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Law vocabulary · Latin Legal Terms

Amicus curiae

Meaning in law, with examples

nounAdvanced term

In law, amicus curiae means: A Latin phrase meaning 'friend of the court': a person or organisation that is not a party but gives the court information or arguments on an issue of wider importance.

In Turkish: mahkemeye görüş sunan üçüncü kişi, amicus curiae, mahkemenin dostu

How it is used

Common in US appeals, where interest groups 'file an amicus brief', and before international courts. The European Court of Human Rights calls the same thing a 'third-party intervention'. The plural is 'amici curiae', and people often just say 'amicus' or 'amici'.

Example sentences

  1. Several human rights organisations filed amicus curiae briefs in the case.

  2. The court invited a law professor to act as amicus curiae on the technical questions.

Common collocations

  • amicus curiae brief
  • file an amicus brief
  • act as amicus curiae
  • amici curiae
  • briefIn the US, a written argument that a lawyer submits to a court, especially an appeal court; in the UK, the instructions and papers a solicitor sends to a barrister for a case.
  • supreme courtThe highest court in a country or state, whose decisions on legal questions usually bind lower courts and cannot be appealed any further.
  • human rightsThe basic rights and freedoms that every person has simply because they are human, such as the right to life, to a fair trial and to freedom of expression.
  • partyEach person or organisation directly involved in a contract or a court case, such as the buyer and the seller, or the claimant and the defendant.
  • counselThe lawyer or lawyers who represent a party in court; in the UK it often means a barrister. A lawyer employed by a company is called in-house counsel.

More terms: Latin Legal Terms

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This page explains English vocabulary for learners. It is not legal advice.