396
Opinion of Ginsburg, J.
nized the first line responsibility of the States themselves for assuring that the constitutional essentials are met. See Hansberry, 311 U. S., at 42.5 Final judgments, however, remain vulnerable to collateral attack for failure to satisfy the adequate representation requirement. See id., at 40, 42; see also Restatement (Second) of Judgments §§ 42(d) and (e), Comments e and f, pp. 406, 410-412 (1982) (noting, inter alia, that judgment is not binding on purportedly represented person where, to the knowledge of the opposing party, the representative seeks to advance his own interest at the expense of the represented person); see also id., § 41, Comment a, p. 394 (if § 42 circumstances exist, "the represented person may avoid being bound either by appearing in the action before rendition of the judgment or by attacking the judgment by subsequent proceedings"). (Emphasis added.) A court conducting an action cannot predetermine the res judicata effect of the judgment; that effect can be tested only in a subsequent action. See 7B C. Wright, A. Miller, & M. Kane, Federal Practice and Procedure § 1789, p. 245 (2d ed. 1986).
In Delaware, the constitutional due process requirement of adequate representation is embodied in Delaware Court of Chancery's Rule 23, a class-action rule modeled on its federal counterpart. Prezant, 636 A. 2d, at 923, 920. Delaware requires, as a prerequisite to class certification, that the named
5 Many States, including Delaware, have class-action rules corresponding to Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 23, a rule ranking adequacy of representation as a prerequisite to maintaining a class action. See 3 H. Newberg & A. Conte, Newberg on Class Actions, App. 13-1 (3d ed. 1992) (listing 39 States and the District of Columbia with rules comparable to the amended Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 23); Fed. Rule Civ. Proc. 23(a)(4) (representatives may sue on behalf of the class only if "the representative parties will fairly and adequately protect the interests of the class"); see also General Telephone Co. of Southwest v. Falcon, 457 U. S. 147, 157-158, n. 13 (1982) (Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 23(a)(4)'s adequate representation requirement "raises concerns about the competency of class counsel and conflicts of interest," in addition to the question whether the representative shares the interests of the class members).
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