phrase (or proprio motu; Latin allows free word order) is used to indicate an act taken by a court without a motion from a party to the case. The term is used very rarely in legal opinions in the United States, where sua sponte is preferred, but proprio motu is used in Canada. Proprio motu is used to refer to a decision by the prosecutor of the International Criminal Court to initiate an investigation into a situation without a referral from the Security Council or a state party; this power is granted by article 15(1) of the Rome Statute. As it relates to a monarch, the term motu proprio describes the condition of a royal decree being made expressly on the sovereign's initiative, a practice more usual in some nations than in others. Relating to orders of chivalry, like the Order of Malta, the grand master according to the statutes can confer the order motu proprio, instead of in response to a nomination by a national delegation. References External links New Advent: Catholic Encyclopedia (1911): Motu Proprio Encyclopædia Britannica online: motu proprio Catholic canonical documents Holy See Latin legal terminology Sources of law