The High Court of Cassation and Justice has established in a decision handed down in electoral matters, on the correct interpretation of an article of law, that even if a previous court decision does not meet the legal conditions for the effect of res judicata to be applicable, the statements of principle which follow from the content of that decision must be upheld in order to preserve the principle of certainty of legal relationships.
Thus, the Supreme Court recalls its role in guaranteeing that principle, which is also reflected in the consistency of the Court’s interpretation of the law.
The HCCJ notes that conduct by the courts contrary to this principle, in the absence of a change in case law, could even constitute a violation of Article 6 of the European Convention on Human Rights, in a similar way to the violation found by the European Court of Human Rights in Beian v. Romania, where the State was condemned for violating the right to a fair trial through lack of certainty with regard to case-law.
