dismissal of his complaint about parole release procedures. 423 U. S., at 149. See also Memphis Light, Gas & Water Div. v. Craft, 436 U. S. 1, 8 (1978).

The Court suggests that Jacobs and Spangler may be distinguished because the plaintiffs there were not appealing the denial of class certification. The Court overlooks the fact that in each case the class representatives were defending a judgment on the merits from which the defendants had appealed. The plaintiffs/respondents continued vigorously to assert the claims of the class. They did not take the procedural route of appealing a denial of certification only because the District Court had granted-albeit defectively-class status. We chose not to remand for correction of the oral certification order in Jacobs because we recognized that the putative class representative had suffered no injury that could be redressed by adequate certification. Underlying Jacobs, and Bradford as well, is the elementary principle that no one has a personal stake in obtaining relief for third parties, through the mechanism of class certification or otherwise.13 The Court rejects that principle today.

III

While the Court's new concept of "flexible" mootness is unprecedented, the content given that concept is even more disturbing. The Court splits the class aspects of this action into two separate "claims": (i) that the action may be maintained by respondent on behalf of a class, and (ii) that the class is entitled to relief on the merits. Since no class has been certified, the Court concedes that the claim on the merits is moot. Ante, at 404, 408. But respondent is said to

13 In some circumstances, litigants are permitted to argue the rights of third parties in support of their claims. E. g., Singleton v. Wulff 428 U. S. 106, 113 (1976); Barrows v. Jackson, 346 U. S. 249, 255–256 (1953). In each such case, however, the Court has identified a concrete, individual injury suffered by the litigant himself. Ibid.; see n. 2, supra, and accompanying text.

have a personal stake in his "procedural claim" despite his lack of a stake in the merits.

14

The Court makes no effort to identify any injury to respondent that may be redressed by, or any benefit to respondent that may accrue from, a favorable ruling on the certification question. Instead, respondent's "personal stake" is said to derive from two factors having nothing to do with concrete injury or stake in the outcome. First, the Court finds that the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure create a "right," "analogous to the private attorney general concept," to have a class certified. Second, the Court thinks that the case retains the "imperatives of a dispute capable of judicial resolution," which are identified as (i) a sharply presented issue, (ii) a concrete factual setting, and (iii) a self-interested party actually contesting the case. Ante, at 403.15

14 In a footnote, ante, at 406, n. 11, the Court states:

"This respondent suffered actual, concrete injury as a result of the putatively illegal conduct, and this injury would satisfy the formalistic personal-stake requirement if damages were sought. See, e. g., Powell v. McCormack, 395 U. S., at 495-500."

This appears to be a categorical claim of the actual, concrete injury our cases have required. Yet, again, the Court fails to identify the injury. The reference to damages is irrelevant here, as respondent sought no damages only injunctive and declaratory relief. Moreover, counsel for respondent frankly conceded that his client "can obtain absolutely no additional personal relief" in this case. Tr. of Oral Arg. 25. If the Court seriously is claiming concrete injury "at all stages of review," see supra, at 411, it would be helpful for it to identify specifically this injury that was not apparent to respondent's counsel. Absent such identification, the claim of injury is indeed an empty one.

15 The Court attempts to limit the sweeping consequences that could flow from the application of these criteria, see infra, at 421-422, and n. 18, by asserting that "[e]ach case must be decided on its own facts" on the basis of "practicalities and prudential considerations." Ante, at 406, n. 11. The Court long has recognized a difference between the prudential and constitutional aspects of the standing and mootness doctrines. See supra, at 410. I am not aware that the Court, until today, ever has merged these considerations for the purpose of eliminating the Art. III requirement of a

...

The Court's reliance on some new "right" inherent in Rule 23 is misplaced. We have held that even Congress may not confer federal-court jurisdiction when Art. III does not. Gladstone, Realtors v. Village of Bellwood, 441 U. S., at 100; O'Shea v. Littleton, 414 U. S., at 494, and n. 2; see Marbury v. Madison, 1 Cranch 137, 175–177 (1803). Far less so may a rule of procedure which "shall not be construed to extend the jurisdiction of the United States district courts." Fed. Rule Civ. Proc. 82. Moreover, the "private attorney general concept" cannot supply the personal stake necessary to satisfy Art. III. It serves only to permit litigation by a party who has a stake of his own but otherwise might be barred by prudential standing rules. See Warth v. Seldin, 422 U. S., at 501; Sierra Club v. Morton, 405 U. S., at 737-738.

