Writ In common law, a writ (Anglo-Saxon ''gewrit'', Latin ''breve'') is a formal written order issued by a body with administrative or judicial jurisdiction; in modern usage, this body is generally a court. Warrants, prerogative writs, subpoenas, ...

s of praecipe (imperative of the

Latin Latin (, or , ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic languages, Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally a dialect spoken in the lower Tiber area (then known as Latium) around present-day Rome, but through ...

'' praecipio'' ("I order"), thus meaning "order

his His or HIS may refer to: Computing * Hightech Information System, a Hong Kong graphics card company * Honeywell Information Systems * Hybrid intelligent system * Microsoft Host Integration Server Education * Hangzhou International School, ...

) are a widespread feature of the

common law In law, common law (also known as judicial precedent, judge-made law, or case law) is the body of law created by judges and similar quasi-judicial tribunals by virtue of being stated in written opinions."The common law is not a brooding omniprese ...

tradition, generally involving the instigation of some form of swift and peremptory action.

Early development

The word ''praecipe'' moved from the

Roman Empire The Roman Empire ( la, Imperium Romanum ; grc-gre, Βασιλεία τῶν Ῥωμαίων, Basileía tôn Rhōmaíōn) was the post- Republican period of ancient Rome. As a polity, it included large territorial holdings around the Medit ...

into the medieval Latin of the English Chancery, and so reached

English law English law is the common law legal system of England and Wales, comprising mainly criminal law and civil law, each branch having its own courts and procedures. Principal elements of English law Although the common law has, historically, bee ...

. In the twelfth century, writs praecipe, addressed to sheriffs, emerged as the swiftest way to bring legal disputes to the royal courts. While the so-called possessory assizes, such as Novel Disseisin, had marked a great advance in royal justice, they proved too rigid for the full complexities of land law, and so had to be supplemented by more specialised praecipe writs, such as Praecipe for Dower, or Praecipe Quod Reddat. The latter, one of the so-called writs of entry, was singled out in

Magna Carta (Medieval Latin for "Great Charter of Freedoms"), commonly called (also ''Magna Charta''; "Great Charter"), is a royal charter of rights agreed to by King John of England at Runnymede, near Windsor, on 15 June 1215. First drafted by ...

Ch 34 by the barons in an attempt (largely unsuccessful) to delimit more firmly private from royal jurisdiction.

North American usage

In law in the United States a ''praecipe'' is a document that either (A) commands a

defendant In court proceedings, a defendant is a person or object who is the party either accused of committing a crime in criminal prosecution or against whom some type of civil relief is being sought in a civil case. Terminology varies from one jur ...

to appear and show cause why an act or thing should not be done; or (B) requests the clerk of court to issue a

writ In common law, a writ (Anglo-Saxon ''gewrit'', Latin ''breve'') is a formal written order issued by a body with administrative or judicial jurisdiction; in modern usage, this body is generally a court. Warrants, prerogative writs, subpoenas, ...

and to specify its contents, hough US Clerks are variously limited to handle minor precepts (typical status adjustments) in the name of the Court (i.e., a Clerk cannot issue any forceful or mandamus writ). The writ was often issued to amend or change a subsequent order or to correct an error that may have been missed earlier. Its appearance in

American law The law of the United States comprises many levels of codified and uncodified forms of law, of which the most important is the nation's Constitution, which prescribes the foundation of the federal government of the United States, as well as ...

is not surprising, as many of the

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England ** English national ide ...

customs Customs is an authority or agency in a country responsible for collecting tariffs and for controlling the flow of goods, including animals, transports, personal effects, and hazardous items, into and out of a country. Traditionally, customs ...

and traditions were passed on. In

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its Provinces and territories of Canada, ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world ...

Praecipe is used in place of a notice of

motion In physics, motion is the phenomenon in which an object changes its position with respect to time. Motion is mathematically described in terms of displacement, distance, velocity, acceleration, speed and frame of reference to an observer and ...

as an application for a desk order that is granted in the court registry without a hearing before a

judge A judge is a person who presides over court proceedings, either alone or as a part of a panel of judges. A judge hears all the witnesses and any other evidence presented by the barristers or solicitors of the case, assesses the credibility ...

Indian Usage

At the

Bombay High Court The High Court of Bombay is the high court of the states of Maharashtra and Goa in India, and the union territory of Dadra and Nagar Haveli and Daman and Diu. It is seated primarily at Mumbai (formerly known as Bombay), and is one of the ol ...

and the City Civil & Sessions Court for Greater Bombay, a Praecipe is used in all communications between Advocates and the Court. It serves as a covering letter for the filing of documents with the registry and other registry work. Praecipes are also used in order to motion the Judge, either in court or in chambers in order to place a matter for early listing or in order to seek urgent ad-interim reliefs. Praecipes in India are usually in the form of a letter addressed to the Registrar of that particular court.

References

External links

WWLIA DefinitionUS Legal Research
{{Authority control Writs Legal documents with Latin names

Early development

North American usage

Indian Usage

See also

References

External links