What does recommittal mean?
Recommittal is the formal act of sending a matter back for further consideration. Its principal legal use refers to an appellate court returning a case to a lower court, usually because the earlier proceedings were legally defective or require further action. In parliamentary contexts, recommittal can mean returning a bill to a committee for more detailed examination, amendment, or revision. The word is precise, institutional, and relatively uncommon in everyday speech; outside specialist contexts, people are more likely to say that a case was sent back or returned. It should not be confused with recruitment, which concerns hiring people, or with the broader legal term remand. Recommitment also conveys the idea of renewed consideration rather than a final resolution, making it especially useful when discussing appellate procedure or legislative review.
nounThe act of sending a case back to a lower court for further consideration, or of returning a legislative bill to a committee for additional study and revision. The term is chiefly used in legal and parliamentary contexts.
- The act or order of returning a case to a lower court for further consideration.
- The act of returning a legislative bill to a committee for further examination and revision.
"The appellate court ordered the recommittal of the case to the trial court for a new hearing."
"The court granted the defendant's request for recommittal to the lower court."
"Following a disputed debate, the committee recommended the recommittal of the bill for further scrutiny."
Plural recommittals is used when referring to multiple orders or acts of returning cases or bills for further consideration.
"The judgments led to several recommittals for further hearings."
Recommittal sends a case back to where it began—but with a new question attached.
Reviewed by Deb Chak, Editor. AI-assisted content curated by RJS Tech Solutions LLP.
Etymology of recommittal
Recommittal was formed within English by combining the prefix re-, meaning “again,” with the verb commit and the noun suffix -ment. The underlying Latin word committere meant “to bring together” or “to entrust,” and came to mean “to commit” an act, responsibility, or matter. Modern recommittal developed from the sense of committing or sending something again, especially by returning a matter to an authority for renewed consideration.
Related word forms
How recommittal is actually used
Recommittal is chiefly formal and occurs in legal, judicial, and parliamentary language. In modern court terminology, remand is often the more common word.
Easily confused with recommittal
Recommittal is the formal legal act of sending a case back for further proceedings, whereas remand is the order or procedure by which that return is made.
Recommittal means sending a matter back for further consideration, while recruitment means hiring or enlisting people.