Quo warranto

(Latin) "on what authority", document issued by a court of law demanding to know by what right a person exercises the controversial authority; hearing to determine by what authority a person has an office or liberty

Quo warranto (Medieval Latin for "by what warrant?") is one of the prerogative writs, that requires the person to whom it is directed to show what authority he has for exercising some right or power (or "franchise") he claims to hold.Quo Warranto had its origins in an attempt by King Edward I of England to investigate and recover royal lands, rights, and franchises in England, in particular those lost during the reign of his father, King Henry III of England. From 1278 to 1294, Edward dispatched justices throughout England to inquire “by what warrant” English lords held their lands and exercised their jurisdictions (often the right to hold a court and collect its profits). Initially, the justices demanded written proof in the form of charters, but resistance and the unrecorded nature of many grants forced Edward to accept those rights peacefully exercised since 1189. Later, Quo Warranto functioned as a court order (or "writ") to show proof of authority; for example, demanding that someone acting as the sheriff prove that the king had actually appointed him to that office (literally, "By whose warrant are you the sheriff?").
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Noun
1. a hearing to determine by what authority someone has an office or franchise or liberty
(hypernym) hearing
(classification) law, jurisprudence

A writ brought before a proper tribunal, to inquire by what warrant a person or a corporation acts, or exercises certain powers.
  

Latin and referring to a special legal procedure taken to stop a person or organization from doing something for which it may not have the legal authority, by demanding to know by what right they exercise the controversial authority. - (read more on Quo warranto)