(a) Upon Motion of a Party. Whenever a statute provides for certification of an action or of any question arising therein by the Superior Court to the Supreme Court application for certification shall be made by motion served on every other party at least ten (10) days prior to the time fixed for hearing thereon. The motion shall specify the matter sought to be certified.
Rule 72.Certification.
Current through February 2024 · Last verified July 8, 2026
In one sentenceRule 72 sets the procedure for certifying a case or a legal question from the Superior Court to the Rhode Island Supreme Court, whether a party requests certification by motion or the Superior Court raises the question on its own initiative.
Full Text of Rule 72
(b) Upon Court's Own Initiative. Whenever a statute provides for certification of an action or any question arising therein to the Supreme Court on the initiative of the Superior Court, the court shall, prior to certification, afford the parties an opportunity to be heard on the issue of certification and on the form any certified question shall take, irrespective of whether the applicable statute directs the Superior Court to certify or vests in the Superior Court discretion with respect to certification.
73 –- 76. [Repealed.] X. SUPERIOR COURT AND CLERKS
Amendment History
Rhode Island does not publish a per-rule amendment history inside the compiled rules text reproduced here. The text above is verified current through the source’s own February 2024 printing; for the underlying adopting orders and any later amendments, see the Rhode Island Judiciary’s compiled rules page.
Plain-English Summary
Rule 72 spells out the procedure for certifying a case, or a question arising in it, from the Superior Court up to the Rhode Island Supreme Court, whenever some other statute authorizes that kind of certification. It doesn’t create the right to certify on its own — that comes from the statute in question — but it fixes the process everyone has to follow once that right exists.
When a party wants certification, the request has to come by motion, served on every other party at least ten days before the hearing on it, and the motion must spell out exactly what the party wants certified. When the Superior Court considers certifying on its own initiative, it has to give the parties a chance to be heard first — both on whether certification should happen at all and on how any certified question should be worded — regardless of whether the underlying statute makes certification mandatory or leaves it to the court’s discretion.
Frequently Asked Questions
How does a party ask the Superior Court to certify a question to the Supreme Court?
By motion, served on every other party at least ten days before the hearing on the motion. The motion has to identify precisely what matter or question the party wants certified.
Does Rule 72 let a party request certification in any case?
No. Rule 72 only supplies the procedure; certification is available only where some other statute authorizes the Superior Court to certify an action, or a question arising in it, to the Supreme Court.
Can the Superior Court certify a question on its own, without either party asking?
Yes, if a statute allows certification on the court’s own initiative. Even then, the court must give the parties an opportunity to be heard on whether to certify and on how the certified question should be framed before it does so.
Source & verification. The rule text is reproduced verbatim from the
official Rhode Island Superior Court Rules of Civil Procedure (R.I. Super. Ct. R. Civ. P. 72). Prescribed by the Supreme Court of Rhode Island (R.I. Gen. Laws § 8-6-2). The plain-English summary is original and written by us. Last verified July 8, 2026. ·
Official source
Also known as: certification to the rhode island supreme courtcertify a legal questioninterlocutory appeal rhode islandask the court to send a case up to the supreme courtcertification motionsuperior court certifying a question of law