''Ex rel.'' is an abbreviation of the

Latin Latin ( or ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic languages, Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally spoken by the Latins (Italic tribe), Latins in Latium (now known as Lazio), the lower Tiber area aroun ...

phrase "''ex relatione'' (meaning " risingout of the relation/narration f the relator ). The term is a legal phrase; the legal citation guide, the ''

Bluebook ''The Bluebook: A Uniform System of Citation'' is a style guide that prescribes the most widely used legal citation system in the United States. It is taught and used at a majority of Law school in the United States, law schools in the United S ...

'', describes ''ex rel.'' as a "procedural phrase" and requires using it to abbreviate "on the relation of", "for the use of", "on behalf of", and similar expressions. It is most commonly used when a

government A government is the system or group of people governing an organized community, generally a State (polity), state. In the case of its broad associative definition, government normally consists of legislature, executive (government), execu ...

brings a

cause of action A cause of action or right of action, in law, is a set of facts sufficient to justify suing to obtain money or property, or to justify the enforcement of a legal right against another party. The term also refers to the legal theory upon which a ...

upon the request of a private party who has some interest in the matter. The private party is called the '' relator'' in such a case. The government acts on the basis of the narration or recounting (Latin ''relatione'') of the alleged facts by the relator. Governments typically accept applications and commence litigation for ''ex rel.'' actions only if the interest advanced by the private party is similar to the interest of the government. New York has a " forever wild" constitutional article, which is enforceable by action of the

New York State Attorney General The attorney general of New York is the chief legal officer of the U.S. state of New York and head of the Department of Law of the state government. The office has existed in various forms since 1626, originally established under the Dutch c ...

or by any citizen ''ex rel.'' with the consent of the Appellate Division. The term can also be used when a relative or party in privity brings suit on another person's behalf. For example, the

Terri Schiavo The Terri Schiavo case was a series of court and legislative actions in the United States from 1998 to 2005, regarding the care of Theresa Marie Schiavo (née Schindler) (; December 3, 1963 – March 31, 2005), a woman in an irreversible ...

appeal to the

United States Supreme Court The Supreme Court of the United States (SCOTUS) is the highest court in the federal judiciary of the United States. It has ultimate appellate jurisdiction over all U.S. federal court cases, and over state court cases that turn on question ...

was titled ''Schiavo ex rel. Schindler v. Schiavo''.

References

Latin legal terminology {{Latin-legal-phrase-stub