per curiam
Meaning. By the court: a decision given in the name of the whole bench rather than authored by one named judge.
A per curiam judgment or order is issued by the court as a body, without attributing it to an individual judge. It is common for short orders, unanimous decisions and orders on procedural matters. In law reports, a statement made “per curiam” is one made by the court as such.
It has the same binding force as any other decision of that court. Students often confuse it with per incuriam, which is very different: a decision given per incuriam is one rendered in ignorance of a binding statute or precedent and is therefore not binding as precedent.
Example
The Supreme Court disposed of the batch of appeals by a short per curiam order applying its earlier judgment.
See also
per incuriam · judgment · bench
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