For now, proponents of the fee are emphasizing that the court based its ruling on a procedural matter, not merit, and in November a regional administrative court will rule on whether the parking lot's claims are justified.
The decision took everyone by surprise – even Knox's lawyer, who had passionately argued for it – because the court of cassation generally only rules on procedural issues, not the merits of the case or facts established by lower courts.
CBS said in a statement: "Today's rulings by Judge Gammerman were on technical and procedural issues, not on the merits of Mr. Rather's allegations.
Last year, General Musharraf himself called for a procedural change, suggesting that the merits of blasphemy cases be reviewed by local officials before an arrest.
"This decision was taken on the basis of legal advice on procedural rules not on the merits of my nomination, which the board has endorsed".
Although the judge ruled on procedural grounds rather than the merits of the law, the decision gives hope to union organizers such as Andrea Jokisaari, a Ph.D. student in materials science and engineering at the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, who has been active in the years-long effort to organize the campus's research assistants, The Chronicle' s Vimal Patel notes in another article.
Company spokeswoman Brooke Buchanan called the complaint "the next procedural step to hear the merits of the case" after "ongoing discussion over the last few months" with the NLRB.
The system exalts the principle of justice which holds that the function of the courts is to decide cases on their true merits and not on procedural technicalities.
"Defendants can very easily find irregularities allowing the complaint to be dismissed on procedural grounds, as opposed to the merits of the case," he says.
Lawyers for Binghamton countered that Justice Lebous had based his decision on procedural grounds rather than on the merits of drilling restrictions.
