The final criminal judgment of acquittal or conviction rendered on the merits of a case shall have a binding force before the civil courts in respect of the civil actions which have yet to be decided on under a final judgment, in respect of the occurrence of the offense and its legal characterization and perpetrator. The judgment of acquittal shall have such a binding force, whether it is based on exoneration of the Defendant or lack of evidence. Such binding force shall have no existence if the judgment is based on the principle that the underlying act is not a legally punishable offense.
Interpretation and application must be checked against the official text and current version.