In legal terminology, a rescript is a document that is issued not on the initiative of the author, but in response (it literally means 'written back') to a specific demand made by its addressee. It does not apply to more general legislation.

Overview

The word originated from the Roman imperial court, which often issued rescripts, in many cases prompted by its many governors and other officials. Some important early legal collections were composed entirely of rescripts, for instance the

Codex Hermogenianus The ''Codex Hermogenianus'' (Eng. Hermogenian Code) is the title of a collection of constitutions (legal pronouncements) of the Roman emperors of the first tetrarchy (Diocletian, Maximian Augusti, and Constantius and Galerius Caesars), mostly from ...

, published around AD 300."Codex Hermogenianus" in ''

The Oxford Dictionary of Byzantium The ''Oxford Dictionary of Byzantium'' (ODB) is a three-volume historical dictionary published by the English Oxford University Press. With more than 5,000 entries, it contains comprehensive information in English on topics relating to the Byzant ...

'',

Oxford University Press Oxford University Press (OUP) is the university press of the University of Oxford. It is the largest university press in the world, and its printing history dates back to the 1480s. Having been officially granted the legal right to print books ...

, New York & Oxford, 1991, p. 474. The other main field of application is the papal Roman Curia, which adopted many Roman administrative terms and practices. Rescripts may take various forms, from a formal document of an established type, such as a Papal Bull, to the forwarding of the demand with a simple mention by way of decision, something like "rejected" or "awarded", either to the party concerned or to the competent executive office to be carried out. By analogy it is also applied to similar procedures in other contexts, such as the Ottoman, Chinese and Japanese imperial courts, or even prior to the Roman empire. Two well-known examples of Japanese Imperial rescripts were

Emperor Hirohito Emperor , commonly known in English-speaking countries by his personal name , was the 124th emperor of Japan, ruling from 25 December 1926 until his death in 1989. Hirohito and his wife, Empress Kōjun, had two sons and five daughters; he was ...

's 1945

Imperial Rescript on the Termination of the War The was a radio broadcast of surrender given by Japanese Emperor Hirohito (Shōwa) on August 15, 1945. It announced to the Japanese people that the Japanese Government had accepted the Potsdam Declaration demanding the unconditional surrender ...

written in response to the

Potsdam Declaration The Potsdam Declaration, or the Proclamation Defining Terms for Japanese Surrender, was a statement that called for the surrender of all Japanese armed forces during World War II. On July 26, 1945, United States President Harry S. Truman, Uni ...

and his 1946

Humanity Declaration The , also known as the , , and ''Imperial Rescript Denying His Divinity'', is an imperial rescript issued by the Emperor Shōwa as part of a New Year's statement on 1 January 1946 at the request of the Supreme Commander of the Allied Powers (al ...

written in response to a request by General Douglas MacArthur.

Papal rescripts

Papal rescripts concern the granting of favours or the administration of justice under

canon law Canon law (from grc, κανών, , a 'straight measuring rod, ruler') is a set of ordinances and regulations made by ecclesiastical authority (church leadership) for the government of a Christian organization or church and its members. It is th ...

. In Roman Catholicism rescripts are responses in writing by the

pope The pope ( la, papa, from el, πάππας, translit=pappas, 'father'), also known as supreme pontiff ( or ), Roman pontiff () or sovereign pontiff, is the bishop of Rome (or historically the patriarch of Rome), head of the worldwide Cathol ...

or a

Congregation A congregation is a large gathering of people, often for the purpose of worship. Congregation may also refer to: * Church (congregation), a Christian organization meeting in a particular place for worship *Congregation (Roman Curia), an administr ...

of the Roman Curia to queries or petitions of individuals.

French legal system

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic, Pacific and Indian Oceans. Its metropolitan area ...

, people have the possibility to ask an administration for a ''rescrit'' (rescript), which means that they will present to the competent administration a circumstanced particular case, and obtain a formal answer (the ''rescrit'') by the administration explaining how the law will be applied to the submitted particular case. The rescript is binding for the administration, and may be used before a court of law to exonerate the person who asked for the rescript in case of prosecution. In

English common law English law is the common law legal system of England and Wales, comprising mainly criminal law and civil law, each branch having its own courts and procedures. Principal elements of English law Although the common law has, historically, be ...

such a

hypothetical A hypothesis (plural hypotheses) is a proposed explanation for a phenomenon. For a hypothesis to be a scientific hypothesis, the scientific method requires that one can test it. Scientists generally base scientific hypotheses on previous obser ...

process is not allowed, and cases must be determined on fact.

U.S. legal system

The

Massachusetts Massachusetts (Massachusett: ''Muhsachuweesut Massachusett_writing_systems.html" ;"title="nowiki/> məhswatʃəwiːsət.html" ;"title="Massachusett writing systems">məhswatʃəwiːsət">Massachusett writing systems">məhswatʃəwiːsət'' En ...

appellate courts issue rescripts to the lower courts. These are the equivalent of mandates (i.e. writs of mandamus) in federal appellate practice.Mass. R. App. P. 1(c)

References

{{Authority control Catholic canonical documents Common law legal terminology Legal documents Catholic Church legal terminology Civil law legal terminology French legal terminology

Overview

Papal rescripts

French legal system

U.S. legal system

See also

References