Definition

1. Adjective:
   • Relating to the administration of justice or the function of a judge: Pertaining to courts of law, judges, or the legal system responsible for interpreting and applying the law.
   • Decreed by or proceeding from a court of justice: Issued or resulting from the official decision of a judge or court.
   • Expressing careful, impartial judgment: Characterized by or involving the balanced, fair, and critical evaluation typical of a judge.
   • Belonging or appropriate to the office of a judge: Associated with the formal dignity, authority, or attire of a judge.

Usage Examples

• Relating to courts/judges:
  • The case went through the full judicial process.
  • The country's judicial system is independent from its government.
• From a court:
  • The company appealed the judicial ruling.
  • They sought a judicial review of the administrative decision.
• Expressing careful judgment:
  • She wrote a judicial analysis of the historical figures, weighing their strengths and flaws.
  • His judicial tone helped calm the heated debate.
• Appropriate for a judge:
  • The judge entered the courtroom wearing traditional judicial robes.

Advanced Usage

• Judicial review: The power of a court to examine and invalidate laws or government actions that violate a constitution or legal principles.
  • The Supreme Court exercised judicial review to strike down the law.
• Judicial activism: An approach where judges are willing to depart from precedent or interpret the law broadly to address social issues.
• Judicial restraint: An approach where judges limit the exercise of their own power, deferring to legislative intent and precedent.

Variants and Related Words

• Judicially (adverb): In a judicial manner; by a court.
  • The matter must be resolved judicially.
• Judiciary (noun): The judicial branch of government; the system of courts and judges collectively.
  • The judiciary plays a key role in upholding the rule of law.
• Judge (noun/verb): The central figure in the judicial system.
• Extrajudicial (adjective): Occurring outside the normal judicial process, often implying a lack of legal authority.
  • The extrajudicial killing was condemned by human rights groups.

Synonyms

• Juridical: Relating to law or legal proceedings (more formal).
• Legal: Pertaining to law (broader than judicial, which is specifically about courts/judges).
• Judicious: Showing good judgment (shares the "careful judgment" sense but is not limited to legal contexts).
• Forensic: Relating to the application of scientific methods in legal investigations and court proceedings.

Related Phrases

• Judicial branch: One of the three branches of government (with the executive and legislative), responsible for interpreting laws.
• Judicial proceeding: A formal legal process before a judge or court.
• Judicial separation: A court decree that allows a married couple to live apart without dissolving the marriage.

Idioms

• A judicial mind: A way of thinking characterized by impartiality, careful analysis, and fairness.
  • As a historian, she approaches controversies with a judicial mind.
• To take judicial notice: (Legal term) For a court to accept a well-known or easily verifiable fact as true without requiring formal evidence.
  • The court can take judicial notice of the fact that water boils at 100°C at sea level.

Adjective

1. expressing careful judgment
   • discriminative censure
   • a biography ...appreciative and yet judicial in purpose-Tyler Dennett
2. relating to the administration of justice or the function of a judge
   • judicial system
3. belonging or appropriate to the office of a judge
   • judicial robes
4. decreed by or proceeding from a court of justice
   • a judicial decision