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Glite Dictionary
res adjudicata

res adjudicata

9.9
A matter already decided by a court that cannot be tried again between the same people
  • noun
  • /ˌrɛs əˌdʒuːdɪˈkeɪtə/
  • Formal
translation icon : cosa juzgada
  • The judge declared the case a res adjudicata.

Examples

  • Because of res adjudicata, the plaintiff could not bring the same issue to court again.

  • The court dismissed the case, citing res adjudicata since the matter had already been decided.

  • The defense argued that the lawsuit was barred by res adjudicata.

  • In legal terms, res adjudicata prevents further litigation.

  • The court ruled that the previous verdict was res adjudicata, meaning the issue could not be re-litigated.

  • Because the case had been dismissed earlier, the judge stated that res adjudicata applied to the current lawsuit.

  • In law, res adjudicata prevents a party from bringing a claim again if it has already been decided in a final judgment.

Synonyms

res judicata
vsres adjudicata
  • Formal
1 9.9

A matter already decided by a court that the same people cannot bring to court again

is the same but states decision by any court without stressing competence

Surface Forms

res adjudicata singular
res adjudicatas plural

Morphology

res + adjudicata

The phrase is compositionally built from Latin res (‘thing’/‘matter’) + adjudicata (‘adjudicated’/‘decided’), so the meaning ‘a matter already decided’ is directly derivable from its parts. In practice both constituents are Latin and unfamiliar to most B1 learners, but under the criterion “if the learner knows the constituent words” the MWE is transparently compositional.

Etymology

Res adjudicata comes from Latin: the words res and adjudicata mean 'thing' and 'decided'. Imagine a judge closing a case file and stamping it 'decided' so no one can open it again — that's why the phrase means 'a matter that cannot be raised again' in court.