§ 9-6-60.For what purpose quo warranto may issue; who may bring action

Quo warranto is a court proceeding built to answer one question: does the person running a public office have the legal right to be there? O.C.G.A. § 9-6-60 opens Georgia’s quo warranto framework by defining exactly that reach. The writ tests title to an office against the person who is, in fact, discharging its duties — not a title held on paper only, but a job being performed.

The section also fences off who may ask a court to look into the question. It is not open to any citizen with an opinion about who should hold public office. Only two categories of applicant qualify: someone who claims the office for themselves, or someone with an interest in the outcome — a rival officeholder, a board that appoints the position, or another party whose rights depend on knowing who legitimately holds it.

That gatekeeping matters in practice. Public offices need stability, and a rule that let any bystander force a courtroom inquiry into every officeholder’s credentials would invite endless disruption. By tying standing to a claim or an interest, the statute keeps quo warranto aimed at real disputes between people with something at stake, while leaving the mechanics of trial and remedy to the sections that follow.