“Unexpected Judgments”: Are They Void? If Yes, in Which Cases?

THE SO CALLED “UNEXPECTED JUDGMENTS”: ARE THEY VOID? IF YES, IN WHICH CASES?

The “unexpected judgments”, also known as “third option judgments”, are Court decisions based on exceptions/issues detectable ex officio by the judge, upon which the parties did not have the chance to discuss. Such bold initiative of the Court may lead to the annulment of the judgment.

A dispute may unexpectedly end with a judgment rendered on the basis of an issue not raised nor discussed by the parties during the whole duration of the proceedings.

The losing party would then suffer the consequences of the rejection of its requests and the acceptance of the other party’s claims on the grounds of factual elements or law interpretations that were never mentioned during the proceedings.

These “unexpected judgment” may come at… Read more