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. Anything tha
t 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
Liezel O. Carandang
BSBA-Legal Management
Assignment #3
challenged 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