The invention relates to a medical gripping and/or cutting instrument having a shaft on whose distal end a tool is positioned consisting of at least two jaw members and on whose proximal end a handle is positioned consisting of at least two gripping members. For opening and closing, at least one jaw member of the tool can move by means of a rotatably configured gripping member of the handle with respect to the other jaw member of the tool, and the rotatable gripping member of the handle can be secured by means of a notching mechanism on the at least one other gripping member of the handle, with the jaw members in an at least partly closed position. To produce a medical gripping and/or cutting instrument which allows a simple and rapid unnotching of the gripping members of the handle, it is proposed with the invention that a portion of at least one gripping member of the handle can move with respect to the remaining portion of this gripping member in such a way that the notching mechanism can be released, with the gripping members in an essentially unchanged position with respect to one another.
