In common law legal terminology a dictum (plural dicta) is any statement that forms a part of the judgment of a court, in particular a court whose decisions have value as precedent under the doctrine of stare decisis.

Conceptually, dicta are divided into those which form a part of the reason for the decision or ratio decidendi, which are binding as precedent, and those which do not, which are called obiter dicta.

See also

• ratio decidendi
• obiter dictum

Latin legal phrases