in pari delicto

From Latin, literally "in equal fault," a basic legal principle that if two or more parties involved in a contract are equally culpable to the illegality of that agreement, then the court can offer no aid to either party. Sometimes referred to as the "par delictum" doctrine. The judge ruled that the parties involved in the dispute were in pari delicto, as the accountants seeking damages were clearly knowledgeable of the wrongdoings of the company that had hired them.