... is Latin for "said by the way", is a remark or observation made by a judge that, although included in the body of the court's opinion, does not form a necessary part of the court's decision unlike the ratio. Under the doctrine of stare decisis, statements constituting obiter dicta are therefore not binding, although in some jurisdictions, such as England and Wales, they can be strongly persuasive. A landmark case which highlights the doctrine of precedent is the ratio of Donoghue v Stevenson1 in which the Claimant had gone to a cafe with a friend, who had bought her a drink of ginger beer. She had poured some of the drink into a glass and consumed it. When she poured the rest she found the decomposing remains of a dead snail. The claimant became unwell and brought a claim of tort negligence against the manufacturer. Not only did this ...

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