III.   Instruction

A Writ of Mandamus, also known as De Mandamus, is a form of peremptory precept and ecclesiastical indulgence issued under proper Sovereign Authority of a Juridic Person compelling an officer or agent or corporation or person under its jurisdiction to do (or refrain from doing) some specific act which that body is obliged under law to do (or refrain from doing) and which is consistent with its mandated duties and obligations.

Mandamus is a Latin term meaning “we command (you to perform)” and one of the Prerogative Writs and primary elements of remedy against the misuse, corruption or failure of officials or agents to follow the body of laws of the Commonwealth including those enacted in the 16th Century by King Henry VIII of England that first formed the legal constructs of modern commerce such as trusts, estates, property, rights of use, licenses, deeds, bills, notices, accounts and warrants:

(i) Under Roman and Western Law, duly appointed officers and agents of government, or those occupying such positions are obliged by the terms of such office to perform their duties correctly in accordance with the law. However, as it increasingly the cases over the past fifty years, government officials and “public servants” have become less and less accountable for their own actions; and

(ii) Historically, a Writ of Mandamus was granted as a command by a superior court to any government subordinate court, corporation or public authority to do or refrain from doing some specific act which that body is obliged under law to do or refrain from doing, as the case may be, and which is in the nature of public duty and in certain cases of a statutory duty; and

(iii) The nature of a Writ of Mandamus is often confused with a command to a subordinate court, corporation or public authority to make some type of decision in favor or against a particular matter. This is wholly contrary to the purpose of Mandamus. A Writ of Mandamus cannot compel any subordinate court, corporation or public authority to decide the outcome of a matter one way or the other – only to compel the agency to perform their duties in accordance with the law; and

(iv) Nor may the Writ of Mandamus be used to alter, fast track or circumvent the policies or statutes afforded a subordinate court, corporation or public authority in responding to a matter. If an agency is permitted under statute to delay certain decisions or benefits, then a Writ of Mandamus cannot be used to force a faster resolution of the matter contrary to the powers afforded the particular agency; and

(v) The core purpose of Mandamus rests to provide remedy to defects of justice from gross incompetence, dereliction of duty and malfeasance.