AMICUS CURIAE: WHAT IS IT, CHARACTERISTICS, HISTORY, EXAMPLES - ARTE - 2025

The amicus curiae is a professional person or organization that assists the court of law by providing information or advice on questions of law or other related matters. The term comes from Latin, which means: "friend of the court." In the plural, it is called 'amici curiae'.

Although the amicus curiae is not part of a particular litigation, it is allowed by the court to advise you with respect to a legal matter that directly affects the case in question.

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Therefore, it differs from an intervenor, who does have a direct interest in the outcome of a complaint and is therefore allowed to participate as part of the lawsuit. An amicus curiae is not normally allowed to participate, except with the permission of the court, which rarely occurs.

Individuals may appear as amici curiae in the Supreme Court, either when both parties give their consent or if the Court grants permission.

What is the amis curiae?

The amicus curiae attempts to draw the court's attention to arguments or information that the parties may not have presented, such as the effects of a particular court ruling on the interests of certain third parties.

The role of an amicus curiae is to assist the court with the presentation of the law impartially, or if one of the parties is not represented, by presenting legal arguments on their behalf.

You generally present arguments or information to the court in the form of a report. Amicus briefs are generally filed at the appellate level, although they can also be filed in pending lawsuits in the trial court.

When a case may have broader implications, amicus curiae briefs are one way to articulate those concerns.

Thus, the broad legal or public policy ramifications of court decisions will not depend solely on the positions and arguments presented by the parties directly involved in the case.

Appeal cases

The most frequently observed situation is when an advocacy group files a brief in an appeals court case where it is not a litigant.

Appellate cases are normally limited to the record of the facts and arguments from the lower court case on appeal. Lawyers focus on the facts and arguments most favorable to their clients.

characteristics

In general, an amicus curiae must obtain the court's permission before filing their brief, unless all parties consent to the filing of the amicus.

The amici curiae are not parties to the lawsuit, unless they formally intervene. As a result, an amicus curiae does not need to be on the stand for the trial. The decision on whether to consider an amicus brief is at the discretion of the court.

Furthermore, because it is not a party, an amicus curiae does not normally have the rights that parties to a lawsuit have, such as being able to obtain the other parties' records.

The amicus curiae may or may not have been requested by one of the parties to assist a court by offering information, experience or knowledge that influences the resolution of the problems of the case.

Purpose of the reports

- Answer the points raised by the opposing party.

- Cite relevant statistics.

- Limit the application of a decision to limited circumstances.

- Promote model procedures or recognized standards.

- Explain police practices or illustrate police methodology.

- Complement deficiencies in the report of the party being supported.

- Explain the practical effect of an adverse decision on everyday police work in the street.

History

The figure amicus curiae originates from Roman law. From the ninth century it was incorporated into English law, and then spread to most common law systems.

In 1821, Henry Clay was the first attorney to file an amicus curiae brief with the United States Supreme Court. This strategy was among the innovations that marked him as a legal pioneer.

Later, it was introduced into international law, particularly in relation to human rights. From there, it was integrated into some civil law systems.

It is integrated into the Argentine law system and the 2010 Honduran code of civil procedures.

Today it is used by the European Court of Human Rights, the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights, the Inter-American Court of Human Rights, the Court of Justice of the European Union and the Special Court for Lebanon.

Examples

- U.S

In the United States, nonprofit legal advocacy organizations such as the American Civil Liberties Union or the Pacific Legal Foundation frequently submit briefs to advocate for or against a particular legal interpretation.

The Supreme Court of the United States allows federal, state and local governments to present their views in any case that concerns them, without the need to obtain the consent of the court or the parties.

Thus, states may file amici curiae reports when their laws or interests are likely to be affected, as in the Supreme Court case between McDonald v. Chicago, where 32 states independently submitted such reports.

- World Trade Organization

The role of amicus curiae briefs in the dispute settlement system of the World Trade Organization (WTO) is controversial. The controversy arises due to the governmental nature of the disputes in the WTO.

As only WTO members have access to the system, non-members are excluded (such as non-governmental organizations) and do not have the right to be heard.

Therefore, the only way they can contribute to a WTO decision is through amicus curiae briefs.

Appellate body

The first WTO case to thoroughly examine the admissibility of amicus curiae briefs was United States v. shrimp farms.

The situation concerned the prohibition by the United States of imports of all shrimp products that had not been caught with turtle exclusion devices.

In the first instance, the two amicus curiae briefs presented by environmental groups were rejected, on the grounds that they were not expressly requested by the panel. However, the appeal body reversed this decision, authorizing the acceptance or rejection of the reports regardless of the express request.

References

1. Encyclopaedia Britannica (2019). Amicus curiae. Taken from: britannica.com.
2. Merriam-Webster (2019). Amicus curiae. Taken from: merriam-webster.com.
3. Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia (2019). Amicus curiae. Taken from: en.wikipedia.org.
4. Practical Law (2019). Amicus curiae. Taken from: uk.practicallaw.thomsonreuters.com.
5. Wayne W. Schmidt (2019). History, Purpose and Philosophy of Amicus Advocacy: The AELE Amicus Brief Program. Aele. Taken from: aele.org.