A rescript is a public government document. More formally, it is a document issued not on the initiative of the author, but in response to a question (usually legal) posed to the author. The word originates from replies issued by Roman emperors to such questions and is also used in modern legal terminology and the

Papal curia The Roman Curia () comprises the administrative institutions of the Holy See and the central body through which the affairs of the Catholic Church are conducted. The Roman Curia is the institution of which the Roman Pontiff ordinarily makes us ...

. Rescripts may take various forms, from a formal document of an established type, such as a

Papal bull A papal bull is a type of public decree, letters patent, or charter issued by the pope of the Catholic Church. It is named after the leaden Seal (emblem), seal (''bulla (seal), bulla'') traditionally appended to authenticate it. History Papal ...

, 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.

Etymology

The word ''rescript'' derives from the Latin noun which itself derives from the Latin verb , meaning "to write back or... reply in writing". It developed its specialised legal meaning due to regular responses by emperors or lawyers to petitions or legal questions. By analogy the term rescript is also applied to similar procedures in other contexts, such as the Ottoman, Chinese and

Japan Japan is an island country in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean off the northeast coast of the Asia, Asian mainland, it is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan and extends from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea ...

ese imperial courts, or even prior to the Roman empire. Two well-known examples of Japanese Imperial rescripts were

Emperor Hirohito , Posthumous name, posthumously honored as , was the 124th emperor of Japan according to the traditional order of succession, from 25 December 1926 until Death and state funeral of Hirohito, his death in 1989. He remains Japan's longest-reigni ...

's 1945

Imperial Rescript on the Termination of the War The Hirohito surrender broadcast (, ), was a radio broadcast of surrender given by Hirohito, the emperor of Japan, on August 15, 1945. It announced to the Japanese people that the Japanese government had accepted the Potsdam Declaration, which ...

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, ...

and his 1946

Humanity Declaration The is an imperial rescript issued by Hirohito, the emperor of Japan, as part of a New Year's statement on 1 January 1946 at the request of the Supreme Commander for the Allied Powers. In the rescript, which started with his citation of the ...

written in response to a request by General

Douglas MacArthur Douglas MacArthur (26 January 18805 April 1964) was an American general who served as a top commander during World War II and the Korean War, achieving the rank of General of the Army (United States), General of the Army. He served with dis ...

Roman law

While the most common author of a rescript was nominally the emperor, the term referred generally to replies written by various officials from the local or provincial level to bishops in the religious hierarchy. During the high

Roman Empire The Roman Empire ruled the Mediterranean and much of Europe, Western Asia and North Africa. The Roman people, Romans conquered most of this during the Roman Republic, Republic, and it was ruled by emperors following Octavian's assumption of ...

the emperor had an officer, the , to deal with petitions () from citizens and draft replies. Those replies, originally written at the bottom of the petition, are thought to have been written largely by the and only issued in the emperor's name. Due to the legal nature of many of those petitions and since the emperor served as a final court of appeal, the office was regularly held by jurists. Among these were Papinianus or

Ulpian Ulpian (; ; 223 or 228) was a Roman jurist born in Tyre in Roman Syria (modern Lebanon). He moved to Rome and rose to become considered one of the great legal authorities of his time. He was one of the five jurists upon whom decisions were to ...

. These rescripts, as written answers from the imperial chancery, came to have legislative effect and took on two general forms: letters () and subscriptions (a response validated by the emperor's written signature underneath; ). Some important early legal collections were composed largely of rescripts, for instance the Codices Gregorianus and Hermogenianus. Many imperial rescripts are preserved in the Justinian's ''Codex'' which restated the body of Roman law.

Modern law

France

France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...

, 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. The judiciary is independent, and legal principles like fairness, equality bef ...

such a

hypothetical A hypothesis (: hypotheses) is a proposed explanation for a phenomenon. A scientific hypothesis must be based on observations and make a testable and reproducible prediction about reality, in a process beginning with an educated guess or tho ...

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

Japan

Japanese Emperors have issued Rescripts, including the

Hirohito surrender broadcast The Hirohito surrender broadcast (, ), was a radio broadcast of surrender given by Hirohito, the emperor of Japan, on August 15, 1945. It announced to the Japanese people that the Japanese government had accepted the Potsdam Declaration, which d ...

and the

Papacy

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

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

. In

Roman Catholicism The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the List of Christian denominations by number of members, largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwid ...

rescripts are responses in writing by the

pope The pope is the bishop of Rome and the Head of the Church#Catholic Church, visible head of the worldwide Catholic Church. He is also known as the supreme pontiff, Roman pontiff, or sovereign pontiff. From the 8th century until 1870, the po ...

or a Congregation of the

Roman Curia The Roman Curia () comprises the administrative institutions of the Holy See and the central body through which the affairs of the Catholic Church are conducted. The Roman Curia is the institution of which the Roman Pontiff ordinarily makes use ...

to queries or petitions of individuals.

United States

The

Massachusetts Massachusetts ( ; ), officially the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, is a U.S. state, state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It borders the Atlantic Ocean and the Gulf of Maine to its east, Connecticut and Rhode ...

appellate courts issue rescripts to the lower courts. These are the equivalent of mandates (i.e. writs of

mandamus A writ of (; ) is a judicial remedy in the English and American common law system consisting of a court order that commands a government official or entity to perform an act it is legally required to perform as part of its official duties, o ...

) in federal appellate practice.Mass. R. App. P. 1(c)

References

Bibliography

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