Adjudication

noun (countable and uncountable)

/əˌdʒuːdɪˈkeɪʃən/

The legal process by which a judge, tribunal, or authorised body formally hears and determines the outcome of a dispute or legal claim; the act of making an official judgment or decision. In Indian administrative law, quasi-judicial adjudication by statutory tribunals — such as the National Green Tribunal (NGT), Securities Appellate Tribunal (SAT), Competition Commission of India (CCI), and National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT) — supplements but does not replace judicial adjudication in Article III courts. The Supreme Court in L. Chandra Kumar v. Union of India (1997) held that tribunals must have a judicial member to ensure credible adjudication.

✍️ Usage in a UPSC answer

The National Green Tribunal Act, 2010 vests in the NGT powers of civil court adjudication over disputes relating to environmental laws, enabling it to award compensation for ecological harm — a function that previously required complex litigation before High Courts and an overloaded Supreme Court.

Synonyms

arbitrationdeterminationjudgmentrulingverdictresolution

Antonyms

deadlockindeterminationdeferralnon-adjudication

🌱 Word Family

adjudicate (verb), adjudicator (noun), adjudicative (adj), judicature (noun), judiciary (noun), judicial (adj)

🔡 Root

Latin ad- = to; judicare = to judge (judex = judge; jus = law, right + dicere = to say); -ation = process/result

📜 Etymology

From Latin adjudicationem (nominative adjudicatio) 'an awarding by judicial decision', from adjudicare 'to award to (someone) as a judge', composed of ad- 'to' + judicare 'to judge, decide', from judex 'a judge', from jus 'law, right' + root of dicere 'to say'. First attested in English in the early 17th century.

🧠 Memory Hook

AD (to) + JUDIC (judge) + ATION: to BRING something TO a JUDGE for a decision. The root JUDIC links adjudication to JUDICIAL, JUDGE, and JURY — all words about the formal act of SAYING the law (Latin dicere = to say, jus = law).

📝 Seen in UPSC Question Papers

Prelims 2010 — International Conventions

Real UPSC previous-year questions whose text uses “Adjudication” — proof this word earns its place on your list.

🏛️ Governance 📖 Seen in: Good Governance — Metrics, Indices & G...

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