How to write case-briefs

1. How to Write Case-Briefs?

2.

What is a Case-Brief?
“Written, analytic summaries of appellate opinions”
(Calleros, p. 90)
►Analytical
tool (check list)
►Helps to read and compare cases:
-Helps
to distil legal principles underlying the decisions
-Helps to get the essence of legal principles and the rationale behind it
-Helps to understand how the principles
would apply to a different set of facts

3.

Case-Brief Elements
► Identification
► Facts
► Procedural
► Issue
► Holding
► Reasoning
History

4.

Identification
►Name
of the case
►The name of the court
(ECtHR or ECJ/CJEU)
►Level of the court
(i.e. there are different judicial formations within the ECtHR)
►Type
and date of the decision
►Number of the case / application
Examples:
Hilde Schönheit v. Stadt Frankfurt am Main and Silvia Becker v.
Land Hessen, Judgment of 23 October 2003, cases C-4/02 and C-5/02
►ECtHR [GC], D.H. and Others v. the Czech Republic, Judgment of 13
►ECJ,
November 2007, Application No. 57325/00

5.

Facts
►Principal
facts (the ones that are relevant to the
outcome), including the national courts decisions
►If the facts are disputed by the parties, each party’s
version of events should be presented
Procedural History
►How
and when the case originated in ECtHR or
ECJ/CJEU
►Where there any procedural steps taken by the court

6.

Issue
►What is the gist of the case – a main
- the formulation should be sufficiently narrow
question
►Question of law and fact
- what legal principles should apply to particular facts of the case
- how does the law that parties agree on applies to particular facts of the
case
- what the law should be
Holding
►What
the court decided (who won)
►An answer to the question (issue)
- starts with ‘yes’ or ‘no’

7.

Reasoning
► How
the court explained / substantiated its decision
► What is the applicable legal source(s), rule(s) /
principle(s), test(s)
► How did the court apply these principles / rules to the
facts in hand:
- Through what steps did the court analyze the facts of the case
- What facts did the court take into account to arrive to a certain
decision (significance of certain facts)

8.

Case-Brief: Extras
► Concurring and / or dissenting opinions
- provide you with the wider picture by giving competing arguments
but also often help to understand the decision better
► Dictum
- statement that is not required to reach the decision, but may state
the related legal principle
- has no binding authority
► Definitions
of legal terms