AMICUS CURIAE

Subject : Polity

Context: Harish Salve recuses from being amicus curiae in Supreme Court suomotu proceedings on Covid-19 crisis.

Concept:

An amicus curiae (literally, “friend of the court”; plural: amici curiae) is someone who is not a party to a case who assists a court by offering information, expertise, or insight that has a bearing on the issues in the case.
The decision on whether to consider an amicus brief lies within the discretion of the court.
The amicus curiae figure originates in Roman law. Starting in the 9th century, it was incorporated into English law, and it was later extended to most common law systems.