Absolvitor meaning

In Scots civil procedure, absolvitor (often “decree of absolvitor”) is the court’s final judgment for the defender that disposes of the claim on its merits and prevents the pursuer from raising the same cause again. It is typically granted after proof or debate when the pursuer fails to establish liability, or when a peremptory plea (such as limitation or prescription) is sustained. Expenses will ordinarily follow success, subject to the court’s discretion. Absolvitor is used in the Court of Session and the sheriff court and is a longstanding procedural term arising from practice and case law rather than statute. It is distinct from decree of dismissal, which brings the current proceedings to an end without determining the merits and does not bar a fresh action (for example, dismissal for want of insistence or procedural defect). The term is specific to Scotland. In England and Wales, Northern Ireland and Ireland, the closest functional equivalent is a final judgment for the defendant on the merits with res judicata effect, rather than mere strike-out or dismissal without prejudice.