Interim Order

The term interim order refers to an order passed by a court during the pendency of the litigation. It is generally passed by the Court to ensure Status quo. The rationale for such orders to be passed by the Courts lie are best explained by Latin legal maxim "Actus curiae neminem gravabit" which translated to (English) stand for "an act of the court shall prejudice no one". Therefore to ensure that none of the interests of the parties to the litigation are harmed, the court may pass an interim order.

Interim orders passed by the court may be of various courts. The nature of the order essentially depends on the direction passed by the Court and on these basis they may be classified as under;

• Restraining order (also called Injunction), which are passed to stop either party from acting in a particular manner during the pendency of the civil action. These are essential passed by the court to prevent situations in which either party may suffer a harm because the other party did/continued an act which was the matter in issue and
• Directive order, which are passed to direct either part to continue to act in a particular manner till the conclusion of the trial or till further orders. These may be passed if the non-continuation of the act would cause harm to the other party.

In public international law, the "rough equivalent" of an interim order is a provisional measure of protection, which can be "indicated" by the International Court of Justice.