Legal Notes

The Judgment of a court involves the relevant facts and laws referred to by the court in the determination of the issues before it. The judgment also includes the reasoning behind each decision that was arrived at by the court. A judgment can be said to be either final or interlocutory.

The final judgment of a court completely resolves all the issues before the court, leaving no issue outstanding to be determined by the court. It wholly and conclusively determine all rights and entitlements of the parties.

A statement of fact is a reference, an opinion or an explanation made by a judge or the court to a particular fact made by the parties before it as conclusive or proven.

A statement of law is a reference, an opinion or an explanation made by a judge or the court to a particular law or laws.

Unlike ratio decidendi which is a statement of law relating to the issues before the court, obiter dictum on the other hand is a statement of law which does not relate to the issues before the court. Thus a court is always at liberty to make statements of law in advising the parties before it

It is the ratio decidendi that may serve as judicial precedent. Thus ratio decidendi goes hand in hand with the doctrine of judicial precedent. Ratio Decidendi is a Latin word which means the legal reasoning behind a judgment which relates to the issues before the court. This is the binding part of a judgment that

When a court dismisses a party’s claim or case, it means that the court has found no merits in the party’s claim or case and as a result, the court has decided to refuse any grant of reliefs or benefits requested by the said party.

Defilement is the other side of the coin in the definition of rape. Defilement is simply defined in some jurisdictions as the sexual intercourse with a person below a certain age whether with or without the person’s consent. The rationale here is that the person or victim, in the eyes of the law, is not

The definition of rape may differ from one jurisdiction or country to another. In most jurisdictions, rape is defined as the forceful act of engaging in sexual intercourse with someone above a certain age against the person’s will or wishes. This person in question must be old enough to consent to sexual intercourse which makes

An Appeal is simply a step taken by a party in a court dispute, to challenge the decision of the court. Thus, the party seeks an amendment or setting aside or a second look at the decision of a lower court by a higher court.