A finding made by a court in the course of granting a licence (such as a finding that a person is fit and proper to be associated with the licence holder) does not operate as a judgment in rem; only the order granting the licence itself has that effect. The finding does not determine the 'status' of the person found to be fit and proper, because it does not determine that person's jural relation to the world generally. Such a finding is also temporally limited to the date of judgment and cannot be relied upon as conclusive of fitness at an earlier date.
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