redintegratio

Redintegratio is a Latin legal term that denotes restoration or reintegration to a former state after an interruption or deprivation. The word combines red- (again, back) with integrare (to restore, make whole) and is primarily used in historical legal contexts.

In Roman law and later civil-law traditions, redintegratio referred to the restoration of a person or their rights following a period of disability, punishment, or interruption of legal capacity. The concept served to describe the reestablishment of lawful status, capacity, or remedies that had been impaired by interdicts, minority, or other legal disabilities. In scholarly discussions, it is often invoked as an umbrella for the procedural and substantive processes by which rights or status are regained.

In canon law, redintegratio describes the reintegration of a person into the ecclesiastical community after penalties such as excommunication or interdict, typically through a process of penance or reconciliation with church authority. This usage reflects the broader notion of restoring communion and access to ecclesiastical rights.

Today, redintegratio is largely a historical or scholarly term. Modern legal systems usually express the idea through terms like restoration, reinstatement, rehabilitation, or reactivation of rights and status. The concept remains of interest in the study of legal history and Latin terminology.

See also: restoration of rights, reinstatement, rehabilitation, reintegration.