Since neither Rule 23 nor the private attorney general concept can fill the jurisdictional gap, the Court's new perception of Art. III requirements must rest entirely on its tripartite test of concrete adverseness. Although the components of the test are no strangers to our Art. III jurisprudence, they operate only in "cases confessedly within [the Court's] jurisdiction.'" Franks v. Bowman Transportation Co., 424 U. S., at 755-756, and n. 8, quoting Flast v. Cohen, 392 U. S. 83, 97 (1968). The Court cites no decision that has premised jurisdiction upon the bare existence of a sharply presented issue in a concrete and vigorously argued case, and I am aware of none.16 Indeed, each of these characteristics is

personal stake in the litigation. The Court cites no prior case for this view. Moreover, the Court expounds no limiting principle of any kind. Adverse practical consequences, even if relevant to Art. III analysis, cannot justify today's holding as none whatever would flow from a finding of mootness. See n. 18, infra. Nor does the Court's reliance upon a "relation back' principle," ante, at 407, n. 11, further the analysis. Although this fiction may provide a shorthand label for the Court's conclusion, it is hardly a principle and certainly not a limiting one.

16 The Court often has rejected the contention that a "spirited dispute" alone is sufficient to confer jurisdiction. E. g., Richardson v. Ramirez, 418 U. S., at 35-36; Hall v. Beals, 396 U. S. 45, 48-49 (1969) (per curiam).

sure to be present in the typical "private attorney general" action brought by a public-spirited citizen." Although we have refused steadfastly to countenance the "public action," the Court's redefinition of the personal stake requirement leaves no principled basis for that practice.18

The Court reasons that its departure from precedent is compelled by the difficulty of identifying a personal stake in a "procedural claim," particularly in "nontraditional forms of litigation." Ante, at 402. But the Court has created a false dilemma. As noted in Roper, class certification issues are "ancillary to the litigation of substantive claims." Ante,

17 The Court's assertion to the contrary notwithstanding, there is nothing in the record to suggest that respondent has any interest whatever in his new-found "right to have a class certified." Ante, at 403. In fact, the record shows that respondent's interest in the merits was the sole motivation for his attempt to represent a class. The class claims were added to his complaint only because his lawyer feared that mootness might terminate the action. App. 17; Brief for Respondent 23, 33. The record does not reveal whether respondent-as distinguished from his lawyer-now wishes to continue with the case. If he does, it is clear that his interest has nothing to do with the procedural protections described by the Court as the "primary benefits of class suits." Ante, at 403. It is neither surprising nor improper that respondent should be concerned with parole procedures. But respondent's actual interest is indistinguishable from the generalized interest of a "private attorney general" who might bring a "public action" to improve the operation of a parole system.

18 The Court's view logically cannot be confined to moot cases. If a plaintiff who is released from prison the day after filing a class action challenging parole guidelines may seek certification of the class, why should a plaintiff who is released the day before filing the suit be barred? As an Art. III matter, there can be no difference.

Even on prudential grounds, there is little difference between this action and one filed promptly after the named plaintiff's release from prison. In the present case, this Court has ruled on neither the merits nor the propriety of the class action. At the same time, it has vacated a judgment by the Court of Appeals that in turn reversed the judgment of the District Court. No determination on any issue is left standing. For every practical purpose, the action must begin anew-this time without a plaintiff. The prudential considerations in favor of a finding of mootness could scarcely be more compelling.

at 332. Any attempt to identify a personal stake in such ancillary "claims" often must end in frustration, for they are not claims in any ordinary sense of the word. A motion for class certification, like a motion to join additional parties or to try the case before a jury instead of a judge, seeks only to present a substantive claim in a particular context. Such procedural devices generally have no value apart from their capacity to facilitate a favorable resolution of the case on the merits. Accordingly, the moving party is neither expected nor required to assert an interest in them independent of his interest in the merits.

Class actions may advance significantly the administration of justice in appropriate cases. Indeed, the class action is scarcely a new idea. Rule 23 codifies, and was intended to clarify, procedures for dealing with a form of action long known in equity. See 1 H. Newberg, Class Actions § 1004 (1977). That federal jurisdiction can attach to the class aspect of litigation involving individual claims has never been questioned. But even when we deal with truly new procedural devices, our freedom to "adapt" Art. III is limited to the recognition of different "means for presenting a case or controversy otherwise cognizable by the federal courts.' Aetna Life Ins. Co. v. Haworth, 300 U. S., at 240 (Declaratory Judgment Act), quoting Nashville, C. & St. L. R. Co. v. Wallace, 288 U. S. 249, 264 (1933) (emphasis added). The effect of mootness on the vitality of a device like the class action may be a relevant prudential consideration.10 But it

19 I do not imply that the result reached today is necessary in any way to the continued vitality of the class action device. On the contrary, the practical impact of mootness in this case would be slight indeed. See n. 18, supra. And this may well be typical of class actions brought under Rule 23 (b) (1) or (2) to seek injunctive or declaratory relief. Such actions are not subject to frustration through sequential settlement offers that "buy off" each intervening plaintiff. Cf. Deposit Guaranty Nat. Bank v. Roper, ante, at 339. Nor will substitute plaintiffs be deterred by the notice costs that attend certification of a class under Rule 23 (b) (3).