Functus Officio -Principle

Functus officio is the principle in terms of which decisions of officials are deemed to be final and binding once they are made. They cannot, once made, be revoked by the decision maker. Both the granter and receiver of rights know where they stand. The doctrine supports fairness and certainty. A simple example would be the granting of a fishing licence against payment of the required fee - the right to fish endures for as long as the permit endures. The official who has granted the licence has discharged his office, and is functus.

But the doctrine does not apply to all administrative decisions. It applies only to decisions that have the following qualities:

• The decision must be final.
• Rights or benefits must have been granted.

In Judicial Proceedings

There is no power of review with the  Court after judgment has been rendered. The High Court can alter or review its judgment before it is signed. When an order is passed, it cannot be reviewed. It is principle of law that once a matter is finally disposed of by a Court, the said Court in the absence of a specific statutory provision becomes functus officio and is disentitled to entertain a fresh prayer for any relief unless the former order of final disposal is set aside by a Court of competent jurisdiction in a manner prescribed by law. The Court becomes functus officio the moment the order for disposing of a case is signed. Such an order cannot be altered except to the extent of correcting a clerical or arithmetical error. There is also no provision for modification of the judgment.