The judge must grant final approval to the consent decree and may reject elements proposed by the parties if he or she chooses. During the life of the consent decree, the judge maintains jurisdiction (i.e., authority) over the consent decree and parties involved. At any time the judge may be called upon to modify elements of the agreement or to interpret the document if the parties cannot agree on how it should be read. The level of continued involvement by the judge may be based on a number of factors including the complexity of the decree, animosity between the parties and even the judge’s own personality.