in rem
A right in rem is good against the world at large: everyone is under a duty not to interfere with it. Ownership of land is the standard example. A judgment in rem declares the status of a person or thing and binds everyone, whether or not a party: examples are a grant of probate, a decree of divorce or nullity, an adjudication in insolvency, and an admiralty decree against a ship.
This contrasts with rights and judgments in personam. In Booz Allen & Hamilton (2011) the Supreme Court treated actions in rem as generally not arbitrable, since an arbitral tribunal can bind only the parties before it. The Evidence law makes final judgments of competent courts in probate, matrimonial, admiralty and insolvency jurisdiction relevant and conclusive as to the status they confer.
Example
A decree of divorce is a judgment in rem, so the wife's status as unmarried binds everyone, including third persons, and not only the former husband.
In Indian law
See also
in personam · ownership · right · probate
Read more in the study notes
- Methods of dispute resolution: adversarial, inquisitorial and ADR (Alternative Dispute Resolution Systems)
- Need for ADR, international commitments and suitability of disputes (Alternative Dispute Resolution Systems)
- The Mediation Act, 2023: scheme, enforcement and status (Alternative Dispute Resolution Systems)
- Introduction to the law of evidence and its central conceptions (Bharatiya Sakshya Adhiniyam)
- Relevance of judgments of courts (sections 34 to 38) (Bharatiya Sakshya Adhiniyam)
- Rectification, cancellation and declaratory decrees (Contract I)