"Judgement on the merits" is a legal term that refers to a decision based on the substantive issues of a case. It means that a court has evaluated the evidence presented in a case and has made a ruling on the merits of the case, rather than some procedural or technical issue. Some synonyms for this term might include "decided on the facts," "outcome based on evidence," "substantive ruling," or "ruling on the substance of the case." These phrases all convey the idea that a decision has been made based on the actual issues at hand, rather than some other procedural or technical issue that may be less relevant to the substance of the case.