''Restitutio ad integrum'', or ''restitutio in integrum'', is a

Latin term This is a list of Wikipedia articles of Latin phrases and their translation into English. To view all phrases on a single, lengthy document, see: List of Latin phrases (full). Lists of pages * List of Latin phrases (A) * List of Latin phrases ( ...

that means "restoration to original condition". It is one of the primary guiding principles behind the awarding of

damages At common law, damages are a remedy in the form of a monetary award to be paid to a claimant as compensation for loss or injury. To warrant the award, the claimant must show that a breach of duty has caused foreseeable loss. To be recognized at ...

common law Common law (also known as judicial precedent, judge-made law, or case law) is the body of law primarily developed through judicial decisions rather than statutes. Although common law may incorporate certain statutes, it is largely based on prece ...

negligence Negligence ( Lat. ''negligentia'') is a failure to exercise appropriate care expected to be exercised in similar circumstances. Within the scope of tort law, negligence pertains to harm caused by the violation of a duty of care through a neg ...

claims. In European patent law, it also refers to a means of redress available to an applicant or patentee who has failed to meet a time limit despite exercising all due care. In ancient

Roman law Roman law is the law, legal system of ancient Rome, including the legal developments spanning over a thousand years of jurisprudence, from the Twelve Tables (), to the (AD 529) ordered by Eastern Roman emperor Justinian I. Roman law also den ...

, it was a specific method of

praetor ''Praetor'' ( , ), also ''pretor'', was the title granted by the government of ancient Rome to a man acting in one of two official capacities: (i) the commander of an army, and (ii) as an elected ''magistratus'' (magistrate), assigned to disch ...

intervention in an otherwise-valid legal action that was viewed as especially unjust or harmful.

Common law negligence claims

''Restitutio ad integrum'' is one of the primary guiding principles behind the awarding of

claims. The general rule, as the principle implies, is that the amount of compensation awarded should put the successful plaintiff in the position that would have been the case if the tortious action had not been committed. Thus, the plaintiff should clearly be awarded damages for direct expenses such as medical bills and property repairs and the loss of future earnings attributable to the injury, which often involves difficult speculation on the future career and promotion prospects. Although monetary compensation cannot be directly equated with physical deprivation, it is generally accepted that compensation should also be awarded for loss of amenities, which reflects the decrease in expected standard of living from any injury suffered and pain and suffering. Damages awards in those categories are justified by the ''restitutio'' principle as monetary compensation provides the most practicable way of redressing the deprivation caused by physical injury.

Cases

*''Graham v. Egan'' 15 La. Ann. 97, 98 (1860). In considering whether to give the mortgagor money damages or restore the property itself, the court said in regard to restitution: "He can restore the property itself, and place the ortgagorin the same condition he would have occupied if he had not been harassed with an unfounded demand. This is precisely what is meant by the restitution in integrum. If there be ground for restitution at all, there is the same ground for a complete restitution, a restitution in integrum". *'' Emile Erlanger v The New Sombrero Phosphate Company'' (1877–78) L.R. 3 App. Cas. 1218 *''Livingstone v Rawyards Coal Co'' (1880) 5 App Cas 25,39, per Lord Blackburn, compensation should be "that sum of money which will put the party who has been injured in the same position as he would have been if he had not sustained the wrong for which he is now getting his compensation or reparation".

Patent law

The expression ''restitutio in integrum'' is also used in

patent A patent is a type of intellectual property that gives its owner the legal right to exclude others from making, using, or selling an invention for a limited period of time in exchange for publishing an sufficiency of disclosure, enabling discl ...

law, namely in the

European Patent Convention The European Patent Convention (EPC), also known as the Convention on the Grant of European Patents of 5 October 1973, is a multilateral treaty instituting the European Patent Organisation and providing an autonomous legal system according to w ...

(EPC), and refers to a means of redress available to an applicant or patentee who has failed to meet a time limit in spite of exercising "all due care required by the circumstances". If the request for ''restitutio in integrum'' is accepted, the applicant or patentee is re-established in its rights, as if the time limit had been duly met. According to decision G 1/86 of the Enlarged Board of Appeal of the European Patent Office, other parties such as opponents are not barred from the ''restitutio in integrum'' by principle. For instance, if an opponent fails to file the statement of grounds for appeal in spite of all due care, after having duly filed the notice of appeal, ''restitutio'' remedies are available to them.G 1/86 of the Enlarged Board of Appeal of the European Patent Office
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Ancient Roman law

''Restitutio in integrum'' had a distinct meaning in ancient

that differed from its common law counterpart. The core concept of reversing to original condition was preserved, but ''restitutio in integrum'' was a specific method of

intervention in an otherwise-valid legal action that was viewed as especially unjust or harmful. It was an extraordinary measure designed to protect from arbitrary application of law, which Romans viewed very unfavorably (expressed in the Latin

maxim Maxim or Maksim may refer to: Entertainment *Maxim (magazine), ''Maxim'' (magazine), an international men's magazine ** Maxim (Australia), ''Maxim'' (Australia), the Australian edition ** Maxim (India), ''Maxim'' (India), the Indian edition *Maxim ...

''summum ius, summa iniuria'' "the greatest law is the greatest injury"). As such, it was an ''ultimum remedium'' ("ultimate remedy"), which was used only when all other avenues of protection from injustice were expanded. Examples of situations in which ''restitutio in integrum'' might have been employed were harmful legal actions undertaken by those below 25 years of age because of their inexperience and legal actions undertaken with erroneous assumptions (''error'') or in fear (''metus'') of another's threat (''vis'').

References

{{Authority control Latin legal terminology Law of negligence European Patent Organisation Tort law Roman law