A court order (or court ruling) is an official proclamation by a judge (or panel of judges) that defines the legal relationships between the parties to a hearing, a trial, an appeal or other court proceedings. Such ruling requires or authorizes the carrying out of certain steps by one or more parties to a case. A court order must be signed by a judge and must be notarized.
The content and provisions of a court order depend on the type of proceeding, the phase of the proceedings in which they are issued, and the procedural1 and evidentiary2 rules that govern the proceedings.
An order can be as simple as setting a date for trial or as complex as restructuring contractual relationships by and between many corporations in a multi-jurisdictional dispute (i.e., different states or countries). It may be a final order (one that concludes the court action), or an interim order (one during the action). Most orders are written, and are signed by the judge. Some orders, however, are spoken orally by the judge in open court, and are only reduced to writing in the transcript of the proceedings.
Examples
The following represents a small sampling of matters that are commonly dictated by the terms of a court order:
One kind of interim order is a temporary restraining order(TRO) to preserve the status quo. Such an order may later overturned or vacated during the litigation, or it may be a final order and judgment only subject to appeal.
