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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. The word dicta standing alone is often used as a synonym for obiter dicta, although this usage is not technically correct.

[edit] See also

• ratio decidendi
• obiter dictum