Such lapses risk obscuring the substantive merits of "Closed Chambers."

Whatever the substantive merits, the debate over statewide antismoking restrictions has long been considered a political mine field.

On the other hand, when exercising judicial review, the High Court is almost always limited to examining whether public authorities have acted lawfully, and do not evaluate the substantive merits of decisions taken.

But in public policy, fewer and fewer decisions are made on the substantive merits.

The court cannot, in other words, review the substantive merits of the directors' decision.

In this debate, legislative tactics are almost as important as the substantive merits of the proposals.

This is based on the well-settled principle that a reviewing court is limited to determining the legality, and must not deal with the substantive merits, of a decision.

Those who did worry about "the rest of the show" also took their cue from Hollywood, where the payoff comes in box office receipts, not in critical acclaim for substantive merit.

Members that sided with the United States in opposing Nicaragua's claims did not challenge the Court's jurisdiction, nor its findings, nor the substantive merits of the case.

And Lord Hodson was concerned primarily with the substantive merits and demerits of the Bill, not with its legal technicalities.