Ex tempore decision
{{Short description|Type of judgment}}
{{About|ex tempore judgments|other meanings|Ex tempore (disambiguation)}}
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Ex tempore (Latin for "out of the moment“) is a law latin 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.{{cite book
| last1 = Zander
| first1 = Michael
| author-link = Michael Zander
| title = The Law-Making Process
| publisher = Cambridge University Press | date = 2004 | location = Cambridge | isbn = 978-0-521-60989-0}} 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, 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, the District Court's decisions are not binding on the Local Court (see Valentine v Eid (1992) 27 NSWLR 615 and stare decisis).
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
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. [https://www.oxfordreference.com/display/10.1093/acref/9780195540222.001.0001/acref-9780195540222-e-147 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: [http://www5.austlii.edu.au/au/journals/UWALawRw/1995/18.html] [http://www.austlii.edu.au/au/journals/UWALawRw/1995/18.pdf]. [https://heinonline.org/HOL/LandingPage?handle=hein.journals/uwatlw25&div=20&id=&page= HeinOnline]. This is a reprint of M D Kirby, "Ex Tempore Reasons " (1992) 9 Australian Bar Review 93 (No 2).
- Roger McCarthy, [https://www.familylaw.co.uk/news_and_comment/McCarthy-NovFLJ2012 "How good do ex tempore judgments need to be?"], Family Law, 5 November 2012
- "Ex tempore judgments" in [https://www.lawscot.org.uk/members/journal/issues/vol-64-issue-03/when-delay-is-not-fatal/ "When delay is not fatal"] (2019) 64 Journal of the Law Society of Scotland (No 3: March 2019, 18 March 2019)
- Lorraine Walker. [https://coat.asn.au/wp-content/uploads/2018/11/Ex-tempore-decisions.pdf "Ex tempore decisions"]. COAT.
- Michael Cross, [https://www.lawgazette.co.uk/law/public-law-not-very-public-research-suggests/5111763.article "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) [https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/10854681.2022.2111966 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) [https://heinonline.org/HOL/LandingPage?handle=hein.journals/jappp5&div=40&id=&page= HeinOnline] [https://journals.librarypublishing.arizona.edu/appellate/article/id/2811/ University of Arizona]
- Theo Tsavdaridis. [https://localcourt.nsw.gov.au/documents/judicial-speeches/Presentation_-_Oral_Decisions_in_the_Real_World_-_National_Judicial_College_of_Australia_-_Oral_Judgments_Course_-_Deputy_Chief_Magistrate_Tsavdaridis_30.6.2022.pdf "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 447 [http://classic.austlii.edu.au/au/journals/UNSWLawJl/2003/36.html AustLII]
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