law Law is a set of rules that are created and are enforceable by social or governmental institutions to regulate behavior, with its precise definition a matter of longstanding debate. It has been variously described as a science and as the ar ...

, a legal opinion is in certain jurisdictions a written explanation by a

judge A judge is a person who wiktionary:preside, presides over court proceedings, either alone or as a part of a judicial panel. In an adversarial system, the judge hears all the witnesses and any other Evidence (law), evidence presented by the barris ...

or group of judges that accompanies an order or ruling in a

case Case or CASE may refer to: Instances * Instantiation (disambiguation), a realization of a concept, theme, or design * Special case, an instance that differs in a certain way from others of the type Containers * Case (goods), a package of relate ...

, laying out the rationale and legal principles for the ruling. Opinions are in those jurisdictions usually published at the direction of the

court A court is an institution, often a government entity, with the authority to adjudicate legal disputes between Party (law), parties and Administration of justice, administer justice in Civil law (common law), civil, Criminal law, criminal, an ...

, and to the extent, they contain pronouncements about what the law is and how it should be interpreted, they reinforce, change, establish, or overturn legal

precedent Precedent is a judicial decision that serves as an authority for courts when deciding subsequent identical or similar cases. Fundamental to common law legal systems, precedent operates under the principle of ''stare decisis'' ("to stand by thin ...

. If a court decides that an opinion should be published, the opinion may be included in a volume from a series of books called

law report A or is a compilation of Legal opinion, judicial opinions from a selection of case law decided by courts. These reports serve as published records of judicial decisions that are cited by lawyers and judges for their use as precedent in subsequ ...

s ('reporters' in the United States). Published opinions of courts are also collectively referred to as

case law Case law, also used interchangeably with common law, is a law that is based on precedents, that is the judicial decisions from previous cases, rather than law based on constitutions, statutes, or regulations. Case law uses the detailed facts of ...

, and constitute in the

common law Common law (also known as judicial precedent, judge-made law, or case law) is the body of law primarily developed through judicial decisions rather than statutes. Although common law may incorporate certain statutes, it is largely based on prece ...

legal system A legal system is a set of legal norms and institutions and processes by which those norms are applied, often within a particular jurisdiction or community. It may also be referred to as a legal order. The comparative study of legal systems is th ...

s one of the major

sources of law Sources of law are the origins of laws, the binding rules that enable any state to govern its territory. The terminology was already used in Rome by Cicero as a metaphor referring to the "fountain" ("fons" in Latin) of law. Technically, anything ...

Memorandum opinion

Not every case decided by a higher court results in the publication of an opinion; in fact, many cases do not, since an opinion is often published only when the

is being interpreted in a novel way, or the case is a high-profile matter of general public interest and the court wishes to make the details of its ruling public. In the majority of US cases, the judges issue a '' memorandum decision'' that indicates how state or federal law applies to the case and affirms or reverses the decision of the lower court. A memorandum decision does not establish legal precedent or re-interpret the law, and cannot be invoked in subsequent cases to justify a ruling. Opinions, on the other hand, ''always'' establish a particular legal interpretation.https://www.law.berkeley.edu/wp-content/uploads/2015/07/How-to-Read-A-Legal-Opinion.pdf, Berkeley University - Legal Opinion

Legal opinions of counsel or government law officers

In the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Northwestern Europe, off the coast of European mainland, the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...

and other

countries, a legal opinion also refers to written legal advice on a point of law issued by either a

barrister A barrister is a type of lawyer in common law jurisdiction (area), jurisdictions. Barristers mostly specialise in courtroom advocacy and litigation. Their tasks include arguing cases in courts and tribunals, drafting legal pleadings, jurisprud ...

advocate An advocate is a professional in the field of law. List of country legal systems, Different countries and legal systems use the term with somewhat differing meanings. The broad equivalent in many English law–based jurisdictions could be a ba ...

(often referred to as "counsel's opinion") or occasionally a senior government law officer, such as an

attorney general In most common law jurisdictions, the attorney general (: attorneys general) or attorney-general (AG or Atty.-Gen) is the main legal advisor to the government. In some jurisdictions, attorneys general also have executive responsibility for law enf ...

. Where the opinion is given by a foreign lawyer or foreign law firm it is usually referred to as a '

foreign legal opinion A foreign legal opinion (or foreign law opinion) is an opinion of a law firm issued in cross-border commercial transactions certifying the effectiveness of the transaction under the applicable foreign law. Foreign legal opinions have become highl ...

'. The latter form of opinion is sometimes made available to the public either because of public pressure (see for example Lord Goldsmith's opinion on the Iraq War,

Yoo memo Yoo may refer to: * Yoo (Korean surname), also spelled Ryu or Yu, a Korean family name * YOO, the IATA code for Oshawa Airport See also *You In Modern English, the word "''you''" is the second-person pronoun. It is grammatically plural, a ...

), or because a general clarification of the law is called for (see for example, the Yorke–Talbot slavery opinion). In the

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

, several

state attorneys general The state attorney general in each of the 50 U.S. states, of the federal district, or of any of the territories is the chief legal advisor to the state government and the state's chief law enforcement officer. In some states, the attorney genera ...

issue attorney general's opinions. Several areas of commercial practice call for formal legal opinions of counsel. The

Legal Aid Legal aid is the provision of assistance to people who are unable to afford legal representation and access to the court system. Legal aid is regarded as central in providing access to justice by ensuring equality before the law, the right ...

scheme in the

requires a legal opinion showing reasonable prospects for success before the Legal Aid board will fund any claim.

Insurance Insurance is a means of protection from financial loss in which, in exchange for a fee, a party agrees to compensate another party in the event of a certain loss, damage, or injury. It is a form of risk management, primarily used to protect ...

policies for

professional negligence In the English law of tort, professional negligence is a subset of the general rules on negligence to cover the situation in which the defendant has represented him or herself as having more than average skills and abilities. The usual rules rel ...

will frequently require an opinion of counsel before the insurer is required to pay out on any putative claim (sometimes called a

QC clause In insurance law, a KC clause (or, during the reign of a female monarch, a QC clause) is a clause in an insurance policy (usually but not exclusively a professional indemnity insurance policy) that provides that an action against the insured is not ...

, when it must be an opinion of

leading counsel Leading Counsel (12 March 1982 – after 2006) was an American-bred Irish-trained Thoroughbred racehorse and sire. He showed great promise when winning the Leopardstown Stakes on his only start as a two-year-old in 1984 and was regarded a ...

Legal opinion in commercial transactions

In commercial transactions, particularly in the context of financing, the lender will require an opinion as to the corporate capacity of the borrower and enforceability of the transaction documents the borrower is intended to enter into. This type of opinion is generally issued by the borrower's counsel or the lender's counsel, depending on the ethical rule governing the issuance of those opinion applicable to the jurisdiction. When the subject company is from a foreign jurisdiction, the opinion will often be referred to as a

External links

* R. C. A. White, I. Boussiako
Separate opinions in the European Court of Human Rights
* Orin S. Kerr
How to read a legal opinion: A guide for new law students
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References

{{Authority control Legal terminology