Obiter dictum: Difference between revisions

From The Jolly Contrarian
Jump to navigation Jump to search
No edit summary
No edit summary
 
(8 intermediate revisions by the same user not shown)
Line 1: Line 1:
An [[obiter dictum]] is literally a “statement made in passing”; tossed off, as it were, by a court ''en route'' to a different a legal determination (a “[[ratio decidendi]]”).  
{{a|latin|}}An [[obiter dictum]] is literally a “statement made in passing”; tossed off, as it were, by a court ''en route'' to a different a legal determination (a “[[ratio decidendi]]”) about something else.  


A chance remark; a passing observation; a ''bon mot'' not entirely on point to the matter at hand but which, if not strictly [[precedent|binding]] on a subsequently convened lower court, is apt to make it swoon with admiration all the same.
A chance remark; a passing observation; a ''bon mot'', not entirely on point to the matter at hand but which, if not strictly [[precedent|binding]] on a subsequently-convened lower court, is apt to make it swoon with admiration all the same.
 
Perhaps the most famous [[obiter dictum]] of all times was that made by a young High Court judge sitting in the [[King’s Bench Division]] by the name of Denning, {{casenote|Central London Property Trust Ltd|High Trees House Ltd}}, which gave rise to the modern law of [[promissory estoppel]].
 
[[Obiter]] is also the name of the University of Canterbury Law Society Magazine, which had its finest year in 1992, but recently went [https://obiter.weebly.com/ online], which seems to have been a mistake proving, as it does, only that the youth of today are so goddamn ''worthy''.
{{sa}}
*[[Doctrine of precedent]]
*[[Lord Denning]]


{{c|Latin}}
{{c|Latin}}

Latest revision as of 12:52, 5 January 2021

The JC’s guide to pithy Latin adages
Tell me more
Sign up for our newsletter — or just get in touch: for ½ a weekly 🍺 you get to consult JC. Ask about it here.

An obiter dictum is literally a “statement made in passing”; tossed off, as it were, by a court en route to a different a legal determination (a “ratio decidendi”) about something else.

A chance remark; a passing observation; a bon mot, not entirely on point to the matter at hand but which, if not strictly binding on a subsequently-convened lower court, is apt to make it swoon with admiration all the same.

Perhaps the most famous obiter dictum of all times was that made by a young High Court judge sitting in the King’s Bench Division by the name of Denning, Central London Property Trust Ltd v High Trees House Ltd, which gave rise to the modern law of promissory estoppel.

Obiter is also the name of the University of Canterbury Law Society Magazine, which had its finest year in 1992, but recently went online, which seems to have been a mistake proving, as it does, only that the youth of today are so goddamn worthy.

See also