Ex tempore decision

This article is about ex tempore judgments. For other meanings, see Ex tempore (disambiguation).

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. 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.

Certain cases heard by the Supreme Court of Canada can be decided without significant deliberation or justification. In such situations the court will give their reasons for judgment orally after the parties have finished making their submission.

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