Liezel O. Carandang BSBA-Legal Management Assignment #3 Define and discuss the following parts and forms of a Decision: 1. Dispositive portion or Fallo - The dispositive portion or the fallo is what actually constitutes the resolution of the court, and which is the subject of execution, although the other parts of the decision may be resorted to in order to determine the ratio decidendi for such a resolution. The importance of the fallo or dispositive portion of a decision cannot be gainsaid — the disposition should state whether the complaint or petition is granted or denied, the specific relief granted, and the costs. 2. Ratio Decidendi - Literally the "rationale for the decision". The essential elements of a judgment which create binding precedent, and must therefore be followed by inferior courts, unlike obiter dicta, which do not possess binding authority. Also known as ratio. - This is an essential component in comprehending how the common law works. Once a system of binding precedent has been established, it must be determined what it is in the previous judgement that binds the court in the future. While it is sometimes feasible to find the rule by reading the judge's decision, this is by no means a reliable method of determining the rule in a case. The most solid general strategy is to ascertain the case's material facts, determine the decision, and then draw the proposition that most closely relates the material facts to the actual result. It's challenging enough to do this with a single ruling, but it's far more difficult when you're dealing with multiple views from the Court of Appeal, the Inner House, and the House of Lords. Sometimes it is said to be impossible to form a ratio of general application. Anyth ing that is said that is not part of the ratio is said to be an obiter dictum. 3. Minute Resolutions - As the terminology connotes, is issued for the prompt and quick dispatch of the action of the Court and is generally unsigned. It is promulgated through the Clerk of Court and does not require certification of the Chief Justice. Minute resolution that denies or dismisses a petition for failure to comply with formal and substantive requirements, the challenged Liezel O. Carandang BSBA-Legal Management Assignment #3 decision, together with its findings of fact and legal conclusions, are deemed sustained. As to its effect on other cases it constitutes res judicata. 4. Signed Resolutions and Unsigned Resolutions - Section 6. Resolutions of motions for reconsideration or clarification of an unsigned resolution or minute resolution. – Motions for reconsideration or clarification of an unsigned resolution or a minute resolution shall be acted upon by the regular Division to which the ponente belongs at the time of the filling of the motion. The ponente is the Member to whom the Court, after its deliberation on the merits of a case, assigns the writing of its decision or resolution in the case. - Section 7. Resolutions of motions for reconsideration or clarification of decisions or signed resolutions; creation of a Special Division. – Motions for reconsideration or clarification of a decision or of a signed resolution shall be acted upon by the ponente and the other Members of the Division who participated in the rendition of the decision or signed resolution. 5. Decision In reference to law, a decision is a determination of parties’ rights and obligations reached by a court based on facts and law. A decision can mean either the act of delivering a court’s order or the text of the order itself. The text of a decision usually includes a brief summary of the facts, a discussion of relevant laws, the court’s reasoning and orders. Decision is often used interchangeably with “judgment”, “ruling”, and “order”. Some common uses of the term “decision” in a legal sense include: - “Solitary Decision” is an isolated decision that has never been followed by a later court. - “Interlocutory decision”, also called “interlocutory order”, refers to an order settling an intermediate matter while the case is still ongoing. Except in certain circumstances by rule or statutes (preliminary injunction, for example), an interlocutory decision cannot be appealed until all other the issues in the case are resolved. - “Appealable decision” is an order that can receive an appellate review. - “Final decision” or “final judgment” refers to a court’s decision that settles all of the parties’ legal issues in controversy in the court. Liezel O. Carandang BSBA-Legal Management Assignment #3 - “Decision on the merits” or “judgment on the merits” is a judgment made based on facts and relevant substantive law of the case, rather than on technical or procedural grounds. Reference https://lawphil.net/courts/supreme/am/am_10-4-20-sc_2010.html https://www.academia.edu/37001519/Legal_Research_by_Rufus_Rodriguez https://www.law.cornell.edu/wex/decision
