RES JUDICATA IN RECENT CASES
| DOI | http://doi.org/10.1111/j.1468-2230.1950.tb00169.x |
| Date | 01 July 1950 |
| Author | E. Hall Williams |
| Published date | 01 July 1950 |
RES
JUDICATA
IIS
RECENT
CASES
TKE doctrine of res judicata has been applied in several cases in
the last few years, and the purpose of this article is to consider these
recent decisions. The doctrine has been described by Spencer
Bower
l
as applying to
‘
a final judicial decision pronounced by a
judicial tribunal having competent jurisdiction over the cause
or
matter in litigation, and over the parties thereto
’.
The cases
to
be
discussed relate to different parts of this description, and will be
considered under the following heads
:
(1)
the persons estopped;
(‘I)
the subject-matter
of
the estoppel;
(8)
the form of the previous
decision;
(4)
the authority of the court. Although the cases turn
on different points, there
is
an underlying unity between them-
they all involve an attempt to relitigate in some way. This is
exactly what the doctrine
of
res judicata is designed to prevent,
and in
so
far as it has achieved this end, its operation may
be
regarded as satisfactory. Often, however, the application
of
the
strict rules leaves one in doubt as to the merits of the doctrine
in
its present form. As Somervell
L.J.
observed
not
long ago,’ res
judicata may work
in
mysterious ways.
(1)
The persons estopped.
Where the judgment is in rem, there is
no
difaculty in determin-
ing the persons estopped. The whole world is bound by the judg-
ment,
so
that ‘a person relying upon
a
decision
of
this
kind
as
a res judicata is not concerned with any question
of
the identity
of
parties or privies
’.’
But where the judgment operates
in
personam,
it is not always easy to determine who should
be
dected
by
the
estoppel. The rule is that only the parties and
their
privies are
bound. The decision in
Re Waring
119481
Ch.
221
shows that its
application may lead to curious results.
The
trustees of a
will
asked
the court to determine whethe two annuitants,
to
whom
tax-free
annuities had been given by the testator, should
be
paid the
annuities in full
or
subject
to
the deduction of
a
portion
thereof
for tax ~der the Finance Act,
1941,
as amended by the Finance
(No.
2)
Act,
1945.
The Court of Appeal had considered the same
question in
1942
with regard to the same
will
(Re
Wakg
[la423
Ch.
426),
and had decided that section
25
of
the Finance Act,
1941,
1
G.
Spencer Bower,
The
Doctrine
oj
Rea
Judicoto,
1994,
at
p.
1.
This
is
the
only
ubliehed
monogra
h
on
the
subject. See
sleo
Everest
aid
Strode,
Law
of
ea@P$,
1928.
8W8rt
on
Ertoppel,
1900,
is
not
very helpful in this
connection.
2
Quoted
by-
Everehed
M.R. in
Remnant
V.
Saooy
&Slate,
Ltd.
[1949]
a
All
E.R.
286
at
p. 289.
3
Bower,
op.
cit.,
p.
133.
807
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