Legal Definitions - brevia judicialia

The Latin term brevia judicialia translates to "judicial writs." In legal contexts, it refers to formal written commands or orders issued by a court during the course of a legal proceeding or after a judgment has been rendered. These writs are typically procedural in nature, directing parties, officials, or other entities to perform specific actions or to refrain from certain acts, often to facilitate the litigation process or to enforce a court's decision. They are distinct from "original writs," which historically initiated a lawsuit.

• Example 1: Writ of Execution

  Imagine a situation where a small business successfully sues a client for a large unpaid invoice and wins a monetary judgment. If the client still refuses to pay, the court might issue a writ of execution, which is a type of breve judiciale. This writ formally commands a sheriff or other law enforcement officer to seize specific assets belonging to the client (such as funds in a bank account or valuable property) and sell them to satisfy the judgment.

  Explanation: This example illustrates a breve judiciale because it is a formal, written order issued by the court *after* a judgment has been made, directing a specific action (asset seizure) to enforce the court's decision and ensure the winning party receives what they are owed.

• Example 2: Writ of Garnishment

  Consider a scenario in a divorce case where one parent is consistently failing to make court-ordered child support payments. To address this, the court could issue a writ of garnishment. This breve judiciale would formally direct the delinquent parent's employer to withhold a specific portion of their wages each pay period and send it directly to the custodial parent, thereby enforcing the court's child support order.

  Explanation: Here, the breve judiciale is a court-issued written command that compels a third party (the employer) to take a specific action (wage withholding) to enforce a pre-existing court order (child support payments) during the ongoing legal obligation.

• Example 3: Writ of Production for Discovery

  In a complex civil lawsuit involving a dispute between two corporations, one company might need access to specific financial records or internal communications from the other company during the "discovery" phase of litigation. If the other company refuses to provide these documents voluntarily, the court could issue a writ of production, a form of breve judiciale. This writ would formally order the reluctant party to produce the requested documents by a certain deadline, under penalty of contempt of court if they fail to comply.

  Explanation: This demonstrates a breve judiciale as a formal, written order from the court issued *during* a legal proceeding to compel a party to perform a specific procedural action (producing documents) that is essential for the litigation to proceed fairly and for both sides to gather necessary evidence.