Adjournment sine die

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Adjournment sine die (from the Latin, "without day" pronunciations: SIN-nay DEE-ay, SIGH-nuh DYE-yee, vulgar but accepted SIGH-nee-dye) occurs when an organized body's existence terminates.

It is often used with regard to legislative bodies whose terms or mandates are coming to an end, as in "The One Hundred Third General Assembly of the State of Tennessee closed its second session today by adjourning sine die." This would mean that it is anticipated that this particular body will not meet again; the next session of the legislature would have a somewhat different membership, as some members would not be standing for election again, while others might not win their seats back. However, a legislative body may be called back into special session.

A corporate board might adjourn sine die if the corporation were being sold, merged, or liquidated.

A court may also adjourn a matter sine die, which means the matter is stayed permanently. This may be due to various reasons, for example if the case is started with a wrong procedure chosen the judge may adjourn the matter sine die so that the party may choose to start the action again with the correct procedure.

Another sense of the term, often used by lawyers, does not connote permanent adjournment. When a deposition, for example, is adjourned sine die, it means that no date has yet been set for its resumption, not that it will never be resumed. In fact, it implies that a new date will be set.