Honorable Exit From Empire Jul 25, 2008
Patrick J. Buchanan :: Townhall. Columns, funnies in your inbox. (Townhall.com)
Arming civilians a threat to sovereignty? Apr 4, 2008
The Supreme Courts recent obiter dicta on the subject of civilian armed groups were based essentially on the objection to the state disbursing arms to civilians and to the extent that this was, in fact, the case in the early phase of the Salwa Judum, this is both beyond the law and well beyond the dictates of sagacity within any rational counter-insurgency framework. The principal achievement of the Salwa Judum was to set up poor tribals as hapless targets for the better... (India Times)
Limit judicial activism Dec 12, 2007
It is important to note this does not constitute a new Supreme Court judgement: the two judges merely made these remarks in passing (obiter dicta) while delivering their judgement in the golf club case. To give formal shape to this important matter, a larger Supreme Court bench should lay down clear criteria for lower courts on the limits of judicial activism. (India Times)
SC remark flies in face of own activism Dec 12, 2007
In a case pertaining to the humble post of a tractor driver in a Chandigarh golf club, the Supreme Court bench comprising Justice A K Mathur and Justice Markandey Katju made scathing observations on a slew of cases, many of which are still pending before the Delhi HC. Though they are considered obiter dicta (said by the way) and therefore not binding, such observations from the apex court could have a chilling effect on judges across the country in dealing with far-reaching PILs. For all the... (Times of India)
'Writing is something I have to do' Oct 14, 2007
Lurking among her obiter dicta is the observation that 'laughter is healthy', and also her definition of happiness that 'all sanity depends on this: that it should be a delight to feel heat strike the skin. As you might expect from a shamanistic writer, Lessing exhibits down-to-earth wisdom about the human condition. (Guardian Unlimited -- Books)
Loose cannon can't help mentioning the war Aug 25, 2007
Its president, Sir William Webb of Australia's High Court, notably appended an obiter dicta (judicial comment) critical of its studious avoidance of the emperor's war responsibility. But harping on Bose and Pal is not going to help Japan's relations with Korea and China. (Sydney Morning Herald -- World)
It's a hattrick of reverses for govt Mar 31, 2007
Centre did not seek a review or clarification from the court to quell the confusion and preferred to assume, based on the AG's opinion, that it was only an "obiter dicta" and not a binding direction. But there is a strong lobby of legal experts which believes that the apex court, in the Nagaraj case, has laid down creamy layer as an inviolable criteria for all SC/ST quota. (India Times, India -- Community News)
Alpha Mailer Feb 4, 2007
Mailer's obiter dicta range from the observation that 'Hemingway's style affected a whole generation, the way a roomful of men is affected when a beautiful woman walks through - their night is turned for better or for worse' to the infinitely teasing notion that 'the best presidential contest we could have would be between Warren Beatty for the Democrats and Clint Eastwood for the Republicans. Mailer has talked on TV, on campuses, in bars, at cocktail parties, on and off the record, with and... (Guardian Unlimited -- Books)
No creamy layer for SCs, STs, says A-G Nov 21, 2006
The A-G has now informed the government that the court's views were obiter dicta, a Latin term that means 'by the way', and were not part of a decision. When the GoM met last week, it felt that it was not clear whether the SC's remarks constituted a ruling or a decision, which had to be enforced. (India Times, India -- Community News)
How HHS Bullies North Dakota Citizens Aug 18, 2006
Even judges are permitted (and often abuse) a privilege of obiter dicta. But career officials are supposed to implement the policies of the people and their elected officials, not publicly advocate what those policies should be. (Human Events Online)
John McGahern Mar 31, 2006
Last year, McGahern, who had cancer, published his autobiographical Memoir, which deals mainly with his childhood and gives a new dimension to his writing: the ambiguity and necessary pretence of the fiction writer gave way to the unequivocal obiter dicta of the child. His intense attachment to his mother, his incomprehension at her early death from cancer and at the fact that his authoritarian father provided no occasion for grieving, are unnerving signposts to the mindset that permeates The... (Guardian Unlimited)
