What is Amicus curiae?
{{Italic title}} An '''''amicus curiae''''' (literally, '''''friend of the court'''''; plural, '''''amici curiae''''') is someone who is not a [[Party (law)|party]] to a [[Legal case|case]] and offers information that affects the case but who has not been asked by any of the parties to assist a [[court]]. This may take the form of [[legal opinion]], [[testimony]] or [[learned treatise]] (the '''''amicus'' brief'''). It is a way to introduce concerns that might be overlooked by the parties directly involved in the case. The decision on whether to admit the information lies at the [[wikt:discretion|discretion]] of the court. The phrase ''amicus curiae'' is [[legal]] [[Latin]]. == History == The ''amicus curiae'' practice was found in [[Roman law]].<ref>{{cite book|title=Congressional Participation As Amicus Curiae Before the U.S. Supreme Court|author=Judithanne Scourfield McLauchlan|publisher=LFB Scholarly Publishing|page=266|isbn=1-59332-088-4|year=2005|url=http://www.bsos.umd.edu/gvpt/lpbr/subpages/reviews/mclauchlan1005.htm}}</ref> It played an important part in both [[England|English]] [[common law]] and the [[United States|American]] legal system.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.aele.org/history.html |title=History, Purpose and Philosophy of Amicus Advocacy: The AELE Amicus Brief Program |author=Wayne W. Schmidt |publisher=AELE Law Enforcement Legal Center |access-date=3 April 2016}}</ref> Later, it was introduced in [[international law]], in particular, concerning [[human rights]]. Today, it is used by the [[European Court of Human Rights]].<ref>{{cite web |url=http://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=2350825 |title=An Empirical Look at the Amicus Curiae Practice of Human Rights NGOs Before the European Court of Human Rights |author=Laura Van den Eynde |date=20 March 2013 |publisher=Social Science Electronic Publishing, Inc |ssrn=2350825 |access-date=3 April 2016}}</ref> It is also used in the [[Inter-American Commission on Human Rights]], the [[Inter-American Court of Human Rights]], the Court of