Practice question
An office with no subject-matter jurisdiction issues a purported merits ruling. A party invokes that ruling to bar a later proper proceeding as administrative res judicata. The jurisdictional defect is established. Which answer is correct?
- The title final cures the lack of jurisdiction
- Every agency employee can create jurisdiction through signature
- The established lack of jurisdiction defeats an essential preclusion requirement
- The defect becomes irrelevant merely because time passed
- Res judicata necessarily validates all void acts
Legal references
- Ligtas v. People, G.R. No. 200751, August 17, 2015, main decision, administrative res judicata and conclusiveness of judgment: https://lawphil.net/judjuris/juri2015/aug2015/gr_200751_2015.html
- Encinas v. Agustin, G.R. No. 187317, April 11, 2013, main decision, quasi-judicial adjudication distinguished from administrative investigation: https://lawphil.net/judjuris/juri2013/apr2013/gr_187317_2013.html
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