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Dictum

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Dictum

In common law legal terminology a dictum (plural dicta) is any statement that forms a part of the judgment

Judgment

A judgment , in a legal context, is synonymous with the formal decision made by a court following a lawsuit. At the same time the court may also make a range of court orders, such as imposing a sentence upon a Guilt y defendant in a Criminal law matter, or providing a Legal remedy for the plaintiff in a civil law matter....
of a court, in particular a court whose decisions have value as precedent

Precedent

In common law Legal systems of the world, a precedent or authority is a legal case establishing a principle or rule that a court or other judicial body adopts when deciding subsequent cases with similar issues or facts....
under the doctrine of stare decisis

Stare decisis

Stare decisis is the legal principle under which judges are obligated to follow the precedents established in prior decisions.In the United States, which uses a common law system in its federal courts and most of its state courts, the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit has stated:...
.

Conceptually, dicta are divided into two types. Ratio decidendi

Ratio decidendi

Ratio decidendi is a List of Latin phrases meaning "the reason" or "the rationale for the decision."The ratio decidendi is:The process of determining the ratio decidendi is a correctly thought through analysis of what the court actually decided ? essentially, based on the legal points about which the parties in the case actual...
are those which form a part of the reason for the decision, and are binding as precedent. Obiter dicta

Obiter dictum

An obiter dictum , Latin for a statement "said by the way", is a remark or observation made by a judge that, although included in the body of the court's opinion, does not form a necessary part of the court's decision....
are those which are not binding, but are merely editorializing, or explanatory.

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Encyclopedia

In common law legal terminology a dictum (plural dicta) is any statement that forms a part of the judgment

Judgment

A judgment , in a legal context, is synonymous with the formal decision made by a court following a lawsuit. At the same time the court may also make a range of court orders, such as imposing a sentence upon a Guilt y defendant in a Criminal law matter, or providing a Legal remedy for the plaintiff in a civil law matter....
of a court, in particular a court whose decisions have value as precedent

Precedent

In common law Legal systems of the world, a precedent or authority is a legal case establishing a principle or rule that a court or other judicial body adopts when deciding subsequent cases with similar issues or facts....
under the doctrine of stare decisis

Stare decisis

Stare decisis is the legal principle under which judges are obligated to follow the precedents established in prior decisions.In the United States, which uses a common law system in its federal courts and most of its state courts, the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit has stated:...
.

Conceptually, dicta are divided into two types. Ratio decidendi

Ratio decidendi

Ratio decidendi is a List of Latin phrases meaning "the reason" or "the rationale for the decision."The ratio decidendi is:The process of determining the ratio decidendi is a correctly thought through analysis of what the court actually decided ? essentially, based on the legal points about which the parties in the case actual...
are those which form a part of the reason for the decision, and are binding as precedent. Obiter dicta

Obiter dictum

An obiter dictum , Latin for a statement "said by the way", is a remark or observation made by a judge that, although included in the body of the court's opinion, does not form a necessary part of the court's decision....
are those which are not binding, but are merely editorializing, or explanatory. The word dicta standing alone is often used as a synonym for obiter dicta, although this usage is not technically correct.

See also

ratio decidendi
Ratio decidendi

Ratio decidendi is a List of Latin phrases meaning "the reason" or "the rationale for the decision."The ratio decidendi is:The process of determining the ratio decidendi is a correctly thought through analysis of what the court actually decided ? essentially, based on the legal points about which the parties in the case actual...
obiter dictum
Obiter dictum

An obiter dictum , Latin for a statement "said by the way", is a remark or observation made by a judge that, although included in the body of the court's opinion, does not form a necessary part of the court's decision....