Legal Dictionary of Pakistan
Quick lookup for English, Urdu, and Latin legal terms used in Pakistani jurisprudence.
obiter
, n. See OBITER DICTUM,
obiter dicta
See DICTUM. Cf. HOLDING (1); RATIO DECIDENDI. "Strictly speaking an 'obiter dictum' is a remark made or opinion expressed by a judge, in his decision upon a cause, 'by the way' - that is, incidentally or collaterally, and not directly upon the question before the court; or it is any statement of law enunciated by the judge or court merely by way of illustration, argument, analogy, or suggestion .... In the common speech of lawyers, all such extrajudicial expressions of legal opinion are referred to as 'dicta,' or 'obiter dicta,' these two terms being used interchangeably." William M. Lile et al., Brief Making and the Use of Law Books 304 (3d ed. 1914).
obiter dictum
[Latin "something said in passing"] A judicial comment made during the course of delivering a judicial opinion, but one that is unnecessary to the decision in the case and therefore not precedential (though it may be considered persuasive). - Often shortened to dictum or, less commonly, obiter. Pl.
obiter ex post facto
. A court's holding that, according to a later court, was expressed in unnecessarily broad terms. ( Some authorities suggest that this is not, properly speaking, a type of obiter dictum at all.