In English
common law, a
writ is a formal written order issued by a body with administrative or judicial
jurisdiction; in modern usage, this body is generally a
court.
Warrants,
prerogative writs and
subpoenas are common types of writs but innumerable forms exist, as listed in
Palgrave's Parliamentary Writs (1827, 1834). In its earliest form a writ was simply a written order made by the English monarch to a specified person to undertake a specified action, for example in the
feudal era a military summons by the king to one of his
tenants-in-chief to appear dressed for battle with retinue at a certain place and time. An early usage survives in the
United Kingdom in a
writ of election which is a written order issued on behalf of the monarch to
High Sheriffs of every county to hold a
general election. Writs were used by the mediaeval English kings to summon persons to Parliament (then consisting of
House of Lords alone) whose advice was considered valuable or who were particularly influential, who were thereby deemed to have been created "
barons by writ".
