Explain two reasons why the ratio decidendi of a case may sometimes be difficult to establish.

One of the key reasons why the ration decidendi of a case may be difficult to establish is that judgements are often written in a discursive manner so it is difficult to extract that main reasons for the judgement. In addition different judges may give different reasoning for their decisions and there could be different perceptions of which reasoning is more important and should therefore form the ration. For example, in Donoghue v Stevenson, many people take the 'neighbourhood principle' to be part of the ratio even though it was only Atkin who referred to this in his judgement. Furthermore, some may claim that as the neighbourhood principle is a wider principle that goes beyond the specific facts of the case, it is not part of the specific legal reasoning so does not form the ration, highlighting that establishing the ratio decidendi can be a contentious issue.