Finality in Litigation

Ensuring finality in litigation (‘preclusion’) is a challenge. Res judicata and abuse of process are technical doctrines – traps for the unwary. The same doctrines can also be effective tools to avoid unnecessary or vexing duplicative proceedings or to determine how a case may affect the same or a related claim or issue in a subsequent case. This practitioner’s guide is a timely and comprehensive treatise on English law on the topic. It addresses the entire spectrum of preclusion issues arising in an English court:

• -the court functus officio – the finality of a judgment;
• -res judicata – merger of the cause of action, cause of action estoppel, and issue estoppel;
• -abuse of process – relitigation, Henderson v. Hendersonand collateral attack abuse; and
• -preclusion by foreign judgments.

In a manner accessible to foreign lawyers, this book further offers a treatise of Dutch law that is of the same breadth and depth. It addresses all preclusion issues that may crop up in a Dutch court. Moreover, the cross-border context is considered – how domestic judgments fare abroad, how preclusion operates in the Brussels and Lugano regime, levels of preclusion set by European due process, and more. A contribution to conflicts theory, this book finally suggests improvements to the process of preclusion between jurisdictions, by clarifying the distinction between ‘recognition of’ foreign judgments and ‘preclusion by’ foreign judgments and by opening up a new field of choice of preclusion law.

A first class work which will be of considerable interest to practitioners and scholars.’

• –Lord Collins of Mapesbury former Justice of the UK Supreme Court and General Editor of Dicey and Morris on Conflict of Laws

Jacob van de Velden practises international arbitration and litigation at De Brauw Blackstone Westbroek, a member of the Best Friends-network of law firms with Slaughter and May (UK), Bredin Prat (France), BonelliErede (Italy), Hengeler Mueller (Germany) and Uría Menéndez (Spain). He was a co-rapporteur for the International Law Association’s Committee on International Civil Litigation and a research fellow and director of the Private International Law programme at the British Institute of International and Comparative Law.