writ of mandamus

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.

• noun law A writ that compels a government entity to perform mandatory or purely ministerial duties correctly.

from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.

• noun an extraordinary writ commanding an official to perform a ministerial act that the law recognizes as an absolute duty and not a matter for the official's discretion; used only when all other judicial remedies fail