Short answer. A petition for prohibition is the remedy, filed when a tribunal, board, officer, or person acting in a judicial, quasi-judicial, or ministerial capacity proceeds without or in excess of jurisdiction or with grave abuse of discretion, and there is no other plain, speedy, adequate remedy available.

What the law says

When the proceedings of any tribunal, corporation, board, officer or person, whether exercising judicial, quasi-judicial or ministerial functions, are without or in excess of its or his jurisdiction, or with grave abuse of discretion amounting to lack or excess of jurisdiction, and there is no appeal or any other plain, speedy, and adequate remedy in the ordinary course of law, a person aggrieved thereby may file a verified petition in the proper court, alleging the facts with certainty and praying that judgment be rendered commanding the respondent to desist from further proceedings in the action or matter specified therein, or otherwise granting such incidental reliefs as law and justice may require.

Rule 65, Section 2 — Petition for prohibition. Read the full provision →

Who can be a respondent

Prohibition is not limited to courts. It reaches any tribunal, corporation, board, officer, or person exercising judicial, quasi-judicial, or even purely ministerial functions, as long as that body is proceeding without jurisdiction, in excess of its jurisdiction, or with grave abuse of discretion amounting to lack or excess of jurisdiction. This breadth is what makes prohibition useful against administrative and quasi-judicial bodies, not just trial courts — a licensing board or an administrative agency exceeding its statutory authority is just as much a proper respondent as a judge presiding over a court would be.

The no-other-remedy requirement

Prohibition is not available simply because a party disagrees with how a case is proceeding. It requires that there be no appeal or other plain, speedy, and adequate remedy in the ordinary course of law — it is meant to fill the gap when nothing else can stop the improper proceeding in time. Where an ordinary appeal would eventually correct the error just as effectively, courts generally require the aggrieved party to pursue that ordinary route instead of resorting to the extraordinary remedy of prohibition.

What the petition must do

An aggrieved person files a verified petition alleging the facts with certainty and asking the court to command the respondent to desist from further proceedings, or to grant other incidental relief as justice requires. It must also be accompanied by a certified true copy of the relevant judgment, order, or resolution, pleadings and documents, and a sworn certification against forum shopping. These attachment requirements let the reviewing court evaluate the challenged proceeding on a documented record from the outset, rather than relying solely on the petitioner's own narrative of what occurred in the tribunal below.

Related provisions

Note. Statute text quoted on this page is reproduced from the official enactment and is linked to the full provision. The explanation around it is general legal information from Vivas & Nobles Law Office, not legal advice. Whether it applies to your situation depends on facts only a lawyer reviewing them can assess.