"pith and substance" meaning in English

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  "lang_code": "en",
  "pos": "noun",
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      "examples": [
        {
          "ref": "c. 1985, Peter Hogg, Constitutional Law of Canada, 2nd edition, page 313",
          "text": "In determining the “pith and substance” of the legislation, ‘it is necessary to identify the dominant or most important characteristic of the challenged law’.",
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        "The content or subject matter, the leading feature or true nature and character of a law."
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        "(Canada, law) The content or subject matter, the leading feature or true nature and character of a law."
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  "lang_code": "en",
  "pos": "noun",
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          "text": "In determining the “pith and substance” of the legislation, ‘it is necessary to identify the dominant or most important characteristic of the challenged law’.",
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