What does procurum affirmed mean?

Answer 1

Some courts -- such as the US Courts of Appeals and the US Supreme Court -- have more than one judge. Long ago, the practice was for each judge to give his/her opinion on a case separately, but beginning with Chief Justice John Marshall, that tradition changed. Now one judge usually writes the opinion for the majority and the other judges who agree with him/her "join" that decision. The opinion clearly states which judge wrote it and which judges joined.

Sometimes, the judges don't want to identify who wrote or joined a ruling. A Per Curiam opinion is one that is given "through the court," so it does not state the author or which judges are joining. Per Curiam opinions by the US Supreme Court are rare. They tend to be very short opinions that the Court issues in unusually controversial cases. Sometimes the justices will say nothing else -- as in Bush v. Gore -- but in other cases they each will issue separate concurrences and dissents explaining their individual opinions -- as in Furman v. Georgia.

To "affirm" a decision means that the reviewing court (Court of Appeals or the Supreme Court in the US Federal system) approves of the result of the lower court. If a ruling is Per Curiumaffirmed, this means that the reviewing court upheld the lower court's decision in an opinion that was not signed by the individual appellate judges.