Conclusion of Litigation
Conclusion by Final Judgment
- Litigation that has been commenced through the filing of a lawsuit is concluded by the court’s delivery of the final judgment. The final judgment becomes final and conclusive when the time period for bringing an appeal is exceeded or when the right of appeal is relinquished.
Conclusion by Withdrawal of Lawsuit
- A party to a litigation may conclude the litigation by withdrawing their lawsuit or appeal.
· “Withdrawal of lawsuit” is a unilateral act of litigation carried out by the plaintiff, towards the court, in withdrawing the suit that has been filed in full or in part.
· With respect to the part of a lawsuit that has been withdrawn, no lawsuit is deemed to have been pending before the court in the first place (Article 8 (2) of the Administrative Litigation Act and Article 267 (1) of the Civil Procedure Act).
Categories of Judgments
Dismissal Without Prejudice Judgment
- A “dismissal without prejudice judgment” is a judgment which refuses to deliberate a case on its merits on the ground that, following a deliberation of the request for trial on the requirements, the request is unlawful due to deficiencies in the requirements for filing lawsuits.
- As a dismissal without prejudice judgment is not a determination on the illegality of the disposition subject to the request for revocation, a lawsuit may be filed again after redressing the deficiency in the requirements and the court shall make a determination on the new suit.
Dismissal Judgment
- A “dismissal judgment” is a judgment which rejects the plaintiff’s claim as being groundless, and is made when the relevant disposition is not illegal, or is simply unjust.
Acceptance Judgment
- An “acceptance judgment” is a judgment which determines that there are proper grounds for the plaintiff’s claim, and which accepts such claim in full or in part.
· An acceptance judgment in a suit for revocation is a judgment containing terms that revoke or modify an illegal disposition, etc. (Subparagraph 1 of Article 4 of the Administrative Litigation Act).
· An acceptance judgment in a suit for affirmation of nullity, etc. is a judgment containing terms that affirm the validity or nullity, or the existence or non-existence, of a disposition, etc. by an administrative agency (Subparagraph 2 of Article 4 of the Administrative Litigation Act).
· An acceptance judgment in a suit for affirmation of illegality of omission is a judgment containing terms that affirm the illegality of an omission by an administrative agency (Subparagraph 3 of Article 4 of the Administrative Litigation Act).
Judgment Under Circumstances
- A “judgment under circumstances” is a judgment which dismisses the plaintiff’s claim even in a case where it is accepted that there are proper grounds for the plaintiff’s claim, because to revoke the disposition, etc. would be markedly inappropriate in terms of public welfare (Article 28 (1) of the Administrative Litigation Act).
※ However, a judgment under circumstances is only countenanced in a suit for revocation and is not applicable in a suit for affirmation of nullity, etc.
· If the court is making a judgment under circumstances, it shall investigate in advance the extent of harm that the plaintiff will suffer as a result, the means of compensation and any other circumstances (Article 28 (2) of the Administrative Litigation Act).
· If a suit for revocation is dismissed as a result of a judgment under circumstances, or a claim is dismissed without prejudice or dismissed as a result of a revocation or modification of the disposition, etc. by the administrative agency, then the cost of the lawsuit is borne by the defendant (Article 32 of the Administrative Litigation Act).
Effect of Judgment
Res Judicata
- “Res judicata”, where a suit for revocation is made final and conclusive, is the binding force of a judgment pursuant to which the terms of the judgment that have been made final and conclusive bind the relevant parties and the court, so that in subsequent proceedings the relevant parties and the court may not, in respect of the same matters, make an argument or determination that is contradictory to the terms of the final and conclusive judgment.
Binding Force
- “Binding force”, where a judgment revoking or modifying a disposition or ruling is made final and conclusive, is the effect which imposes an obligation as a matter of substantive law on the administrative agency as the litigant and related administrative agencies to act in accordance with its terms (Article 30 (1), Article 38 (1) and Article 44 (1) of the Administrative Litigation Act).
- Obligation Not to Repeat
· When a judgment on revocation is made final and conclusive, the administrative agency may not, based on the same basic facts, make a disposal on the same terms in respect of the same party.
- Obligation to Act Again
· If a disposition that is revoked involves a refusal of an application made by the relevant party, the disposing administrative agency shall, in accordance with the spirit of the judgment, dispose of the previous application again (Article 30 (2) of the Administrative Litigation Act).
· If the administrative agency does not make the disposal in accordance with the spirit of the judgment, the court of first instance which has accepted the lawsuit may, by its decision at the application of the relevant party, specify a reasonable time period and, if the administrative agency fails to comply within that period, may make an order for the payment of certain amount of compensation corresponding to the period of delay, or for the payment of immediate compensation.
Formative Force
- “Formative force”, where a judgment revoking a disposition or ruling is made final and conclusive, is the effect which naturally extinguishes the effect of such a disposition or ruling, even in the absence of a separate act such as a revocation by the administrative agency or a notice of revocation.