Ratio Decidendi and Obiter Dicta Amaresh Patel BASICS OF LAW Tue, Feb 02, 2021, at ,02:26 PM Literal meaning of the term ‘ratio decidendi’ is ‘reason of decision’. Other meaning are also given to this term, for example, the rule of law which is preferred by the judge as the actual basis of his decision, or the rule of law which permits others to interpret the judgments as being of binding authority. According to Keeton ratio decidendi of a decision is the principle of law formulated by the judge for the purpose of deciding the problems before him.A judicial decision has a binding force for subsequent cases but the whole judgment is not binding. Only a part of the judgment is binding. Only that part of the judgment in an earlier decision is binding which constitutes the ratio decidendi of that case. Statements which are not partaking of the character of ratio decidendi can be ignored while deciding the latter case. Eminent jurist like Goodhard, Llewellyn, Wambough, Paton, and Sawer, Gooderson, and Salmond have propounded theories to ascertain true ratio decidendi. According to Goodhard, ratio decidendi is to be found by taking into consideration all the facts treated as material by the judge who decided the case. For him, what is binding is the conclusion reached by the judge on the basis of material facts. Prof. Stone has criticized this theory because to discover what facts are material in the decision is by no mans easy. According to Salmond, a precedent is a judicial decision which contains in itself a principle. The underlying principle which thus forms its authoritative element is often termed the ratio decidendi.