Origin Rooted in English common law tradition (no single founding year stated)
Obiter dictum, plural obiter dicta, is a Latin phrase meaning said in passing, describing remarks made by a judge or arbitrator in the course of a legal opinion that are not essential to the decision. A judicial opinion contains both a ratio decidendi, the essential reasoning behind the decision, and obiter dicta; a statement counts as ratio decidendi only if it addresses the crucial facts and law of the case, while a statement that lacks that crucial character is obiter dictum. Ratio decidendi binds lower courts under the doctrine of precedent, while obiter dicta are only persuasive, though in some jurisdictions, including England and Wales, they can be strongly persuasive. Wambaugh's Inversion Test offers a way to tell the two apart: if the outcome of the case would remain unchanged without a given statement, that statement is obiter; if the outcome would differ, it is ratio decidendi. This description is adapted from Wikipedia contributors under CC BY-SA 4.0; changes were made. https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/
Facts
Origin PeriodRooted in English common law tradition (no single founding year stated) 2 Core PrincipleRatio decidendi binds later courts; obiter dicta are persuasive only, not binding 2 Classification
Doctrine Category Connections
In Area Of Law
Entity-backed identity for the doctrine category value this doctrine already carries as an enum fact, resolved to a doctrine entity by an explicit value-to-entity map (phase 3 bucket conversion, docs\design_entity_backed_browse_buckets_20260928.md). The enum fact itself stays on the entity unchanged.
In Legal System
Source Obiter dictum (Wikipedia)
Sources
1. Wikipedia: Obiter dictum
any remark in a legal opinion that is said in passing by a judge; only the ratio decidendi is bindingView the Source 2. Obiter dictum (Wikipedia)
Lead section, paragraph on common law origin
The concept as used in law derives from English common law, whereby a judgment comprises only two elements: ratio decidendi and obiter dicta.
Lead section, paragraph on binding effect
For the purposes of judicial precedent, ratio decidendi is binding, whereas obiter dicta are persuasive only.
In Legal System: Common Law, Introduction
The concept as used in law derives from English common law, whereby a judgment comprises only two elements: ratio decidendi and obiter dicta.
View the SourceFrequently Asked Questions
Is an obiter dictum binding on later courts?
No, it is persuasive only, while the ratio decidendi binds.
No. In the common law account a judgment has two elements, the ratio decidendi and the obiter dicta. For the purposes of judicial precedent the ratio decidendi is binding, whereas obiter dicta are only persuasive. A later court may give a passing remark weight, but it is not required to follow it.
What does obiter dictum mean, and where does the idea come from?
Latin for said in passing: a judge's remark not needed to decide the case.
Obiter dictum is Latin for said in passing, and the plural is obiter dicta. It describes remarks a judge makes in an opinion that go beyond what is needed to decide the case. The concept as used in law derives from English common law.
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