Ratio decidendi refers to _____.

Question

Quizplus · Accepted Answer

Ratio decidendi refers to the underlying principle of a case. Justice Benjamin Cardozo stated that if the answer were not clearly established by statute or by unquestioned precedent, the problem was twofold: "He [the judge] must first extract from the precedents the underlying principle, the ratio decidendi; he must then determine the path or direction along which the principle is to work and develop, if it is not to wither or die."

Ratio Decidendi Refers to _____