''Ex tempore'' (
Latin
Latin ( or ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic languages, Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally spoken by the Latins (Italic tribe), Latins in Latium (now known as Lazio), the lower Tiber area aroun ...
for "out of the moment“) is a
law latin
Law Latin, sometimes written L.L. or L. Lat., and sometimes derisively referred to as Dog Latin, is a form of Latin used in legal contexts. While some of the vocabulary does come from Latin, much of it stems from English. Law Latin may also be see ...
legal term that means 'at the time'. A judge who hands down a decision in a case soon or straight after hearing it is delivering a decision ''ex tempore''. Another way a judge may deliver a decision is to
reserve their decision and deliver it later in written form.
An ''ex tempore'' judgment, being off the cuff, does not entail the same preparation as a reserved decision. Consequently, it will not be thought out to the same degree.
In
Australia
Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country comprising mainland Australia, the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania and list of islands of Australia, numerous smaller isl ...
, intermediate-level courts tend to have a heavy case load, and so many decisions are delivered ''ex tempore'' for reasons of time and necessity. Because many decisions are ''ex tempore'', intermediate-level courts' decisions are not binding on inferior courts - that is to say, that in
New South Wales
New South Wales (commonly abbreviated as NSW) is a States and territories of Australia, state on the Eastern states of Australia, east coast of :Australia. It borders Queensland to the north, Victoria (state), Victoria to the south, and South ...
, the District Court's decisions are not binding on the Local Court (see Valentine v Eid (1992) 27 NSWLR 615 and ''
stare decisis
Precedent is a judicial decision that serves as an authority for courts when deciding subsequent identical or similar cases. Fundamental to common law legal systems, precedent operates under the principle of ''stare decisis'' ("to stand by thin ...
'').
Ex tempore decisions are not binding on later courts due to the quick nature of their delivery after the hearing of a case. Therefore, these decisions are of persuasive authority only and a later court, dealing with a case of similar facts, can reach a different conclusion if it is appropriate and the court in question believes that their decision is more suitable.
See also
*
Appeal
In law, an appeal is the process in which Legal case, cases are reviewed by a higher authority, where parties request a formal change to an official decision. Appeals function both as a process for error correction as well as a process of cla ...
* ''
Curia advisari vult''
*
Reserved decision
* ''
Sub judice
In law, ''sub judice'', Latin for "under a judge", means that a particular case or matter is under trial or being considered by a judge or court. The term may be used synonymously with "the present case" or "the case at bar" by some lawyers.
I ...
''
*
Pro tempore
''Pro tempore'' (), abbreviated ''pro tem'' or ''p.t.'', is a Latin phrase which best translates to 'for the time being' in English. This phrase is often used to describe a person who acts as a '' locum tenens'' ('placeholder'). The phrase is ...
References
*"Ex tempore judgments". Michael Coper, Tony Blackshield and George Williams (eds). The Oxford Companion to the High Court of Australia. Oxford University Press. 2001. Published online 2007. ISBN 9780195540222
Oxford Reference
*Max Barrett. "The art and craft of ex tempore judgments". The Art and Craft of Judgment-Writing: A Primer for Common Law Judges. Globe Law and Business. April 2022. ISBN 9781787428577. Part III ("Ex tempore judgments"). Chapter 13.
*Michael D Kirby, "Ex Tempore Judgments - Reasons on the Run" (1995) 25 University of Western Australia Law Review 213 (No 2, December 1995). AustLII
HeinOnline
This is a reprint of M D Kirby, "Ex Tempore Reasons " (1992) 9 Australian Bar Review 93 (No 2).
*Roger McCarthy
"How good do ex tempore judgments need to be?"
Family Law, 5 November 2012
* "Ex tempore judgments" i
"When delay is not fatal"
(2019) 64 Journal of the Law Society of Scotland (No 3: March 2019, 18 March 2019)
*Lorraine Walker
"Ex tempore decisions"
COAT.
*Michael Cross
"Public law not very public, research suggests"
(2022) The Law Society Gazette, 8 March 2022
*Daniel Hoadley, Joe Tomlinson, Editha Nemsic and Cassandra Somers-Joce, "How Public is Public Law? The Current State of Open Access to Administrative Court Judgments" in "Practice and Procedure" (2022) 27 Judicial Review 95 (Issue 2: 22 September 2022
Taylor and Francis
*J E Cote, "The Oral Judgment Practice in the Canadian Appellate Courts" (2003) 5 Journal of Appellate Practice & Process 435 (No 2: Fall 2003
HeinOnlineUniversity of Arizona
*Theo Tsavdaridis
"Oral Decisions in the Real World"
(Oral Judgments Course). National Judicial College of Australia. 30 June 2022.
*Arthur R Emmett, "Towards the Civil Law?: The Loss of 'Orality' in Civil Litigation in Australia" (2003) 26(2) UNSW Law Journal 44
{{DISPLAYTITLE:''Ex tempore'' decision
Civil procedure
Judicial legal terminology
Latin legal terminology