What does "Adjudicated" Mean?

What is the meaning of Adjudication?

Adjudication is a legal process that aims to expedite the delivery of resolutions or punishments to squabbling parties. The result of the adjudication process is a legally-binding judgment; the stipulations and demands of the judgment are legally upheld by a local or federal governing body.

The adjudicated meaning simply refers to the formal legal process by which a judge or arbiter reviews evidence (including legal reasoning offered by litigants or opposing parties) to come to a decision in a legal matter. Typically the cases heard in adjudication setting revolve around disputes over money or non-violent infractions. Regardless of the legal matter at hand, all decisions rendered in the adjudication process will ultimately determine the distribution of rights and obligations for the parties involved. Adjudication is distinct from other justice-seeking or evidence-based resolution formats; in particular, the process is only used to solve the following types of disputes:

Disputes between private parties, such as individual citizens or corporations (who possess a legal personality)

Disputes that arise between public officials and private parties

Disputes between public bodies and public officials

Who is involved in the Adjudication Process?

Adjudication occurs when a natural person, typically someone empowered by an agency, to formalize a binding decision, is given the task of examining evidence or facts to render a legally-acceptable and affirmed judgment.

Adjudication, in the majority of cases, is binding and does not require the inclusion of a jury to render a decision in a civil trial. In the adjudication process, a judge will render a decision regarding the case only after all the evidence has been presented to the presiding official. This legal process is preferred by a number of institutions and individuals in the midst of a legal battle because it is typically less expensive than a trial case and far more expedient.

As stated earlier, a judge (instead of a jury) will typically settle disputes between parties involved in an adjudication process. Although the adjudication process is quicker and typically less expensive, the review of facts is generally thought to be less thorough and sympathetic when compared to a trial by jury. In the legal sense, an adjudicator is not regarded as a mediatory, even though the two parties are required to come to terms or agree on a settlement to resolve a case.

In the majority of situations, a mediator will help find a compromise between feuding parties, but they cannot force the parties to do so. In contrast, the legal adjudication process and the settlement it reaches, does require the parties involved to comply to the punishments or settlements outlined; the resolution the legal adjudication process reaches is legal binding.