LEGAL WORD

Ratio decidendi

Latin phrase · Jurisprudence

Ratio decidendi

  • Type: Latin phrase
  • Area of law: Jurisprudence

1 What it means

The reason for the decision. It is the legal principle the court needed to reach its result, and it is the part of a judgment that binds later courts.

2 Use it in a sentence

To find the ratio decidendi, ask which rule the court could not have reached its decision without.

3 Make it stick

Write your own sentence using Ratio decidendi about a case or topic you are studying this week, then check it against the meaning above.

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