Quo warranto 1

Quo warranto
Quo warranto (Medieval Latin for "by what warrant?") is a prerogative writ requiring the person to whom it is
directed to show what authority they have for exercising some right or power (or "franchise") they claim to hold.

History
Quo warranto had its origins in an attempt by King Edward I of England to investigate and recover royal lands,
rights, and franchises in England,[1] in particular those lost during the reign of his father, King Henry III of
England.[2] [3] From 1278 to 1294, Edward dispatched justices throughout the Kingdom of England to inquire “by
what warrant” English lords held their lands and exercised their jurisdictions (often the right to hold a court and
collect its profits). Initially, the justices demanded written proof in the form of charters, but resistance and the
unrecorded nature of many grants forced Edward to accept those rights peacefully exercised since 1189.[1] [4] Later,
quo warranto functioned as a court order (or "writ") to show proof of authority; for example, demanding that
someone acting as the sheriff prove that the king had actually appointed him to that office (literally, "By whose
warrant are you the sheriff?").
The most famous historical instance of quo warranto was the action taken against the Corporation of London by
Charles II in 1683. The King's Bench adjudged the charter and franchises of the city of London to be forfeited to the
Crown though this judgment was reversed by act of parliament shortly after the Glorious Revolution.

Quo warranto today

In the United States today, quo warranto usually arises in a civil case as a plaintiff's claim (and thus a "cause of
action" instead of a writ) that some governmental or corporate official was not validly elected to that office or is
wrongfully exercising powers beyond (or ultra vires) those authorized by statute or by the corporation's charter.
In some jurisdictions which have enacted judicial review statutes, such as Queensland (Australia), the prerogative
writ of quo warranto has been abolished.[5]

References
[1] Clanchy From Memory to Written Record p. 3
[2] Harris, Nicholas; Charles Purton Cooper (1831). Public Records. p. 74.
[3] Carpenter, David A. (1996). The reign of Henry III. p. 88. ISBN 9781852851378.
[4] Clanchy From Memory to Written Record p. 152
[5] Sn 42 Abolition of quo warranto (http:/ / www. austlii. edu. au/ au/ legis/ qld/ consol_act/ jra1991158/ s42. html), Judicial Review Act 1991,
Queensland Consolidated Acts

Bibliography
• Clanchy, M. T. (1993). From Memory to Written Record: England 1066-1307 (Second Edition ed.). Malden, MA:
Blackwell Publishing. ISBN 978-0-631-16857-7.
• Michael Prestwich, Edward I (London: Methuen, 1988, updated edition Yale University Press, 1997 ISBN
0-300-07209-0)
• Michael Prestwich, The Three Edwards: War and State in England 1272-1377 (London: Weidenfeld & Nicolson,
1980, reprinted Routledge 1996) ISBN 0-415-05133-9
• Donald W. Sutherland, Quo Warranto Proceedings in the Reign of Edward I, 1278-1294 (Oxford; Clarendon
Press, 1963)
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External links
• Missouri Bar Extraordinary Remedies (http://www.mobar.org/4df86bfb-bd0f-496f-975b-6d30db2e274e.
aspx#Quo_Warranto)
•  Chisholm, Hugh, ed (1911). "Quo Warranto". Encyclopædia Britannica (Eleventh ed.). Cambridge University
Press.
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