Judgment and execution

Date: 2015-10-07; view: 561.

When proceedings are terminated, the court that has considered the case will render a judgment. In such a case one speaks of a final judgment. Judgments deciding some procedural matter but not terminating the proceedings are known as interlocutory judgments.

In American practice the judgment of a court after a jury trial is presented in a stylized document that merely recites certain relevant data, such as the names of the parties, the fact that a jury verdict has been rendered, and the disposition to be made. No detailed grounds are given for the decision. If a judge decides a case without a jury, he is often required to indicate the factual and legal bases for his decision in order to facilitate appellate review; in practice, such findings, too, are often rather stylized. Courts sitting without juries sometimes prepare, in addition, an opinion in which their reasoning is explained in narrative form.

Judgments in civil-law countries quite generally consist of not only statements indicating the names of the parties and the like and the decision of the court but also an opinion in which the court explains its decision. The opinion may vary in style. In Germany and Austria it is narrative in nature, as in the United States; in France it is traditionally cast in the form of one long sentence consisting of a syllogism using the facts and the applicable law as premises. When the court consists of several judges, it is frequent practice in Anglo-American countries for judges who disagree with the decision of the majority to prepare and file dissenting opinions, in which they explain the reasons for their disagreements. In civil-law countries, such dissenting opinions are rarely allowed; indeed, the-courts are generally forbidden from disclosing the position taken by an individual member.

Quite generally, originals of judgments are filed in court clerks' offices; the parties may then procure copies to use as they see fit. In some countries the rules for the formal preparation, signing, and filing of judgments tend to be quite technical and complex; this is much less so in the United States. Furthermore, judgments must frequently be written on stamped paper or presented to some tax office for the payment of a tax.