Legal Definitions - de integro

De integro is a Latin legal term meaning "anew" or "from the beginning." When a matter is considered de integro, it signifies that it is being reviewed or decided without reference to any previous decisions, findings, or proceedings. The decision-maker starts with a clean slate, re-evaluating all facts and legal arguments independently, as if the issue were being addressed for the very first time.

• Appellate Court Review of Legal Questions: Imagine a situation where a lower court has made a ruling based on its interpretation of a specific law. If a higher appellate court reviews that legal interpretation de integro, it means the appellate court is not simply checking if the lower court's interpretation was "reasonable" or "plausible." Instead, the higher court will independently analyze the law and apply its own legal reasoning to arrive at a conclusion, giving no special deference or weight to the lower court's prior legal ruling.

• Contract Renegotiation: Consider two businesses that have been negotiating a complex partnership agreement for months, but the discussions have reached an impasse, and the initial drafts are no longer viable. If they decide to restart negotiations de integro, it means they are abandoning all previous proposals, terms, and tentative agreements. They will begin the negotiation process entirely from scratch, as if no prior discussions had ever taken place, allowing them to approach the deal with fresh perspectives and without being constrained by past positions.

• Administrative Agency Reconsideration: Suppose a government agency initially denies a license application based on certain criteria. The applicant then requests a reconsideration, and a higher-level administrative panel takes up the case. If this panel decides to review the license application de integro, it means they will not merely assess whether the initial denial was procedurally correct or supported by some evidence. Instead, they will re-evaluate the entire application, all submitted evidence, and relevant regulations as if they were the first decision-maker, making a completely independent determination without deferring to the initial denial.