Certiorari
Certiorari (, , or ), often abbreviated as cert. in the United States, is a writ seeking judicial review. It is issued by a superior court, directing an inferior court, tribunal, or other public authority to send the record of a proceeding for review.
Etymology
Certiorari is the present passive infinitive of the Latin verb certioro, certiorare ("to inform, apprise, show"). Thus, certiorari translates 'to be informed, apprised or shown'.
Historical and modern jurisdictions
Historical usage dates back to Roman Law. In modern law, certiorari is recognized in many jurisdictions, including the United States, The United Kingdom, Canada, India and the Philippines.
Ancient Rome
In Roman law, certiorari was suggested in terms of reviewing a case—much as the term is applied today—although the term was also used in writing to indicate the need or duty to inform other parties of a court's ruling. It was a highly technical term appearing only in jurisprudential Latin, most frequently in the works of Ulpian.
