Monograph Series · Third series › Part III Forming the judgment and procedural legitimacy › III-17 · First edition
Accountability for the Reasons Given in a Judgment: Omissions, Contradictions, and Routes of Appeal
When it is impossible to tell why an unfavorable judgment was given, what remedies become available?
Volume contents
Abstract
This volume asks what remedies open up when it cannot be known why an unfavorable judgment was given. Stating the reasons is a mechanism that reveals the legitimacy of the dispositive part. Insufficient explanation, absence of or contradiction in the reasons, and omission of judgment on a material matter are not the same defect. The path to relief opens where the handling of the assertions is connected to the reasons for the dispositive part and the defect pointed out is specified as a statutory ground for challenge, and closes where there is mere dissatisfaction with the conclusion and the portion constituting the alleged omission of or contradiction in the reasons, or the omission of judgment on a material matter, cannot be specified. The six sections address, in turn, the reasons that support the dispositive part, judgments for which summary reasons are permitted, omission of and contradiction in the reasons, the dropping of judgment on a material matter, the distinction from an omitted dispositive part, and reading reasons for challenge. The strongest counterargument is as follows. Requiring an individual answer to every assertion would make judgments verbose and slow down their processing. The structuring of written judgment data and the sentence-by-sentence correction of grounds are not addressed in this volume.
Synthetic case
The whole volume follows this invented case. It is not a real matter, and its facts are not legal findings.
Plaintiff A asserts that there is no answer to a decisive defense, while Defendant B contends that the intent to reject it is apparent from the judgment as a whole.
6 sections and their questions
- 01The Reasons That Support the Dispositive Part
How much must the reasons of a judgment explain?
20 min - 02Judgments Permitting Summary Reasons
Are brief reasons always unlawful?
21 min - 03Omission of and Contradiction in the Reasons
What defects in explanation constitute grounds for challenge?
22 min - 04The Dropping of Judgment on Material Matters
What route is available where a matter affecting the judgment has been overlooked?
22 min - 05Distinction from an Omitted Dispositive Part
Is failing to adjudicate a claim the same as overlooking a judgment in the reasons?
22 min - 06Reading Reasons for Challenge
How should a defect in the reasons be narrowed down?
20 min