Prerogative Writs - Definition - Law Dictionary Home Dictionary Definition prerogative-writs

Definition :

Prerogative Writs, processes issued upon extra-ordinary occasions on proper cause shown. They are the writs of procedendo, mandamus, prohibition, quo warranto, habeas corpus, and certiorari.

Prerogative writs are privileges of an extraordinary kind granted by the court in certain cases, but never as a matter of right; they being a direct intervention of the government with the liberty or property of the subject.