Important Legal Definitions
Explore legal terms, clear definitions and practical examples.
Doctrine of Merger
Jurisdictional & Appellate Practice Terms
Definition
An appellate jurisprudence doctrine establishing that once an appellate or revisional court takes cognizance of an appeal and delivers a decision on merits, the decree or order of the lower court merges into the appellate order, leaving the appellate decision as the sole operative ruling.
Example
A trial court passes an injunction decree against which a regular first appeal is dismissed on merits by the High Court. When seeking execution or modification, the relevant decree is the High Court’s decree into which the trial decree merged.