law, even if it is not established by evidence in fact.

Statutes and regulations often include deemed provisions that create legal fictions or presumptions, allowing the law to assign status without direct proof. For example, a provision might deem a person to be a resident for tax purposes or deem a notice to have been received when it is sent in the prescribed manner. Such provisions can determine liability, rights, or obligations and may apply to contracts, property, or administrative processes. The term is also common in contexts like deemed consent or deemed completion of a transaction, where the law operates as if a certain condition has been met.

Deemed differs from a plain presumption in its force and purpose. A deemed finding is a deliberate legal instrument used to assign a fact for statutory or regulatory reasons, and it often binds outcomes unless explicitly altered. A presumption, by contrast, arises from evidence and normally can be rebutted by presenting contrary proof. Both concepts help streamline decision-making, but deemed provisions operate as an official determination by law rather than as an inferred fact.

Etymologically, deemed comes from Old English demian, meaning to judge or consider. The term is widely used in common-law jurisdictions to express notions of legal status imposed by statute or regulation, influencing tax, immigration, property, and administrative law across countries such as the United Kingdom, Canada, Australia, and New Zealand.