Legal definition[edit]
Nunc pro tunc may apply to “a judgment is entered, or document enrolled, so as to have the same legal force and effect as if it had been entered or enrolled on an earlier day”.[1] This type of order originated from the Court of Chancery from 1388.[2] In 1805 the Lord Chancellor, Lord Eldon, said “The Court will enter a Decree nunc pro tunc, if satisfied from its own official documents, that it is only doing now what it would have done then.”[3]
Nunc pro tunc may also apply to acts that are allowed to be done after the time legally allotted to carry them out has passed. For example, in the probate of an estate, if real property, such as lands, mineral interests, etc., are discovered after the final decree or order, a nunc pro tunc order can include these discovered lands or assets into the estate and clarify how they were meant to be distributed. Or, when a court clerk makes a clerical error or a mistake on the public record without any legal authority to do so, without a judicial order, or without obtaining consent by the parties involved. A Nunc Pro Tunc corrects the record to accurately reflect judicial proceedings and agreements reached between parties. [4]