Government operations and workforce

Executive Order 12988: Civil Justice Reform

President: Bill Clinton

Set executive-branch practices for civil litigation, alternative dispute resolution, regulatory drafting and administrative adjudication.

Status: In effect.

Is Executive Order 12988 still in effect? Yes. Active, supplemented by later federalism and tribal-consultation orders.

What does Executive Order 12988 do?

EO 12988 directs federal litigation counsel to seek early notice and settlement, consider alternative dispute resolution, streamline discovery and manage cases efficiently. It also asks agencies to draft clearer regulations and legislation and improve administrative adjudication. A 2025 Small Business Administration rule explicitly assessed its drafting against sections 3(a) and 3(b)(2), showing the order is still cited in agency rulemaking. Such a statement reports the agency’s own review; it does not demonstrate that litigation was reduced. The order remains an internal management directive subject to statutes and court rules and creates no private right to sue.

Administration position: The order sought more efficient government litigation and clearer legal drafting. It does not change court rules, override statutes or create a private right to sue.
SignedFebruary 5, 1996
Effective delay90 days
PredecessorEO 12778 revoked

Before and after

Before the order

EO 12778 supplied the prior civil-justice review framework.

After the order

Agencies adopted common settlement, discovery, drafting and adjudication principles.

Who had to do what

Agency / officeActionTiming / position
Federal litigation counselSeek settlement and efficient case managementContinuing
Rulemaking and legislative agenciesReview drafting and litigation effectsContinuing
Administrative adjudicatorsPromote prompt and fair proceedingsContinuing

What happened next

EO 12988 was signed.

The 90-day effective period ended.

An SBA rule cited the order’s drafting standards.