What does certiorari mean?
Certiorari is a noun denoting a writ — a formal order issued by a superior court — directing a lower court or tribunal to send up the record of a particular case so it can be examined for legal error. The term comes from Latin, meaning literally 'to be informed of', reflecting its original function of informing a higher court of proceedings below it. Today the word is best known through the United States Supreme Court, which uses writs of certiorari to decide, entirely at its discretion, which cases it will hear; litigants file petitions for certiorari, and the Court either grants or denies them. Because only a tiny fraction of petitions are granted, 'getting cert' is considered one of the hardest achievements in American law. Outside the US, notably in Britain and Commonwealth countries, certiorari survives mainly as a historical term within judicial review, having been replaced by more modern procedures.
nounA writ from a superior court to a lower court or tribunal ordering that the record of a case be sent up for review, used chiefly to correct errors of jurisdiction or procedure. In the United States, it refers specifically to the Supreme Court's discretionary order granting review of a lower court's decision.
- A common-law writ by which a higher court calls up the record of proceedings in a lower court for examination, typically to correct errors of law or jurisdiction.
- In US Supreme Court practice, the discretionary mechanism by which the Court agrees to review a decision of a lower court (granting or denying certiorari).
"The Supreme Court denied the petitioner's request for a writ of certiorari, leaving the appellate ruling in place."
"After the state supreme court ruled against her, her attorneys filed a petition for a writ of certiorari with the US Supreme Court."
"The High Court quashed the tribunal's decision on certiorari because it had acted without proper jurisdiction."
Certiorari is a mass/legal term of art and is not normally pluralized; when multiple writs are meant, English speakers write 'writs of certiorari' rather than a plural form of the headword itself.
"Both writs of certiorari were denied without comment."
When lawyers say the Supreme Court 'granted cert,' they're invoking a Latin phrase meaning 'to be informed of' — and with roughly 7,000 petitions filed each year but only about 100 granted, winning certiorari is rarer than getting struck by lightning.
Reviewed by Deb Chak, Editor. AI-assisted content curated by RJS Tech Solutions LLP.
Etymology of certiorari
Certiorari comes directly from Medieval Latin, being the dative gerundive of 'certiorari', meaning 'to be informed of' or 'to make certain', derived from 'certior', the comparative of 'certus' ('certain, fixed'). It entered English legal usage in the early modern period as part of the inherited vocabulary of English common-law procedure, alongside sibling writs such as mandamus, habeas corpus, and prohibition. Its cognates include the everyday English words 'certain', 'certify', and 'certificate', all ultimately tracing back to the same Latin root concerning certainty. In British and Commonwealth practice the writ was substantially replaced by statutory judicial-review remedies in the twentieth century, while in the United States it remains central to Supreme Court procedure.
How certiorari is actually used
Certiorari is an almost exclusively legal term, encountered in court documents, judicial opinions, and legal journalism rather than everyday speech. In American usage it is strongly associated with the US Supreme Court's docket-selection process, where 'cert' is the standard informal abbreviation. In British and Commonwealth jurisdictions its use has been largely superseded by modern judicial-review procedures. The word is indeclinable in English use; the traditional plural is also 'certiorari'.
Easily confused with certiorari
Certiorari is the name of a specific judicial writ for reviewing lower-court records, while 'certified' is simply an adjective meaning officially attested or verified.
Certiorari orders that a case record be sent to a higher court for review, whereas mandamus is a separate writ commanding a public official or body to perform a duty they are legally obligated to carry out.