... in their final judgement, they may also speculate what the outcome of the case would have been if the facts were slightly different. These comments are called obiter dicta (comments made 'by the way'). An example of this is Rondell v Worsley (1969), in this case a barrister was being sued for negligence. The ratio decidendi of this case was that a barrister is immune from being sued for negligence when acting as an advocate, the judge went on to speculate the outcome if it was a solicitor was being sued. The obiter dicta comment made by this judge became a persuasive precedent and was later used in Sait Ali v Mitchell (1972). In this case a solicitor was being sued for negligence and the court decided to follow the obiter dicta comments made in Rondell v Worsley. The ratio decidendi of this case was that a solicitor when acting ...

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