The Binding Effect of Criminal Res Judicata on Civil Litigations

The rule of binding effect of criminal judgment on civil litigation (Superiority of criminal judgments on civil judgments), which has always been the subject of dispute between jurists, is now reflected in Article 18 of the new Criminal Procedure Code. According to this rule, if the main facts of a civil lawsuit have already been dealt with during the criminal proceedings and the provisions of final criminal judgment indicate that the necessary facts are affirmed or denied, the civil court must comply with the final criminal judgment on the matter. An example of the rule has been previously enacted in Article 227 of the Civil Procedure Code as to the claim of forgery of documents and now, Article 18 of the Criminal Procedure Code as a general rule has recognized the binding effect of final criminal judgment affecting merits of the civil case before civil court. It seems that criminal judgment affecting the merits of civil case may be either judgment on merits or final writ. To have an effect on the merits of civil case means that the existence or absence of the underlying facts of civil case has already been evaluated in the criminal proceeding and the provisions of final criminal judgment are sufficient to substantiate or disprove the claimant in the civil case..