Judgement is a court decision, spelt out in a court order, that adjudicates a dispute between two parties by determining the rights and obligations of each party. It is defined as any decision a court gives on a question or issue between the parties to a proceeding correctly before the court.
It is not adequate that a decision is accurate, it must also be reasonable, logical and straightforward. A judgement may require monetary compensation or transfer of property from one party to another. Civil judgements are adjudicated between private individuals, whereas criminal judgement is the result of legal action by the government for breaking criminal laws.
The definition of Judgement is defined under Sec 2(9) of CPC,1908, “judgement” means the statement given by the Judge on the grounds of a decree or order. In this case, Jaipur Vs. Himalaya Paper (Machinery) Pvt. Ltd, New Delhi, AIR 1990 Rajasthan 120 [1] held that Judgment is a formal expression of opinion by the court.
They are classified as in rem, in personam, or quasi in rem.
In personam is the most common type of judgement that holds one entity personally liable to another.
In rem imposes a general liability over a thing, such as property, but no personal liability.
Quasi in rem determines the rights of an individual, rather than all parties, in a particular thing, such as property.
What must a judgement contain?
Writing judgments and orders is virtually an art which often varies from judge to judge as no format has been provided in law as to how judgments and orders should be written by the judges. However, the long practices evolved by judges over the decades have settled on how to write judgments and court orders. Arriving at conclusions and making decisions in cases out of the material available on records of cases is the most crucial part of the judicial function of the judges.
Writing qualitative judgments and orders requires a lot of experience and skill, which a judge acquires over time. Over the years, the Supreme Court of India has given several landmark judgments highlighting the various methodologies to be adopted in writing judgments and orders of various natures with the help of previous Supreme Courts and High Courts.
In the case, Shakuntala Shukla Vs State of UP, AIR 2021 SC 4384[2], The Fact that the judgement is accurate is insufficient. It must also be reasonable, logical and easily comprehensible. Judicial opinion is to be written in such a way that it elucidates convincingly and proves that the verdict is righteous and judicious. Therefore, it is desirable that judgements have clarity on facts and law and on submissions, findings, reasonings, and ultimate relief granted.
Important elements of a Judgements
A judgement is a judicial opinion that tells the story of the case, what the case is about, how the court is resolving the case, and why. According to Order 20, rule 4(2) CPC, the essential components of a judgement are :
- concise statement of the case
- points for determination (issues)
- decision thereon
- reasons for such a decision.
In the case of State Bank of India and Ors. Vs. Ajay Kumar Sood, MANU/SC/1040/2022 [3], Dr. D.Y. Chandrachud and A.S. Bopanna gave some insights into writing a judgement. The purpose of judicial writing is not to confuse the reader with complex language. The judge must provide an easy-to-understand analysis of the issues of law and fact. Judgments of the High Courts and the Supreme Court also serve as precedents to guide future benches.
A judgement should be coherent, systematic, and logically organised. It should enable the reader to trace the facts to a logical conclusion based on legal principles. If the meaning of the written word is lost in language, the adjudicator’s ability to retain the reader’s trust is severely eroded.
The IRAC method
IRAC stands for the “Issue, Rule, Application, Conclusion” structure of legal analysis. An effective essay follows some form of the IRAC structure where it is organised around an “issue”, a “rule”, an “application”, and a “conclusion” for each and every issue and sub-issue identified as a legal problem. In terms of structuring judgments, it would be beneficial for courts to structure them in a manner such as the ‘Issue, Rule, Application and Conclusion’ (IRAC), which are easily identifiable.
The ‘Issue’ refers to the question of law that the court is deciding. A court may be dealing with multiple issues in the same judgement. Identifying these issues clearly helps structure the judgement and provides clarity for the reader on the specific issue of law being decided in a particular segment of a judgement. The ‘Rule’ part refers to the portion of the judgement which distils the submissions of counsel on the applicable law and doctrine for the issue identified. This rule is applied to the facts of the case in which the issue has arisen.
The analysis recording a court’s reasoning forms the ‘Application’ section. Finally, it is always useful for a court to summarise and lay out the ‘Conclusion’ based on its determination of the rule’s application to the issue along with the decision vis-à-vis the specific facts. This allows members of the bar, as well as judges relying upon the case in the future, to understand the case’s holding as a precedent concisely.
In Surat v. Saheli Leasing & Industries Ltd, 2010 TMI-75903-SC [4], the Joint Commissioner of Income Tax gave detailed guidelines for writing orders and judgements.
- The judgement should correlate with the applicable laws and facts of the case. The ratio decidendi should be clearly spelt out from the judgement.
- After preparing the draft, it is necessary to go through it again.
- The ultimate finished judgement should have a sustained chronology. The concept has to be readable. It should have flow and a perfect sequence of events.
- The foremost requirement is that leading judgements should be mentioned; that is, all the cases that have taken place so far should be mentioned.
- After arguments are concluded, judgement must be given as soon as possible without being left pending for a long time.
- It should avoid instances likely to cause public agitation and should not hurt the emotions of any individual or society.
[1]AIR 1990 Rajasthan 120
[2]AIR 2021 SC 4384
[3]MANU/SC/1040/2022
[4]2010 TMI-75903-SC
