Iudex non calculat is a maxim,Bohlander, Principles of German Criminal Procedure, 2nd Ed, Hart, 2021, p 199. Delbrück and Heinz (eds), New Trends in International Lawmaking, 1997, p 151. Berkel, Learning to Negotiate, 2021, p 47. European Competition Law Annual 2013, p 516. principle,Adler-Nissen and Gammeltoft-Hansen (eds). Sovereignty Games, Palgrave Macmillan, 2008, p 77. Dahrendorf, Law And Order, (Hamlyn Lectures, 37th series), 1985, p 69. axiom,Esders. Bothe, Esders and Nijdam (eds). Wergild, Compensation and Penance. Brill. 2021. p 30. dictum,Klami, Gräns and Sorvettula, "Law and Truth" (2000) 56 Commentationes Scientiarum Socialium 18 adage,Cserne and Esposito, Economics in Legal Reasoning, Palgrave Macmillan, 2020, p 4. Kees van den Bos, Empirical Legal Research, Edward Elgar, 2020, p 5. proverb,Engel, in Stehr and Weiler (eds), Who Owns Knowledge?: Knowledge and the Law, Transaction Publishers, 2008, p 169. or sloganNordisk försäkringstidskrift, 1972, vols 52-54, p 203 that loosely translates as "The judge does not calculate". It originates from the Roman legal concept that obvious calculation errors in a court decision are not harmful to the decision itself and can be corrected at any time. Figuratively it also describes the concept that a judge does not "add up" the number of arguments but instead bases his or her decision on the strength of those arguments. The phrase originates as a shortening of the Roman legal concept expressed in Digests 49.8.1.1.
Jokingly, it is often used to mean "judges (or jurists) are unable to do the math", often by jurists themselves.
See also List of legal Latin terms
References