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Glite Dictionary
judgment in rem

judgment in rem

9.9
A court decision that says who owns a particular thing
  • noun
  • /ˈdʒʌdʒmənt ɪn rɛm/
  • Formal
translation icon : sentencia en rem
  • The court issued a judgment in rem declaring the ship to be the property of the plaintiff.

Examples

  • A judgment in rem is binding on all parties with an interest in the property, not just the named defendants.

  • Bankruptcy proceedings may result in a judgment in rem affecting creditors' rights to specific assets.

  • The court issued a judgment in rem regarding the property dispute.

  • Have you ever encountered a judgment in rem in your legal studies?

  • A judgment in rem legally establishes ownership of the property for all interested parties.

  • The judge ruled in favor of a judgment in rem, determining the rights to the land in question.

  • In the case of a judgment in rem, the outcome directly impacts the property itself rather than individual rights.

Antonyms

judgment in personam
  • Formal
9.9

A court decision that orders a particular person to pay money or do something

Surface Forms

judgment in rem singular
judgments in rem plural
judgements in rem plural
judgement in rem singular

Morphology

judgment + in + rem

This is a technical legal term containing the Latin phrase 'in rem' (literally ‘against a thing’), which is specialized vocabulary unlikely to be known by an average B1 learner. Even if a learner knows 'judgment' and 'in', they cannot derive the specific legal meaning (a judgment about a thing/property) from the constituents without prior exposure to the legal/Latin usage.

Etymology

The legal term judgment in rem comes from Latin: in rem means 'about the thing'. Imagine a judge pointing at a ship or a piece of land and deciding who owns it. The decision is about the object itself, not about a person, so the phrase now means a judgment about a specific property.