Ex tempore decision

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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.^[1] 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

• Appeal
• Curia advisari vult
• Reserved decision
• Sub judice
• Pro tempore

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: [1] [2]. 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" in "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) HeinOnline University 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 447 AustLII