Definition of res judicata - What it is, Meaning and Concept

In the context of the right , the object of a legal relationship is called thing .A conduct that was judged , meanwhile, It already has a ruling on its legality issued by a court or a judge.

The idea of ​​ res judicata , thus, refers to the effect which has a final court ruling , which makes it not possible to initiate a new process concerning the same object.The thing judged recognizes the effectiveness of the resolution to which It came after a judicial process: that is why this resolution cannot be modified.

In order for the thing judged to exist, there must be a firm sentence.This instance is reached when it is no longer possible to file appeals or challenges to establish a modification .Yes, when the judicial sentence is firm, it is considered that the object submitted to the process can not be judged again given the existence of the resolution in question.Therefore, it is a res judicata.

The notion of res judicata is linked to the force attributed to the result of a judicial process and to the subordination that is due to what was previously decided by the authority.This makes the same fact cannot be tried on more than one occasion .

The concept comes from the Latin sentence res iudicata .If a person is sued for an action that was previously tried and upon which a final sentence falls, the The defendant can allege the so-called “exception of res judicata” and interrupt the new process, eliminating the chance of being judged again for the same.

It is possible to say that the thing judged is a procedural principle , a concept that is also known as the principle of procedural law and that is defined as the set of rules that represent starting points to build the fundamental instruments of the jurisdictional function, that is, to give them origin, in addition to form.

Said in other words, procedural principles are the criteria that inspire the ability to make decisions and influence a jurisdictional body throughout the entire process, from birth to completion, through its development.In this context, it is possible to talk about something deemed formal or material, according to the sense .

The formal judged thing is noticed within the process itself, as the effect of the judicial resolution .In short, we can say that it is the situation in which the court and the parties must focus on the decision made by the former.Thanks to this concept, the judges cannot change their mind once the resolutions are issued, but each one must comply with the previous ones, as well as the parties cannot choose to ignore what is established in them.

As the effect of this type of thing judged occurs within the process, it will occur with all resolutions issued during its development Except for those that terminate it, whether or not a sentence is reached.

On the other hand is the material judged thing , which arises from the last resolution of the judicial process.For this reason, it does not directly influence the process but its character is considered exterior , because it affects those who follow it.The effects it generates are the following:

* positive or preliminary ruling , because of which the courts after the sentence are linked if they have the same logical background and litigants;

* negative or excluding , which is linked to the principle that prevents starting a subsequent process with the same object.