There is a simple latin expression "ad hoc" and it means "for this specific purpose".
When the expression is used in a legal context, it is usually made with reference to a committee, a project or an undertaking.
Commonly, an association, agency, organization or corporation will need a specific project completed. In that regard, if there is no formal arrangement in place, then an "ad hoc" committee might be struck.
Typically, such a committee, will have:
· Limited terms of reference
· Be of short duration
· Have the powers either to complete the project or make a recommendation
· Be dissolved upon completion of its task
An Ad Hoc Committee of the Board of Directors might be struck for the purpose of finding a new President. There would be no general committee of the Board, or standing committee for that matter which would have been charged with this responsibility. This committee would undertake the recruitment, and make a recommendation to the Board. Once the Board has appointed the new President, this ad hoc committee will have fulfilled its legal responsibilities and will be dissolved.
There are other contexts within which the expression is sometimes used. Someone aggrieved by a decision might complain that it was "just an ad hoc committee", decision, arrangement, or recommendation, intending to convey the impression that it was poorly undertaken, or not taken seriously. Oftentimes, this observation is correct, and the result is frequently of poor quality, and can be subject to criticism.
In that context, the expression has a pejorative connotation. However, that's "slang" and does not arise if one examines the derivation of the term, which is neither negative nor positive. It is a neutral expression, just intending to convey the meaning that there was a "particular purpose".
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