Obiter dictum (also obiter dicta, and often just "obiter"), from the Latin for "said in passing" is the legal term used to describe a discussion of a point of law in a judicial decision that does not directly relate to the point on which the court actually decided the case (the ratio decidendi). Under the principle of stare decisis, obiter is not binding on other courts, although it can be persuasive. Technically, a dissent is obiter in its entirety.