Opinion ID: 2180415
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 6

Heading: Voidness

Text: Defendant contends that the principle restitutio in integrum, which is well established in international law, renders his conviction and sentence void. Restitutio in integrum is defined as: In the civil law, restoration or restitution to the previous condition. This was effected by the prætor [3] on equitable grounds, at the prayer of an injured party, by rescinding or annulling a contract or transaction valid by the strict law, or annulling a change in the legal condition produced by an omission, and restoring the parties to their previous situation or legal relations. The restoration of a cause to its first state, on petition of the party who was cast, in order to have a second hearing. Black's Law Dictionary 1313 (6th ed. 1990). Although we acknowledge the important role that restitutio in integrum plays in international law, defendant has not cited any authority to support a conclusion that the principle renders defendant's conviction and death sentence void. Instead, both the quotation from Black's, upon which defendant relies, and the other authorities cited by defendant support the conclusion that restitutio in integrum is an equitable remedy for violations of a treaty. To say that the proper remedy for a treaty violation is to annul the act that caused the violation is a far cry from concluding that the remedy means that a court's decision is void. This court has explained that an order is void if it was entered by a court that lacked jurisdiction of the parties or of the subject matter or that lacked the inherent power to make or enter the particular order involved. R.W. Sawant & Co. v. Allied Programs Corp., 111 Ill.2d 304, 309, 95 Ill.Dec. 496, 489 N.E.2d 1360 (1986). Here, the trial court clearly had jurisdiction of the parties and of the subject matter and it had the inherent power to make or enter the orders involved. Consequently, we see no basis upon which to conclude that defendant's conviction and sentence are void.