Judgment and Decree

In one line

Section 33 says the whole of it: after the case has been heard the Court pronounces judgment, and on that judgment a decree follows.

Two documents, in that order, and the second is drawn from the first. Everything in Order XX is the detail of how.

Why they are two documents

A judgment explains and a decree operates. The judgment is where the judge sets out the case, the points for determination, the decision and the reasons. The decree is a short formal document recording what the court has actually ordered, and it is the decree, not the judgment, that goes to the execution court.

Keeping them separate is what allows the execution court to do its job without re-reading the reasoning, and it is why section 2(2) defines a decree as the formal expression of an adjudication while section 2(9) defines a judgment as the statement of the grounds.

Pronouncing the judgment: Rule 1

Rule 1(1) provides that the Court, after the case has been heard, shall pronounce judgment in open Court, either at once or as soon thereafter as may be practicable; and where judgment is to be pronounced on a future day, the Court shall fix a day for that purpose, of which due notice shall be given to the parties or their pleaders.

The proviso sets the timetable, and it is examinable. Where judgment is not pronounced at once, every endeavour shall be made to pronounce it within thirty days from the conclusion of the hearing. Where that is not practicable on the ground of the exceptional and extraordinary circumstances of the case, the Court shall fix a future day, which shall not ordinarily be beyond sixty days from the conclusion of the hearing, and due notice of the day so fixed shall be given.

For a commercial dispute before a Commercial Court, Commercial Division or Commercial Appellate Division, judgment shall be pronounced within ninety days of the conclusion of arguments, and copies issued to all parties, by electronic mail or otherwise.

So there are three periods to keep apart: thirty days as the endeavour, sixty days as the outer limit in exceptional circumstances, and ninety days in commercial matters.

Signing, and what a judgment must contain

Rule 3: the judgment shall be dated and signed by the Judge in open Court at the time of pronouncing it, and once signed shall not afterwards be altered or added to, save as provided by section 152 or on review.

That is a short rule with long consequences. A signed judgment is fixed. The only two doors left open are section 152, which allows the correction of clerical or arithmetical mistakes and errors from any accidental slip or omission, and review under section 114 and Order XLVII. A party who simply dislikes the judgment has neither door; he has an appeal.