''Semble'' is a legal term used when discussing

published opinion Non-publication of legal opinions is the practice of a court issuing unpublished opinions. An unpublished opinion is a decision of a court that is not available for citation as precedent because the court deems the case to have insufficient precede ...

s. The word is the

Norman Norman or Normans may refer to: Ethnic and cultural identity * The Normans, a people partly descended from Norse Vikings who settled in the territory of Normandy in France in the 10th and 11th centuries ** People or things connected with the Norm ...

( and Modern) French verbal form for meaning "it seems or appears to be" or, more simply, "it seems".Harvey Cortlandt Voorhees (1911
Concise Law Dictionary
(revised edition; original compiled by Frederic Jesup Stimson) Little, Brown and Company, Boston at 311

Law

The

legal Law is a set of rules that are created and are enforceable by social or governmental institutions to regulate behavior,Robertson, ''Crimes against humanity'', 90. with its precise definition a matter of longstanding debate. It has been vario ...

expression ''"semble"'' indicates that the point to which it refers is uncertain or represents only the judge's opinion. In a law report, the expression precedes a proposition of law which is an ''

obiter dictum ''Obiter dictum'' (usually used in the plural, ''obiter dicta'') is a Latin phrase meaning "other things said",'' Black's Law Dictionary'', p. 967 (5th ed. 1979). that is, a remark in a legal opinion that is "said in passing" by any judge or arbi ...

'' by the judge, or a suggestion by the reporter. For example, in the

headnote A headnote is a brief summary of a particular point of law that is added to the text of a court decision to aid readers in locating discussion of a legal issue in an opinion. As the term implies, headnotes appear at the beginning of the publish ...

for

House of Lords The House of Lords, also known as the House of Peers, is the upper house of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. Membership is by appointment, heredity or official function. Like the House of Commons, it meets in the Palace of Westminster in ...

' decision in ''Hedley Byrne v Heller'', the reporter uses the term ''semble'' when summarising certain remarks of Lords

Reid Reid is a surname of Scottish origin. It means "red". People with the surname * Alan Reid (disambiguation) * Alex Reid (disambiguation), includes Alexander Reid * Amanda Reid, Australian Paralympic athlete * Amanda Reid (taxonomist), Austral ...

, Morris, and Hodson on a point which did not arise for decision in the case; ''semble'' indicates that this may be the law, but it falls to a future case to decide authoritatively. In ''Simpkins v Pays''

955 Year 955 ( CMLV) was a common year starting on Monday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. Events By place Europe * August 10 – Battle of Lechfeld: King Otto I ("the Great") defeats the Hungarians (also ...

'Simpkins v Pays'

1 WLR 975 Queen's Bench Division Sellers J, having made an award to the plaintiff, suggested ''"semble"'' that an equal award was due to the defendant's granddaughter, even though she was not party to the action.

References

{{Reflist Old French English legal terminology