A consent decree is a decree by a judge that expresses a voluntary agreement by the participants in a suit. Sometimes a lawsuit ends when a judge issues a consent decree, or a consent judgment. This is especially the case when the consent decree is issued after one side of the case voluntarily agrees to cease a particular action without admitting to damages or illegality of the action.

In order for an agreement between two parties to be considered binding and legal, it must also be recognized by the court. A consent decree in this case is judicial recognition of the agreement. The consent decree obtained often bars one side of the case from certain actions.

One often sees the consent decree applied in cases where a company is sued by government organizations like the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) or the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). For example, the EPA might want a company to clean up a site that contains hazardous materials, and may be having difficulty obtaining cooperation from the company, called potentially responsible parties (PRPs), without a suit.

Instead of having a long and expensive court case in order to gain compliance, the EPA may ask the PRPs to agree to a consent decree to clean up their site, using their own money. If the PRPs wish to avoid litigation, they will accept a consent decree from a judge and will then be responsible for clean up as defined by the decree.

Sometimes the FDA will find serious problems in the manufacturing or quality of products. Unsafe handling of products or contamination may force the FDA to seek a consent decree in order to have a company cease and desist production or sale of a product until it complies with all federal laws that are set forth for the safe production of food and/or medicines. Again, the FDA prefers a consent decree to lengthy legal action.

The consent degree can be interlocutory. This means the consent decree is given prior to the resolution of a court case. So, for example, a lawsuit that is settled out of court is recognized by a consent decree, since the parties do not wait for a judgment from the court to settle their differences.

The consent degree can also be final, and is sometimes called a consent judgment. It is usually not possible to appeal a consent decree unless one side of the suit can prove that they have been forced into consent through fraud. Usually, the only other instance where a consent decree may be appealed is if both parties agree they misunderstood the terms of the agreement as defined by the consent decree.