Finality of judgment

Finality is the state a judgment reaches when recourse to ordinary remedies is no longer possible, making the decision unalterable. A formally final judgment can no longer be reviewed, while substantive res judicata bars relitigating the same matter between the same parties.

Finality results from letting the appeal period lapse, waiving the remedies or exhausting them. Judgments below the finality threshold are final upon delivery. Decisions on personal status such as divorce, and those concerning title to immovables, may be enforced only after becoming final, whereas money judgments can as a rule be enforced without waiting.

The finality endorsement is the record needed for enforcement and for use in official transactions. A new action filed despite res judicata is dismissed on procedural grounds for lack of a condition of action, which makes finality the core instrument of legal certainty and the closure of disputes.