Legal Definitions - adjournatur

Adjournatur is a Latin term meaning "it is adjourned." Historically, this phrase was a formal notation used in legal documents, particularly at the conclusion of reported court decisions or proceedings. It served as a concise record indicating that the court session or a specific case was postponed to a later time or formally concluded for the day.

• Example 1: Imagine a legal historian examining a collection of 17th-century English court records. After reviewing the detailed account of a day's arguments in a land dispute, the historian finds the entry for that day's session concluding with the word "adjournatur."

  Explanation: In this context, "adjournatur" signifies that the court formally paused its proceedings for that specific day, with the expectation that the case would resume at a later, scheduled date.

• Example 2: A law student is studying early American appellate court reports from the 1800s. They notice that many of the published decisions, after presenting the court's opinion and any dissenting views, end with the single word "Adjournatur."

  Explanation: Here, "adjournatur" acts as a formal closing statement in the published report, indicating the official conclusion of the court's business for that particular case or the end of the court's session during which the decision was rendered.

• Example 3: Consider a fictional depiction of a colonial courtroom where a judge, after a lengthy cross-examination of a witness in a complex civil case, declares, "This court will reconvene tomorrow morning at nine." The court clerk, meticulously documenting the day's events, would then record "Adjournatur" in the official minutes to reflect the judge's order to suspend proceedings until the next day.

  Explanation: This illustrates "adjournatur" as the written confirmation of a judicial order to adjourn, serving as an official record that the proceedings were temporarily halted.