Non ultra petita

In law, the principle of non ultra petita, meaning "not beyond the request" in Latin, means that a court may not decide more than it has been asked to.^[1] In particular, the court may not award more to the winning party than it requested.^[2] The same principle is expressed in the Latin brocard Ne eat iudex ultra petita partium aut breviter ne ultra petita, often abbreviated to ne ultra petita.

The principle is a traditional basis of the rules of procedure governing civil and administrative litigation in continental legal systems, and in public international law.^[1][2] In contrast, it does not apply in criminal proceedings.^{[citation needed]}

It is closely related to the disposition principle (also called "principle of party disposition" or "principle of free disposition"), also a traditional feature of continental legal systems. It states that in civil and administrative cases, the parties are free to dispose of their claims – advancing, withholding or withdrawing them as they see fit – and may thereby control the course of the litigation.^[3]