- Statute
- Rules of Court
- Article
- Rule 111, Sec. 7
- Topic
- Elements of a prejudicial question
- Year
- 2000
The provision
Elements of Prejudicial Question. — The elements of a prejudicial question are: (a) the previously instituted civil action involves an issue similar or intimately related to the issue raised in the subsequent criminal action, and (b) the resolution of such issue determines whether or not the criminal action may proceed. (5a)
Key points
Rule 111, Section 7 of the Rules of Court defines the elements of a prejudicial question: (a) the previously instituted civil action involves an issue similar or intimately related to the issue raised in the subsequent criminal action; and (b) the resolution of that issue determines whether or not the criminal action may proceed.
A prejudicial question requires that the civil action precede the criminal one and that its outcome be determinative of the criminal case. The provision is read with Section 6, which supplies the procedure for suspending the criminal action.
Both elements must concur: the civil action must have been instituted ahead of the criminal action, and the issue in the civil case must be determinative of whether the accused is guilty in the criminal case. A frequent illustration is a civil action to declare a marriage void set against a later bigamy charge, where the parties dispute whether the civil outcome controls the criminal one. When the elements are met, the criminal action is suspended under Section 6 until the prejudicial question is resolved.