Prerogative writ

A prerogative writ is a court order, historically issued under sovereign authority, that supervises lower courts or public officials. Its traditional forms include mandamus, prohibition, and certiorari.

Mandamus: A court order directing a public official or lower court to perform a legally required duty. It compels action when an official has failed to carry out a public duty.
Royal prerogative: The body of powers and privileges historically belonging to the Crown under constitutional law. The writs drew their name and authority from the sovereign's prerogative.
Administrative law: The body of law governing public agencies, their powers, procedures, and decisions. Review of agency action is a major modern setting for writ-like remedies.
Appeal: A procedure asking a higher court to review a lower court's decision for legal or factual error. An appeal reviews a decision through ordinary appellate jurisdiction rather than a supervisory writ.
Prohibition: A court order preventing a lower court or tribunal from acting beyond its jurisdiction. It stops unlawful proceedings before the lower body completes them.
King's Bench: An English common-law court that historically supervised inferior courts and exercised royal jurisdiction. It became a central court for issuing supervisory writs.
Administrative Procedure Act: A United States federal statute governing agency procedures and judicial review of agency action. It supplies a statutory framework for challenging many federal agency decisions.
Injunction: A court order requiring a person to do something or refrain from doing something. An injunction is an equitable remedy, not one of the traditional prerogative writs.
Certiorari: A court order requiring a lower court or tribunal to send its record for review. It brings a challenged decision before a superior court for examination.
Common law: A legal system developed through judicial decisions and precedent rather than solely through codes or statutes. Prerogative writs developed as remedies within the English common-law tradition.

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WritBroader topic: This narrower class includes writs such as mandamus, prohibition, and certiorari.